Lobstein, 23, was a disappointment in the Rays organization and gets to try his luck with a change of scenery. Lobstein had a halfway-decent season at the Rays’ Double-A Montgomery affiliate in 2012, going 8-7 with a 4.06 ERA, an 8.1 K/9, a 4.3 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 27 starts and 144 innings pitched. The relatively high strikeout and walk rates might lead you to believe that Lobstein is a hard-thrower with control issues. That is decidedly not the case. Lobstein hit 92 MPH coming out of high school but has struggled to hit 90 MPH as a pro, usually sitting in the 86-88 MPH range, and although the pitch has some late life and he throws it for strikes, he has never done a good job commanding it down in the zone. Lobstein’s best pitch is easily his breaking ball, a high-70′s curveball that features sharp break when it’s at its best, but it gets slurvy at times and Lobstein often has trouble making it look like a strike. Lobstein’s third pitch is a circle changeup that he throws primarily to right-handed batters and does a good job selling with his arm action, but its movement has never been very impressive and it’s average at best overall. At 6’3″, 200, there is still hope that Lobstein might get some velocity back as his body he fills out, and with improved command he could be an innings-eating back-of-the-rotation starter in the major leagues. Otherwise, his arsenal could still be useful in a situational lefty role. The Rays kept waiting for Lobstein’s previous stuff to come back and his pitches to develop, but it never happened, and with plenty of pitching in the organization, they finally decided to give up.

In exchange for Lobstein, the Rays actually managed to get themselves an intriguing prospect at a position of organizational need, catcher. Casali, 24, was a 10th round pick by the Tigers in 2010 and is coming off a strong season between Low-A and High-A, managing a .270/.365/.427 line with 25 doubles, 9 homers, 43 RBI, and a 46-38 strikeout to walk ratio in 94 games and 385 plate appearances. Casali also managed a 33% CS%, allowing only 4 passed balls. One big thing to note was that Casali was old for Low-A and saw his performance slip quite a bit at High-A, managing just a .250/.322/.350 line with 28 strikeouts against 11 walks. In any event, Casali is a player who does nothing exceptionally but does is a solid player in just about every phase of the game for a catcher. He shows average bat speed with a compact swing and a patient approach at the plate. His pitch recognition isn’t great, but he has a chance to be a player who doesn’t strike out too often while drawing his fair share of walks, which is always nice. Casali is a big, strong guy at 6’2″, 220, but his tendency towards contact limits his power. Defensively, Casasli features solid arm strength, losing what had been a plus tool when he underwent Tommy John Surgery in college, and also good actions behind the plate and a decent ability to block pitches in the dirt. Between Casali’s offensive and defensive talents, he could be at least a backup catcher who’s competent on both sides of the ball if everything goes well. For a Rays organization where basically all their catching prospects are rawer players drafted out of high school or signed internationally, Casali is a nice change of pace, and getting him for a player in Lobstein who they were done with is a nice value.

In this trade, the Tigers received a left-hander with a chance to play a role for them in the near future while the Rays added depth at a position of organizational need and found a player with some future value of his own. Both teams were able to turn players they had no need for into players of interest, and this trade looks like a win-win or at least a worthwhile gamble for both sides. Trades like this are certainly not the intention of the Rule 5 Draft, but no one will complain when it facilitates trades that satisfy everyone involved.

Scott hit a grand slam off of Detroit starter Doug Fister as part of a six run fourth inning which put the Rays comfortably ahead en route to an 11-5 victory over the Tigers. Scott is now batting .375/.423/.917 with three home runs thus far this spring, as he looks to put together a bounce back season. Fister struggled, and was not helped by his defense, as he allowed seven runs, two earned, on seven hits and three walks in 3.2 innings of work.

Jeremy Hellickson had a rough start to his outing, allowing three runs in the first two innings as the Tigers took a 3-1 lead after two. However, he settled in, allowing only those three runs in six innings of work, giving up eight hits and recording three strikeouts. Brandon Gomes was roughed up in his inning of work, giving up two runs on two hits.

Shelley Duncan continued his bid to crack the Rays Opening Day roster, as he connected for his team leading fourth home run of the spring. Ben Zobrist got into his first game since the World Baseball Classic, and was 0-4.

As such, he may once again be on the Rays radar. With the Rays still potentially looking for a fourth outfielder, Boesch could be a potential low risk candidate for that position. He has had big league success, including a solid 2011 where he produced a .283/.341/.799 batting line, good for an OPS+ of 116. That year, he had 25 doubles and 16 home runs, showing a bit of pop in his bat. Boesch struggled in 2012, batting at only a .240/.286/.372 rate with 22 doubles and 12 home runs with 33 more plate appearances. This decline may have been due to injury, as it was felt that Boesch had been dealing with the lingering effects of a torn thumb ligament.

Already, the Tigers have been fielding inquiries on his availability. According to reports, approximately half a dozen teams have already probed the Tigers’ as to their asking price; however, nothing appears to be eminent. Amongst the teams thought to be interested are the Mariners (who had interest in acquiring Boesch in December), the Red Sox, the Mets, the Yankees and the Astros. While the Mariners may not be as likely to acquire Boesch, given the plethora of corner outfield types they have acquired this offseason, the other four teams have a definite need for outfield help.

Although there is likely to be competition for Boesch, the asking price may end up not being that significant. The Tigers may only be looking for a lower tier prospect, or even the equivocal ‘Player to be Named Later’. With Boesch being a part of the waiver process, the Rays would likely need to trade for him to secure his services.

Brennan Boesch may be a potential bounce back candidate, and he fits the profile of the type of player the Rays target. Although Boesch is a left-handed hitter and the Rays are really looking for a right-handed bat, Boesch actually has a reverse split for his career (.767 OPS versus lefties compared to .717 against righties) and could be a possibility to platoon with James Loney. Boesch has never player first base in his career, although he is a good target at 6’3″, 235, but that doesn’t make an enormous difference because the Rays could move other players around to accomodate him, with say Luke Scott or Kelly Johnson playing first base with Boesch in the outfield or at DH.

Boesch could be an interesting platoon player for the Rays, but one factor to consider is not just what the Tigers will be asking for in exchange for Boesch from whichever team claims him off waivers but also his salary, $2.3Million. That’s not that much money even for the Rays, but would they be willing to commit that to a player who might be a fringe-starter at best and also carries quite a bit of risk? The scenario that would make the Rays most likely to go after Boesch would be if he passes through waivers unclaimed and the team signing him would only have to pay him the league minimum with the Tigers responsible for his salary. If that falls into place, Boesch could end up becoming another under-the-radar player that vastly outperforms expectations after joining the the Rays.