Sports: Trachsel really needs to be traded, or not

Trachsel really needs to be traded, or not

By MARC TOPKIN

The Devil Rays don't play another home game until Aug. 1, the day after the non-waiver trade deadline. You wonder -- in between breathless Buccaneers training camp updates -- what the team will look like when it returns.

General manager Chuck LaMar makes it sound as if he really is serious about making a significant trade, or even several, and that it won't be for lack of trying. But there's always the proviso that it has to be the right deal -- and the accompanying skepticism if there truly ever will be the right deal.

There are rumors of interest in Roberto Hernandez, Rick White and, especially, Jim Mecir. There is, once again, talk the Yankees want Jose Canseco. Mike DiFelice or John Flaherty might help some teams, as could Gerald Williams or Mark Guthrie.

But the one player it seems the Rays have to trade is Steve Trachsel.

That's nothing against Trachsel, or the job he has done, which is considerably better than his 6-9 record reflects.

It just makes sense.

The Rays aren't going anywhere this season, and every contender this side of Seattle needs more pitching. Trachsel isn't signed for next season, and likely would warrant a multiyear contract at around $6-million per. With $15-million tied up in injured pitchers Wilson Alvarez and Juan Guzman, the Rays probably can't afford -- nor would they want -- another high-end, middle-of-the-rotation pitcher.

And there is the small matter of Trachsel's contract. The Rays signed him for the bargain salary of $1-million, but with the opportunity for him to earn up to $4.5-million more through incentives based on starts and innings pitched. That bill is about to come due.

Trachsel has made 21 starts and pitched 126 innings with two more outings scheduled on this trip. At that rate the bonuses -- in the amazing-how-that-works category -- will kick in shortly after the deadline.

Trachsel gets $250,000 for making start No. 25, $250,000 for No. 27, then $500,000 each for Nos. 29, 31 and 33. The innings incentives follow a parallel track -- $250,000 at the 160-, 170- and 180-inning marks, and $500,000 at 190, 200 and 210.

And all those who think Vince Naimoli will pay Trachsel $1-million just to start a meaningless game in September, the line for free Super Bowl tickets forms to the left.

Technically, the Rays would have to pay the proportionate percentage of those bonuses even if they trade Trachsel. But responsibility for that money can be included in a deal, which makes a trade even more logical -- though it lessens what the Rays could fairly expect in return.

Trachsel, by the way, understands all this. It's just that after five years with the Cubs and hearing his name bandied about every July, he is somewhat immune to all the chatter.

"For the most part, I just dismiss it," he said. "I've been told there's a nice long list of teams interested. But it's happened so many times it's funny to see what people come up with."

Basically, Trachsel amuses himself with the situation. He'll joke with his teammates that scouts from a certain organization are in the stands that day, and more than once when someone says, "See ya tomorrow," he'll reply, "Maybe."

The reality is Trachsel, like everyone else, is waiting to see what happens. If the Rays want to re-sign him, that'd be great. If they trade him to a contender, that'd be okay, too.

"I wouldn't be shocked," Trachsel said. "But at the same time, I'm not expecting it."

ALUMNI UPDATE: A big part of the White Sox's stunning success has been the play of former Ray Herbert Perry, whom they claimed in April. "I don't know where to begin," second baseman Ray Durham said. "He's been our unsung hero. He's had some huge games for us. He's played exceptional defense and he's gotten the hits when we needed them. He's been tremendous for our ballclub. He was a great pickup for us." . . . The A's are supposedly pursuing ex-Ray Rolando Arrojo from Colorado with the idea of making him a setup man to closer Jason Isringhausen.

MINOR MATTER: While it seems sudden the Rays are pulling their minor-league team out of St. Petersburg, the idea has been kicking around for a while. "When we drafted the territory from the owners of the club we bought the club as well and it was our contemplation at that time that in all likelihood we would move the club eventually," senior vice president/general counsel John Higgins said. "In essence we're simply carrying forward our plans that were in place very much from the start. . . . We kept the team there probably longer than a lot of people expected us to."