“I wish I wasn’t a free agent. Definitely I want to be back. I’m wishing, I’m hoping, I’m praying that I can come back here. This feels like home.”

“I want what I deserve — I don’t want more, I don’t want less. So it’s up to them. I’m cheap. They can afford me.

The Rays would be ecstatic to have Peralta back as the 36 year old has led the team in appearances the past two years while pitching effectively, and he has been a key part of the back of their bullpen, even filling in capably as closer when Kyle Farnsworth went down in September of 2011. If Peralta is willing to stay at a modest salary, say 3 to 3.5 million after he made 2.17 million this season, the Rays have to sign on. Peralta is one of the older relievers who the Rays found off the scrap heap and managed to get good value from, but unlike a guy like Farnsworth, he hasn’t had the slightest whiff of an injury the past two years and has been one of the Rays’ most dependable relievers. Peralta wants to come back, and it makes sense for the Rays to oblige if the price remains low.

In the same article, Topkin also talked about how the Rays’ coaching staff looks to remain the same for 2013, with the qualifier that bench coach Dave Martinez is a candidate for managerial positions. Joe Maddon returning was obviously a given and Jim Hickey was as well as he’s one of the best around as well. He did an excellent job this season working with four rookie and sophomore starters in Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and Chris Archer, and although all four had their struggles, all of them showed significant improvement over the course of the season. The biggest question mark may have been hitting coach Derek Shelton as the Rays offense struggled mightily this season, but the problem is personnel more than anything, especially considering the injuries the Rays endured. Hopefully the Rays are healthier in 2013 and their offense performs better, but if it struggles again Shelton might be done.

Now to Dave Martinez. Martinez was a finalist for the Astros’ manager job before it went to Nationals third base coach Bo Porter, and Topkin pointed him out as a possibility for the Colorado Rockies, where Bill Geivett, a former special assistant to the general manager for the Rays from 1997-1998, is Director of Baseball Operations. Martinez is a great baseball guy and clubhouse presence who is a valuable asset for the Rays, but best of luck to him as he interviews for managerial positions.

“I don’t believe [the offense] is a reflection [of Shelton], I really don’t,” Maddon said. “I know what he does, I know how he does it. You watch the games being played, and the thing about coaches, it’s about how diligent you are and the time you put in — that you care. You can only give a player so much information.

“I believe when guys are successful consistently, a coach might be able to tweak you a little bit here or there and remind you about something, but what goes on internally is what really controls your success. And so, it’s hard to pin that on a coach, and I really believe that.”

What is Joe Maddon saying here? Is he quietly blaming his own players and Andrew Friedman and the front office for acquiring them? That would make a great story, but I’ll say no. The Rays thought they were going to have a good, if not great offense this year. But considering how injuries have hampered the offense, Shelton’s job has been awfully tough. What Maddon is specifically alluding to as how players like Carlos Pena, Matthew Joyce, and Luke Scott have gotten completely lost after strong starts, and when formerly solid players suddenly stop producing, there’s only so much the hitting coach can do. Should Rays fans blame Shelton? Well, he’s the obvious scapegoat if the Rays fail to make the postseason, but everyone has to share the blame. Several Rays have severely underperformed and if they had been playing anywhere near their career averages, the Rays would be in better shape right now. At the same time, the Rays’ front office put a lot of faith in older players like Pena, Scott, and Hideki Matsui, who we have seen utterly implode. The Rays’ offense is a real problem right now and will only get worse when B.J. Upton leaves. The Rays have to find some way to generate more consistent offense in coming seasons.

In better news, Evan Longoria spent an entire day with a young Rays fan unfortunately afflicted with cancer and then Elliot Johnson did something you never hear anyone doing- having a catch with Rays fans in the Tropicana Field parking lot as he showed appreciation for the Rays fans who come out to the Trop so many times a year. Always amazing to give a once-in-a-lifetime experience to someone who really needs it, but giving fans a little bit of gratitude every once in a while for ordinary things like coming out to the game is something really cool as well.

The good news about Derek Shelton’s performance as Rays hitting coach this year is how much better the team is hitting than him. Looking at Shelton’s minor league stats (he was a catcher) and plugging them into Kyle Broddy’s minor league equivalency calculator (being nice and giving him all his stats as though he was in the Sally League the whole time), we get a major league equivalency of .226/.285/.280. Shelton’s Rays hitters are better than that this year, coming in at .232/.314/374. Jose Molina is a lot closer to that, coming in at .190/.253/.317, a .570 OPS to Shelton’s .565. Still, good job Derek making the Rays hitters better than you were.

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More research coming to determine whether there is any correlation whatsoever between hitting coach pro performance and how good his team hits. But Kevin Long’s .273/.350/.365 in the minors reaching Triple-A is a heck of a lot better than Shelton’s numbers.