Over the past four seasons the Tampa Bay Rays have gone from being the doormat of the AL East to one of the most successful franchises in baseball. Since 2008, the Rays have three playoff appearances, two AL East titles and represented the American League in the 2008 World Series.

One of the key components of the Rays success has been their ability to develop talent from within the organization. Whether the players are drafted or acquired through a trade, the Rays have excelled at grooming young talent in their system. During the past four seasons the Rays have had significant contributions by home grown talent at every position on the field, except one.

The Rays minor league system has been unable to develop a quality, Major League ready first baseman. However, over the past five years, they have enjoyed reliable (and sometimes exceptional) offensive and defensive production from the position.

Carlos Pena was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training before the 2007 season. Pena made the most of his opportunity with the Rays and became a fixture at first base from 2007-2010. During his tenure with the Rays he hit 144 home runs and accumulated 407 RBIs. Pena left the Rays via free agency after the 2010 season and signed with the Chicago Cubs.

After Pena’s departure the Rays were left with a hole at first base. Early in the season they turned to Dan Johnson(notes), but he struggled to produce during the first month of the 2011 season.

Johnson’s struggles cleared the way for Casey Kotchman(notes) to have a shot at the everyday first base job. Kotchman (once a top prospect for the Los Angeles Angels) played for four different teams from 2008-2010 and his production declined with each stop. After a miserable 2010 season with the Seattle Mariners, the Rays were able to sign Kotchman to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training before the 2011 season.

Just like Carlos Pena did before him, Kotchman made the most of his opportunity with the Rays. He experienced a career revival in 2011 by hitting .306 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs. Unfortunately, for the Rays, Kotchman was only signed to a one-year contract and he became a free agent after the 2011 season.

So once again, the Rays are left with a hole to fill at first base and they don’t have many viable options within their organization to fill the void. Let’s take a look at five potential options, outside of the Tampa Bay organization, that could man first base for the Rays in 2012.

Casey Kotchman

If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. The Rays won 91 games with Kotchman at first in 2011.

On the plus side, he’s an excellent defensive first baseman and that fits well with the Rays philosophy of winning with pitching and defense. He also led the team in hitting with a .306 average.

On the negative side, he lacks the power you would ideally like to see from a corner infielder. His .306 average was the highest of his career and he’ll most likely revert to his career average of .270-.280 in 2012. Also, after the success he had in 2011, he’ll be looking for a multi-year contract and his price may be too high for the Rays, especially since he has limited upside potential.

Carlos Pena

Pena is once again a free agent after completing his one-year, $10 million contract with the Cubs in 2011.

Pena was always a fan favorite with the Rays and re-signing him would excite a fan base that struggles to support the Rays at Tropicana Field. He’s a known commodity. He plays excellent defense and has the power you look for in a corner infielder.

On the down side, Pena strikes out a lot and he’ll never hit for a great average. His numbers were solid with the Cubs in 2011. He hit .225 with 28 home runs and 80 RBIs. He would bring some much needed explosiveness to the Rays pedestrian offense and could provide Evan Longoria(notes) with some protection in the line-up.

There’s no doubt the Rays would love to have Pena back, but the price tag will be an issue. The Rays won’t pay $10 million for a free agent first baseman. The Rays would need to sell Pena on the idea of playing for less money to have a shot at contending for a World Series ring, while playing close to home (he lives in Orlando).

Yonder Alonso(notes)

Alonso was once the top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization, but his status has slipped some over the past couple seasons. He’s currently ranked as the third best prospect in the Red’s system.

The Red’s tried to convert Alonso to left field (since they already have a superstar first baseman in Joey Votto(notes)), but his natural position is first base. However, even at his best, he is considered an average fielder.

Alonso has shown some ability at the plate. In 117 career Major League at-bats he’s hit .299 with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs. During his three years in the minors he posted a .293 average with 36 home runs and 179 RBIs in 1179 at-bats.

Recently, there have been rumors that the Red’s would be willing to deal Alonso if the right offer came along. He would fit in with the Rays strategy of pursuing young players, with some upside potential, who have a low price tag. He wouldn’t be eligible to arbitration until 2015 and wouldn’t be a free agent until 2018.

The Rays currently have eight Major League ready starting pitchers in their organization, so they could be in the market for an Alonso trade, but the asking price would determine the level of interest from the Rays. The Rays won’t deal any of their top four starters (Shields, Hellickson, Price or Moore) straight up for Alonso, but if a deal is built around Wade Davis(notes), Jeff Neimann, Alex Cobb(notes) or Alex Torres(notes), the Rays might listen.

Logan Morrison(notes)

Logan Morrison played left field for the Marlins in 2011, but he’s more suited for first base. At best, he’s an average defender. However, he does have some pop. In 2011 he appeared in 123 games and hit .247 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs.

Morrison had attitude issues while playing for the Marlins. He was briefly demoted to the minors during the 2011 season after clashing with management.

On the downside, his limited defense and potential attitude concerns don’t fit into the Rays standard philosophy.

On the plus side, he’s young, cheap and has some offensive potential. He isn’t arbitration eligible until 2014 and would remain under team control until 2017. Those factors do fit into the budget conscious Rays philosophy.

One of the first trade rumors this offseason involved the Rays trading James Shields(notes) to the Marlins for Logan Morrison. That trade is extremely unlikely. Shields current value vastly outweighs Morrison’s. Once again, the Rays won’t part with their top four starting pitchers to obtain Morrison, but if a deal is built around one of the other four, the Rays might be interested.

Justin Smoak(notes)

Rumor has it that the Seattle Mariners may be pursuing free agent first baseman Prince Fielder(notes). If the Mariners do sign Fielder then they may deal incumbent first baseman Justin Smoak.

Smoak was once a top prospect of the Texas Rangers, but he was dealt to the Mariners as part of the Cliff Lee(notes) deal in 2010. Smoak was the everyday first baseman for the Mariners in 2011. He hit .234 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.

On the plus side, Smoak is a switch hitting first baseman that still hasn’t reached his offensive potential. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2014 and will remain under team control until 2017.

On the down side, he’s a below average defender. In 223 games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, he’s posted a dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) of -0.1.

If Smoak becomes available and the Mariners are willing to trade for one of the Rays lower end pitching prospects (think Alex Torres), then the Rays may be interested in trading for the switch hitting first baseman.

The Rays front office is always creative when addressing holes in their roster. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them pursue an option nobody saw coming. Only time will tell who the Rays run out there as their starting first baseman in 2012.

Sean McDonnell has been a resident of the Tampa Bay area for the past 21 years. He is an avid fan of the Tampa Bay Rays; Tampa Bay Bucs and USF Bulls.

*statistics provided by Yahoo sports

Sources:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smoakju01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morrilo01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alonsyo01.shtml

Additional articles from this author:

Rays Trade John Jaso to Mariners for Josh Lueke: A Fan’s Take

Is Jose Molina a Good Fit for the Rays?: A Fan’s Take

Should the Rays Trade for Joey Votto: A Fan’s Take

Should the Rays Trade James Shields for Logan Morrison?: A Fan’s Review

How the Rays Can Increase Attendance: A Fan’s Take

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Despite General Manager Andrew Friedman’s reported flirtation with the Houston Astros, the Tampa Bay Rays have recently acted to address last year’s considerable weakness at catcher.

The series of moves began last month when the club declined the option on part-time backstop Kelly Shoppach. The 31 year-old was acquired via trade before the 2010 season and never lived up to the potential once displayed with the Cleveland Indians. Though Shoppach’s critical home runs aided the Rays’ sole victory in the 2011 playoffs, the rest of his season was very forgettable. Only averaging .176 in 221 plate appearances, this decision was an easy one.

The second move to rebuild Tampa Bay’s besieged catching corps occurred earlier this week on November 27 when the team sent John Jaso to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for pitcher Josh Lueke and a player to be named later. Drafted by the Rays in 2003, high hopes once existed for the offensive potential of the 28 year-old. Indeed, when Jaso was summoned to the big club in 2010, his bat immediately warmed up, enabling him to emerge as the club’s the top catcher.

However, 2011 was filled with disappointment for the California native. Splitting time with Shoppach, Jaso only batted .224 with 5 HR and 27 RBI. Known more for hitting than defense, those kind of numbers will not survive long at the big league level.

Though Lueke was once considered a top prospect, legal troubles during his minor league career have seemingly tarnished his future potential. The 6’5″, 235 pound right-hander pitched out of the bullpen for Seattle in 2011 and struggled with a 6.06 ERA in 25 appearances.

The final shake-up to the Rays’ catching department came on November 28 with the free agent signing of Jose Molina. The 36 year-old veteran competed sparingly last season for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he hit a respectable .281 with 3 HR and 15 RBI in 171 plate appearances. Molina’s deal is for a reasonable 1 year at $1.5 million, with Tampa Bay holding a club option for 2012.

As one of baseball’s three “Molina brothers” catchers, the Puerto Rico product came up a decade ago in the Los Angeles Angels organization. There he was coached by current Rays’ manager Joe Maddon, who then worked under longtime skipper Mike Sciocscia. Such familiarity undoubtedly influenced the signing and Molina comes with a reputation for working well with pitchers.

Standing out as the most glaring weakness on an otherwise successful Tampa Bay Rays team, these pro-active moves should be applauded. Neither Shoppach or Jaso deserved to come back in 2012 and the veteran Molina certainly has an opportunity to contribute with both his bat and glove.

However, there is no reason now to consider this a position of strength. Despite a serviceable big league record, Molina has never batted more than 268 times in a season. He is likely a part-time player and the team still anxiously awaits a young player to emerge at catcher.

Both Robinson Chirinos and Jose Lobaton are 27 year-olds from Venezuela who had “cups of coffee” with the Rays in 2011. While neither is considered a top prospect, each will have a chance to share time with Molina, if another move is not completed.

Without the financial ability to land a top catcher, perhaps the best hope for Tampa Bay sits several years away, toiling in the low minor leagues. 2010 1st round draft pick Justin O’Conner was selected with high regard for his power and arm strength, but 19 year-old has struggled mightly adjusting to professional pitching. In fact, playing for the A-level Princeton Rays in 2011, O’Conner hit a mere .157.

Yet, even that miniscule number is not far below Kelly Shoppach’s batting average—and he played in the major leagues, earning a cool $3 million contract for his efforts.

I applaud the Rays for acting, even as their General Manager’s future is unknown. Since the bar has been set so low, Molina has the potential to be an improvement on both 2011 backstops. However, unless another unlikely move occurs, expect catching to continue irking Tampa Bay Rays’ fans in 2012.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports, RaysProspects.com, Baseball-reference.com.

More by Jeff Briscoe from Yahoo! Contributor Network:

Rays’ Joe Maddon Named Manager of the Year

Contract Decisions Approach for Tampa Bay Rays

Jeff Briscoe is a dad of three Florida kids and a follower of the Tampa Bay Rays. He hopes the franchise can keep baseball viable in the Sunshine State until his own children can wear the uniform and usher in the golden age of baseball in Florida.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

(Reuters) – The Tampa Bay Rays sorted out their catching needs for the 2012 Major League Baseball season by signing veteran Jose Molina to a one-year deal, the team said Monday.

The $1.5 million deal includes a club option to bring the 36-year-old Molina back in 2013 for the same salary, according to a report posted on the team’s website.

Free agent Molina, an accomplished defensive catcher, hit a career-high .281 last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Jose has been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball over the past decade, and his presence will bring even more stability to our defense, and he will be a great asset to our young pitchers,” said Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman.

Tampa Bay had created an opening for a veteran catcher by trading catcher John Jaso to the Seattle Mariners Sunday for reliever Josh Lueke, after earlier deciding not to pick up a $3.2 million club option to retain Kelly Shoppach.

Those moves left the Rays with only young catchers Jose Lobaton and Robinson Chirinos on their major league roster.

Over his career, Molina has thrown out 153 of 410 attempted base stealers for a 37.3 percentage that ranks fourth best among active catchers who have played a minimum of 500 games.

The Rays witnessed his throwing ability first-hand in April when Molina, while playing for Toronto, threw out four Tampa Bay runners attempting to steal in the first four innings.

Molina has played in parts of 12 seasons for the Cubs, Angels, Yankees and Blue Jays with a .241 career batting average.

The native of Puerto Rico comes from a family of big league catchers. Older brother Bengie played 13 seasons before retiring after 2010, while younger brother Yadier has spent his eight-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals and won his second World Series ring with them last month.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Nov 28, 2011 03:48 PM

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The Tampa Bay Rays are bringing back all their coaches on two-year contracts, and have made Stan Boroski their bullpen coach.

All coaches’ contracts expired after the 2011 season. While manager Joe Maddon said at the end of the season media wrapup that he expected to keep the staff intact, the Rays have yet to announce the deals.

The two-year term is interesting because Maddon has only one year remaining on his deal, and it’s unusual for coaches to have longer contracts than a manager. Both Maddon and the Rays have said they hope to eventually work out an extension.

Boroski was on the staff as assistant to the pitching coach and took over as bullpen coach during last season when Bobby Ramos, on the job since 2006, left the team in August due to illness. Ramos could end up with another position in the organization.

Returning to their posts are bench coach Dave Martinez (fifth season), pitching coach Jim Hickey (sixth season), hitting coach Derek Shelton (third season), first-base coach George Hendrick (seventh season) and third-base coach Tom Foley (11th season).

Boroski, 46, joined the Rays for the 2010 season, working with pitchers alongside Hickey and doing some of the pre-game computer work. He continued to handle those duties while filling in for Ramos last season and is expected to continue to handle both roles.

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By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Nov 28, 2011 03:48 PM

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The Tampa Bay Rays are bringing back all their coaches on two-year contracts, and have made Stan Boroski their bullpen coach.

All coaches’ contracts expired after the 2011 season. While manager Joe Maddon said at the end of the season media wrapup that he expected to keep the staff intact, the Rays have yet to announce the deals.

The two-year term is interesting because Maddon has only one year remaining on his deal, and it’s unusual for coaches to have longer contracts than a manager. Both Maddon and the Rays have said they hope to eventually work out an extension.

Boroski was on the staff as assistant to the pitching coach and took over as bullpen coach during last season when Bobby Ramos, on the job since 2006, left the team in August due to illness. Ramos could end up with another position in the organization.

Returning to their posts are bench coach Dave Martinez (fifth season), pitching coach Jim Hickey (sixth season), hitting coach Derek Shelton (third season), first-base coach George Hendrick (seventh season) and third-base coach Tom Foley (11th season).

Boroski, 46, joined the Rays for the 2010 season, working with pitchers alongside Hickey and doing some of the pre-game computer work. He continued to handle those duties while filling in for Ramos last season and is expected to continue to handle both roles.

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Nov 27, 2011 – The Tampa Bay Rays have traded catcher John Jaso to the Seattle Mariners for right handed reliever Josh Lueke. The reliever comes to Tampa from Seattle with a 6.06 ERA and 1-1 record in 25 games last year for the Mariners. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times first broke the news. Topkin also tweeted a quote from the Rays Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, who talked about what Lueke can bring to the club in 2012.

Rays Friedman on Lueke: “Josh has the stuff to get hitters out in the AL East and began to show that during 2nd half of last season.”

Lueke does have a criminal incident in his recent past revolving around a report that surfaced when he was traded to Seattle from Texas as part of the Cliff Lee deal. Lueke initially faced charges of rape but agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of false imprisonment with violence. Topkin also tweeted that Friedman stated the Rays were aware of the incident and had done their due diligence on his background and character.

“We’re satisfied that he is going to be the kind of person and teammate that we look for and we expect him to contribute positively to our group.”

For more on the Rays, visit SB Nation’s Rays blog, DRaysBay.

Read More: John Jaso (C – TAM), Josh Lueke (P – SEA), Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners

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A few days ago, word was that Francisco Cordero had a number of surprise suitors, the Tampa Bay Rays being among them. This seems a touch crazy though. Cordero fits in only one of the Rays’ typical free agent criteria, and its an unimportant one at that:

As far as free agents go, the Rays typically look for the above items. However, three of those items (age, injury, and down season) work in service to one of them (price). If all three are yes, but price is no, then it doesn’t matter. Price matters more.

The last item — being undervalued by traditional analysis — is another big one. For instance, Jason Bartlett fit into that category in 2007 when the Rays pursued him and Matt Garza. Also, Jose Molina fits that bill right now.

The Rays are typically too poor to go after an established closer who is coming off a string of five-straight 30+ saves seasons. They have to find cheap arms like Jason Isringhausen and Troy Percival — past-their-prime relievers who recently had a major injury. They go after the Joaquin Benoit and Juan Cruz types, not the traditional closers.

In other words, I think there’s a legit chance the Rays are in fact not pursuing Cordero. Honestly, nothing about it sounds Raysian. Tack on the fact the Rays actually had excellent production from the top of their bullpen last year, and the whole rumor — which was started by Cordero himself — begins to sound fishy.

I’m not saying Cordero lied about the Rays inquiring about him, all I’m saying is the Rays pretty much have no desire or precedent to suggest they will sign a $10M reliever.

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By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Tuesday, November 22, 2011

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ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays weren’t the only ones to take a hit from dwindling attendance at Tropicana Field this year.

It cost taxpayers, too.

The city will kick in an extra $115,000 to subsidize operations of Tropicana Field because attendance was 300,000 less than last year’s.

St. Petersburg collects 67 cents for every fan who goes through the turnstiles at Rays games and other Trop events. So when Rays attendance dropped 16 percent this season, the city’s cut fell to about $750,000, compared with the $900,000 projected.

But the lower attendance meant that fewer police were needed for traffic control at sparsely attended games, which offset some of the losses from lower attendance.

Ticket sales and a slice of stadium naming rights are the two major ways the city makes money at the Trop.

On the other hand, the contract with the Rays calls for the city to provide property insurance on the dome and traffic control at games. Costs usually outpace revenues $1 million to $2 million a year, creating an operating subsidy on top of St. Petersburg’s annual $6 million debt service on the Trop construction bonds.

On Monday, the City Council approved a $114,665 boost to the operating subsidy for fiscal year 2011, to account for the ticket sales drop.

Compared with other year-end budget adjustments, the Trop change was relatively minor. Use of the Coliseum and of Sunken Gardens, for example, was less than expected this year, causing their combined subsidies to rise by about the same amount as the Trop’s. The Mahaffey Theater’s operating subsidy rose by about $240,000 to cover transition costs to new management.

Attendance at Rays games has been the subject of much discussion as principal owner Stuart Sternberg angles for a new stadium. In 2010, the Rays drew 1,828,066 fans during the regular season and went to the playoffs, 22nd out of 30 teams.

In 2011, the team made the playoffs again, despite losing several productive and popular players to free agency. Attendance dropped to 1,529,188, second to last in the major leagues, behind the Oakland Athletics.

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