COVERITLIVE.COM

12:00

Greetings Rays world, we'll get started here in a few moments .....

12:01

[Comment From henry coone]
will andy ever come up and price go back down

12:05

Henry gets the prize for the first live question - and the answer is yes and no. Best guess is that Andy Sonnanstine will pitch well for a few weeks in Triple-A and get called up back as something (injury?) usually happens to someone, either as a starter or reliever. But it doesn't seem likely that David Price is going anywhere, as the Rays keep saying they feel he is close to figuring things out and that once he does he will be fine. Plus, they seem to have a philosophy that "special" players such as Price shouldn't be shuttled between that majors and minors, that once they get to the big leagues they stay. Of course, a few more bad outings could have them rethinking that.

12:05

[Comment From Mike]
Any updates on Fernando Perez or Shawn Riggans?

12:07

Not much - Perez's left wrist, injured in spring training, is healing, but it's been a slow process. Talked to him a bit about it on the last homestand and he's down a bit on how long it's taken. Riggans is still working through shoulder issues, but word is that if he continues to show some progress over the next week to 10 days he could go on a rehab assignment by the end of the month.

12:07

[Comment From Dan C.]
Will J.P. be the closer?

12:09

Depends on what day you ask! Both Howell and manager Joe Maddon are shying away from that label, and they are still sticking with the concept of the best matchup at the time, but it sure looks like Howell is the go-to guy right now. There will be times, though, when he won't be - if he has worked too many days in a row, or if Dan Wheeler is the better matchup at the time.

12:09

[Comment From MikeyA]
Marc, my question(s) is in the comments section, relating to the draft picks and Perez signing, can you shed some light on the latest?

12:13

Mikey - i saw that one and planned to get to it, so let's do it now. Unfortunately for the Rays, whatever impulse top pick LeVon Washington had on draft night to sign has been slowed down, presumably by his advisor, Scott Boras. My guess is that's what the Rays were afraid of, which just means this will drag out until close to the Aug. 17 deadline, which is really too bad for the player because he'll miss a summer of playing time. The next couple picks have big-time college offers, and the Rays knew that they would be tough signs. A lot of these may go down to the wire. As for giving a reported $1-million to Venezuelan teenager Cesar Perez, it's a sign the Rays are willing to spend internationally, as they have said they would, and it's a benefit, in a way, of picking so far down in the draft because Washington's bonus will be considerably less than the top picks will get.

12:14

[Comment From Thrill]
budget or no budget why couldn't stu dig deep and eat the remaining $7 mill on Doc Halladay's contract this year, then trade in the offseason and get back a few prospects that they may have to give up initially?

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