…and this is why it’s important to know who’s out of options on any given team. David Price, last year’s play-off hero and this year’s fantasy wet-dream, has been sent down.

Maybe it’s because Price’s change-up needs work, or maybe it’s due to his grand total of 19 professional starts. What makes the most sense is that Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel are out of options.

If you option Niemann or Hammel to the minors, they’re gone faster than David Price’s fast-ball. There’s maybe 5 teams that wouldn’t be able to roster either of those two.

Optioning Price to the minors at the very least, buys the Rays time.  It buys them time for a trade, and it buys them time for an injury.  Injuries happen, and it’s not like Scott Kazmir is the picture of health. Niemann, who’s almost twice times the size of Kazmir, is an injury waiting to happen as well.

Price will be back up, it’s just a matter of time.

Analysis Time:

David Price:

In the short term, Price’s value goes down.  I have trouble believing that Price is in the Minors for more than a month unless he experiences some growing pains. I understand the Rays’ concern with Price, as a full major league season may just be too much, too soon.

Did anyone think that Price would get to 200 IP? It was tantalizing to look at his stats and adjust them for 200IP, but did you really think it was going to happen?

Price doesn’t need to work on his change-up, or his make-up.  He just needs to pitch professionally. Price needs to learn how to limit his pitches, as many strike-out pitchers often need to learn.  While it’s nice to notch a strike-out per inning, it’s going to take a minimum 5 or 6 pitches per strike-out.  Price can save himself quite a few pitches by throwing his ridiculous fastball-slider combo in *hittable* but not *crushable* locations.  Use your infield young man.

I’ll still stick with 140-150 IP for Price.

Niemann and Hammel:

Niemann has the upside and the downside. He was drafted 4th overall out of Rice in the 2004 first year player draft.  He hasn’t lived up to the hype, as his career has been side-tracked by injuries almost yearly. Niemann’s got the stuff, and has been improving throughout Spring Training.

Niemann may become rosterable at some point, for a 3 or 4 starts at a time.  That’s if he manages to snag the job away from Hammel.

Hammel’s boring, and while he’s a good pitcher that any team could use — he’s not a fantasy pitcher.  He’s got a solid arsenal, and he knows how to use it, but he’ll always be average.  Unless you’re in New York, Boston, or Chicago, fifth starters are normally below average, obviously.

Even if Hammel snags the starting gig, and puts up 2 or 3 great starts; I wouldn’t roster him.  Average players put up average stats in most cases. Great stats become average stats by adding, you guessed it, awful stats.

Conclusion

Some people may assume Price will be kept down for a while, I disagree.  The Rays have so much pitching depth, talented pitching depth, in their minor league system that Hammel is really only needed for a year.

With the NCAA tournament going on, and Michigan State doing their thing; I can’t help but be reminded of Tom Izzo’s use of Morris Peterson.  Peterson was obviously the best player on that MSU squad, but he didn’t start.  Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell would do their thing, and when you needed a shot in the arm – BAM! – In comes Mo-Pete, and boy did it work.

Was that really 9 years ago?

If the Rays start out slow, which is a definite possibility, they’ve got their shot in the arm.

Price is just an injury or a trade away and if the Rays are going to option either Niemann or Hammel, they’re going to do it as early as possible.  If Niemann starts slowly, and is essentially useless, the Rays are going to want to force the hand of whomever nabs him off waivers. A lot of teams will want Niemann on their roster, but whether or not they can keep him on the roster the entire year is a different story.

The Rays are in a Win – Win.  If Hammel and Niemann play well, they’ve increased their stock and should be able to shop them fairly easily.  If they play terribly, they’ll probably return to Tampa at some point during the year.

There’s probably a 75 percent shot that Price returns due to an injury, and a 20 percent shot of a return due to trade.  Throw in another 5 percent shot of either Hammel or Niemann going on waivers, and we’re good to go.

Thank you very much mlbtraderumors, this means a lot. I’ll give you all the credit in the world for doing the work that I couldn’t bring myself to do:

Players that are out of options, and under 5 years MLB-service:

The full url: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/02/out-of-options.html

Athletics
Mike Wuertz, Santiago Casilla, Rob Bowen

Braves
Josh Anderson, Blaine Boyer, Anthony Lerew, Phil Stockman

Brewers
Tony Gwynn Jr.

Cardinals
Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick

Cubs
Angel Guzman, Chad Gaudin, Joey Gathright

Dodgers
Hong-Chih Kuo, Delwyn Young

Giants
Travis Ishikawa, Fred Lewis, Nate Schierholtz

Indians
Andy Marte, Anthony Reyes

Mariners
Ronny Cedeno, Franklin Gutierrez, Mike Morse, Wladimir Balentien, David Aardsma

Marlins
Robert Andino, Leo Nunez

Mets
Brian Stokes

Nationals
Joel Hanrahan

Orioles
David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dennis Sarfate, Scott Moore, Felix Pie, Jeremy Guthrie, Rich Hill

Padres
Cha Seung Baek

Pirates
Phil Dumatrait, Sean Burnett, Craig Hansen, Tyler Yates, Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss

Rangers
Joaquin Benoit, Marlon Byrd, Nelson Cruz, Frank Francisco, Josh Rupe, Dustin Nippert

Rays
Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel, Lance Cormier, Grant Balfour, Gabe Gross, Willy Aybar

Reds
Jeff Keppinger

Red Sox
Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, Wes Littleton, George Kottaras

Rockies
Jeff Baker, Clint Barmes, Jorge de la Rosa

Royals
Esteban German, Ross Gload, Tony Pena Jr.

Tigers
Bobby Seay, Edwin Jackson, Macay McBride, Ramon Santiago, Mike Hessman, Marcus Thames

Twins
Boof Bonser, Philip Humber

White Sox
Jerry Owens, Gavin Floyd, Wilson Betemit

Yankees
Melky Cabrera

So, how does this impact a fantasy squad?

This information is generally most useful when dealing with “1-category” guys.  If Player X plays, he’ll steal bases. If Player Z pitches, he’ll get strike-outs.  A talented player being out of options generally makes sure he gets more than a fair shot of playing, and therefore stealing bases or striking batters out.

A Quick Glance at the Notables:

Rich Hill should be interesting, although if he does fail — he might clear waivers. The Orioles also snagged Felix Pie from the Cubs — If Pie’s on your sleeper list, it’s just an extra blanket of security.

Mike Wuertz of the Athletics came over from the Cubs.

Josh Anderson of the Braves has speed and could steal 30+ bases if he snags the CF job.

Philip Humber used to have boat-loads of potential, or hype?

Anthony Reyes, or *gasp* Andy Marte were both once top-prospects.

Andy LaRoche is here to stay, but i’ll list him anyways. He’s also one of my favourite sleepers. Same goes for Nelson Cruz of the Rangers.

Everyone listed under the Cubs.

Anyways, there’s a quick glance.