The player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach trade with Cleveland apparently won’t be named until Monday.
When the teams made the trade Dec. 1, the Indians said the player “must be selected on or before Dec. 20.” Word is the Indians made their selection from a list of two, so it’s just a matter of the teams notifying the player and making the announcement.
RHP Mitch Talbot appears a good possibility. An Indians.com report also mentioned Talbot, speculating the two players on the Indians list were Talbot and Class A RHP Joseph Cruz.
Indians GM Mark Shapiro said at the time of the deal the player they were getting could make their 25-man roster, which would be a further indication it could be Talbot, who was acquired from Houston in the Aubrey Huff trade but has spent most of his time at Triple-A.
Talbot is out of options, so the Rays would have to clear him through waivers and risk losing him before they could send him to the minors if he doesn’t make their team. INF Elliot Johnson is in a similar situation.
ALSO: RHP Kelvim Escobar, a free agent of interest to Rays, made his winter ball debut in Venezuela, working 1 IP, 0 H, 1BB, 1 K, and hitting 92 mph, according to a Twitter post by journalist Efrain Zavarce.
Thomas Gemkow is the editor-in-chief of TampaBayRaysFan.com. Founded in January of 2009, TampaBayRaysFan.com is a compilation of all the best of the Rays, from across the web. The website can be followed on Twitter
