On another team, in another town, Ian Desmond might make perfect sense.
Here, it makes none.
Oh, you can see the temptation. Why, he’s a veteran shortstop, and the Rays could certainly use one of those rather than bet all of their chips on Brad Miller. The Rays are a team about bargains, and these days, Desmond seems like one of those. They also value run prevention, and Desmond would help save a few of those.
So why shouldn’t the Tampa Bay Rays grab him?
First of all, Desmond is coming off a horrible year in which he made 27 errors (he’s had 20 or more four of the last five years) and hit only .211.
From the outside, the problem is that Desmond was offered a one year, $15 million contract by Washington, which means that any team that signed him would have to offer a No. 1 draft pick. For the Rays, that would be the 13th pick in the upcoming draft, which the team considers too high a price. After all, this is a team that relies more on its draftees than all of those teams that prefer the free agent way.
How big is that pick to the Rays? Well, it’s the same slot where the Rays took outfielder Garrett Whitley last year. It’s a higher pick than the team used on current prospects Blake Snell, Richie Shaffer or Mikie Mahtook. It’s of little wonder, then, how much the Rays would gain to hold onto their pick.
Oh, all of the Rays picks haven’t been gems. The team has also drafted Josh Sale and LaVon Washington.
For the Rays, here’s the problem. Desmond would almost certainly be gone after a year. That’s a high price for one year’s worth of service.
In other words, for now, the Rays should bide their time. Later, after the draft, Desmond might make more sense.
