[Update: 3:40pm] Now it looks like the Cubs and Padres have figured out how to move Peavy without a third team. Of course, the Rays could still try to work with the Padres on a deal for Giles, but this seems less likely now.

[9:56am]In case you missed it late last night, there is a rumor going around the winter meetings that the Rays may be getting involved in the Jake Peavy talks as a third team, with their eyes set on Brian Giles. There was talk last August that the Rays tried to land Giles but were blocked when the Red Sox put in a claim on the outfielder.

There is no mention of what the Padres would want from the Rays, but the holdup in a potential Cubs deal (for Peavy) is the lack of Cubs prospects that are close to the majors. The Padres were also looking for a major league shortstop from the Braves.

So we have to believe the Padres will be asking for something like Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays would probably rather a package include Jeff Niemann and Reid Brignac. Would Edwin Jackson get the deal done?

It seems unlikely that the Rays would be willing to part with a top pitcher for Giles (136 OPS+ in '08) if the Rays could potentially land a free agent like Bobby Abreu (120 OPS+, 3 years younger) for the same price and without having to give up any prospects. The Padres could make it more enticing by eating some of the $9 million salary [Ed. note: As per the comments, Giles' salary goes to $11 million in '09 if he is traded]. Giles is in the last year of his deal.

Of course, all this means nothing if Giles is unwilling to be traded. Giles has full veto power as a 10-and-5 player (10 year veteran, 5 years with current team) and vetoed two deals (Red Sox and A's) late last season.

Rays Rumored Third Team In Peavy Deal; Possibly Targeting Giles Again [Rays Index]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Jayson Stark says the Jeremy Hermida is exactly the type of player the Rays are looking for and wonders if a deal can be had for Jason Bartlett and either Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson...Considering what else is out there, this seems like too steep a price. [ESPN]
• Ryan Fagan of The Sporting News says Rocco Baldelli's best option is to stick with the Rays...This is something we have long said. With the Rays, Rocco has a team that has been loyal when most would not and with the Rays, Rocco has a team that is very familiar with his condition and how best to utilize his talents at this point of his career. This is why the Rays will slow-play this hand, waiting out the market and Rocco. [The Sporting News]
  
• Dayn Perry says the Rays have "fewer needs to address [this offseason] than any other team in baseball." We are not sure what attendance has to do with the Rays offseason plans but Perry brings it up out of leftfield at the end of the piece noting that teams usually show an attendance spike the year after a successful playoff run. [Fox Sports]
• Marc Lancaster reports that the Andrew Friedman is getting calls from players that would not normally be interested in signing with the Rays, noting that these players want to play with the Rays and are willing to accomodate the Rays (ie. switching positions) to make it happen. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Marc Lancaster says the Rays greatest asset right now is their pitching depth and if a trade is made at the winter meetings it will probably involve a starting pitcher. [Tampa Tribune]
• Mets Fever says the Mets will have a hard time landing Edwin Jackson, noting the Metropolitans don't have outfield depth. [Mets Fever]
  
• Rays Digest takes a look at pitching prospect Nick Barnese, who was #22 on our most recent Trade Value Index. RD compares Barnese's makeup to Matt Garza and analyzes his pitch repertoire. If you are not into reading the usual rhetoric about the depth of pitching in the organization and just want to read about Barnese, skip to the 9th paragraph. [Rays Digest]
  
• MLB.com has their list of the top 50 prospects. The list is topped by David Price and includes four Rays farmhands in total. Tim Beckham (22), Wade Davis (31) and Jeremy Hellickson (39) are also on the list. [MLB]
• Rays Prospects is profiling the top hitting prospects in the organization. #13 is... [Rays Prospects]
  
• David Chalk continues to crank out his list of the top Devil Rays of all time. #18 is... [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Bud Selig and Major League Baseball make too much money and are too concerned about the image of the sport to ever put a team in Las Vegas. Still, it is a bit disheartening to hear the mayor of Las Vegas salivating over the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
• Montgomery Biscuits GM Greg Rauch is at the winter meetings in Vegas to find a radio broadcaster. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus reports on a rumor that the Rays may be involved in the stalled Jake Peavy trade talks, with the Rays interested in landing Brian Giles.

A wild rumor making the rounds is that the Rays might replace the Orioles as the third team to facilitate a trade that would send ace starter Jake Peavy from the Padres to the Cubs. Reportedly, the Rays would acquire veteran Brian Giles form the Padres to play right field. However, that seems doubtful, though, as Giles is a native San Diegan and has no desire to waive his no-trade clause.

The Braves and Cubs were deemed the front-runners for Peavy several weeks ago, but those deals seemed to hit an impasse. The Padres are in full sell-off mode and have made it clear they want to trade Peavy this winter, and reduce their payroll to $40 million. The Cubs appear to be the front-runner for Peavy, but may need a third team to get involved as they don't appear to have the prospects to get the deal done.

Giles (.398 OBP, 136 OPS+ in '08) is in the last year of a contract that will pay him $9 million in 2009 [Ed. note: As per the comments, Giles' salary goes to $11 million in '09 if he is traded]. Giles, who is from San Diego and has the right to veto any trade (10 year veteran, at least 5 years with current team), vetoed trades to the Red Sox and the A's last season. It was believed that he would have vetoed a move to the Rays also. It was speculated that the Padres were trying to move Giles through waivers in order to work a deal with the Rays, but that the Red Sox blocked the move by filing a claim.

Giles recently said he doesn't believe the Padres will try to trade him this winter, but might be open to being dealt during the season if San Diego is no longer in the race.

Winter meetings updates [Baseball Prospectus]
Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday[MLB Trade Rumors]
Olney: A's Nearly Acquired Giles [MLB Trade Rumors]
Towers Finds Third Team For Cubs-Peavy Deal? [MLB Trade Rumors]
Giles expects to start next season with Padres despite the rumors [San Diego Union-Tribune]

THE GOOD: Andy Sonnanstine was the hard-luck loser, shutting out the M's for 7 innings before allowing a run in the 8th. At one point he retired 17-straight batters, a team record...Rays batters that led-off an inning were on base 4 times in a row at one point.

THE BAD: Dan Wheeler. After throwing 3 straight fastballs, Wheeler tried to sneak a 1-2 slider past a red-hot Raul Ibanez. Ibanez had 7 home runs in the 21 games prior to last night. Throwing a slider there is lose-lose for Wheeler. Ibanez is a lefty, pull-hitter with an open stance. Even if the slider bites and is down-and-in, it will be right in Ibanez' power-zone. For those familiar with Ted Williams' "The Science of Hitting", that is where the red balls would be for Ibanez and he would likely fire that down the right-field line for a double. And if the slider hangs as it did last night? Well, we like to call those 400-foot strikes. Game over...Despite the success of the batters leading off innings, only 1 of those runners scored and the team was 0-8 with runners in scoring position and grounded into 2 double-plays. The biggest blow was the 9th inning with the score tied 1-1 and Evan Longoria on 3rd with only 1 out. Cliff Floyd and Dioner Navarro struck out to end the threat.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number to make the playoffs is 44.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• If you missed our announcement yesterday afternoon, the Rays traded a PTBNL for Chad Bradford, a submarine pitcher from the O's...And soon, we will all learn the answer to the age-old question: Does Chad Bradford get rug burns on his knuckles when he pitches on artificial turf? Also, some of you may remember Bradford from the book "Moneyball", by Michael Lewis. Bradford was one of the players featured in that book. [Rays Index]
  
• Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Padres tried to move Brian Giles through waivers in order to trade him to the Rays. The Red Sox blocked the move by putting in a claim on Giles and now the Sox and Padres are working on a trade to send Giles to Boston. [Fox Sports]
• Evan Longoria, who was hit on the wrist with a pitch, had X-Rays return negative. He says he is "OK". [The Heater]
• Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald breaks down the race in the AL East with a detailed look at each team. [Boston Herald]
  
• A Red Sox blog breaks down the remaining schedule for the Sox and the Rays and predicts the Rays to win the division by one game. [Fire Brand of the American League]
  

Jeff Moore thinks the San Diego Padres should trade Brian Giles to a team that needs a right fielder and a leadoff hitter. Jeff Moore thinks that the Tampa Bay Rays make a perfect trade partner.

Now 37, Giles is no longer a power threat, but he has emerged as an excellent leadoff hitter. Unfortunately, he is still paid like a power hitter, with his 2008 salary sitting at $9 million, and another $3 million required to buy him out after the season to avoid another $9M for 2009...The Rays' current right-field situation consists primarily of the recently acquired Gabe Gross (2008 OPS of .688), Eric Hinske and Johnny Gomes (who should be a DH) [RI-Gomes has only started 3 games in RF in '08]. Their leadoff hitter in all but two games this season has been second baseman Akinori Iwamura (2008 OBP of .339). The Rays could use help in both spots.

Interesting. you got our attention. Now what does Mr. Moore think the Rays should give up for Giles?

Rays get: Brian Giles. His 2008 buyout paid by Padres if activated by the Rays ($3 million).

Padres get: Jeff Niemann, Eric Hinske and Desmond Jennings.

This is the kind of crap that is generated when somebody knows very little about the team he is writing about.

Would the Rays trade for a player and add payroll if they thought it would improve the club and help in a playoff push? YES.

Are they going to add $6 million in prorated salary for a player (Eric Hinske) that actually has a lower OPS (.831) than Eric Hinske (.847) this season (not to mention Hinske is only being paid $800K this season)? NO

Are they also going to mortgage part of the future by trading TWO Top-100 prospects (Jeff Niemann and Desmond Jennings) for a player that is a free agent at the end of the season? NO

Giles is an interesting player. The Rays might actually be a better team with him at the top of the order. But this is the type of move that other teams make and then regret 96.4% of the time. Andrew Friedman and Co. have gotten the Rays to their current position by NOT making silly desperation moves like this. Just because the Rays are suddenly one of the better teams in baseball, does not mean they are going to deviate from the plan that got them there.

Padres Giles could cure what ails Rays [Fox Sports]