Rays News and Notes: BJ Upton Very Unlikely to be Traded

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is reporting that the Nationals trade talks about BJ Upton have cooled. What this means is BJ Upton is very unlikely to be traded before the season, and probably won’t be traded at the deadline either. The Nationals have been Upton’s strongest suitor for a while now, ever since the Rays began shopping him.

Chances were slim that the Rays would trade him anyway, but this almost assures it. BJ can be frustrating at times, but he is still a very good center fielder, considering his defense and speed. His bat is streaky and his average is not great, but he has good power. BJ is still a solid player and will be a key piece to the Rays success in 2012.

Rays News and Notes

• In his weekly Rays roundup, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times says that Evan Longoria has dropped 10 to 15 pounds this offseason. He talked to Longo and says his goal is to play all 162 games this season. As long as he isn’t playing playing through injury, wouldn’t it be great to have Longo in the lineup for all 162?
• The Boston Herald has a great piece on one of the newest Rays, Luke Scott. Scott is coming off injury and will be expected to provide pop in the middle of the order for the Rays. It is unclear how well he will do, but if past seasons are an indicator Scott will be a great DH for the Rays.
• Sam Fuld held his clinic for diabetic kids yesterday, providing instruction in several sports for the 100 kids. It is always great to see Rays players doing great things in the community, and this is certainly a great thing Fuld is doing.