Rays May Open Checkbooks

I'm not sure it's the biggest news in the world, but the Rays have made the announcement that they'll be buyers this summer as the playoff hunt heats up. Good summary from the Trib's Joe Henderson today.

I happen to think Cliff Lee (and the roughly $4M he's owed for the rest of the season) will be going elsewhere, but there are still plenty of good veterans the Rays could consider adding for the playoff push.

If nothing else, Stu Sternberg's Tuesday announcement (as long as he backs it up) is a significant olive branch to Tampa Bay after his stadium announcement last month. If says, "I'm willing to spend to make you a winning team, Tampa Bay...hope you can do the same for us."

But legendary Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo paints a different picture:

Sternberg, who has been trying to get a new stadium in vain so far, left plenty of outs in his statement. He said the team would try to improve "by any means necessary," but also indicated that money could be an "impediment," and that whatever the team does now has to be weighed against the future. One can interpret all that any way one chooses, but to this reporter it means, "OK, if we get Cliff Lee, we’re not going to re-sign Carl Crawford."

No jury will be necessary for this verdict...the answers will be evident through the team's actions this summer, fall, and winter.