Rays Should Trade for Lidge

If you have seen the Rays you know that the bullpen is absolutely horrible and needs to be addressed for this team to compete. Brad Lidge has been demoted in Houston and his stock can't get much lower than it is right now. Last year Francisco Cordero, a great closer for sometime, had issues and was demoted in favor of Akinori Otsuka and was subsequently traded to Millwaukee. Cordero was named the closer and has been pretty close to lights out for the Brew Crew and has returned to form. Closing baseball games is funny business and sometimes a change of scenery and teams they go against can do wonders for a closer. The Rays can look to when they got Joe Borowski and he was lights out for months after switching leagues and helped this pen look respectable.

The St. Pete times is reporting the Astros are interested in JP Howell, Andy Sonnestine, Rocco Baldelli, Jason Hammel and Sean Riggans. The Rays should look at moving Riggans and one of the young starters, preferably Hammel, for Lidge. The Rays do not need Riggans with Navarro and Paul on the Roster. Also, with Talbot, Niemann, Howell, Sonnestine, Hammel, Davis pitching so well, they can afford to combine one of them with Riggans to gain Lidge. Adding Lidge to Reyes would immdiately upgrade the pen and lead to more wins. Also, don't forget who our pitching coach is, former Astro Pitching Coach Jim Hickey, who had Lidge when he was dominant. The Rays should go out and make this deal and reunite Lidge with Hickey and give Lidge a change of scenery that may bring him back to his previous form. Lidge has not lost the physical tools if you watch him pitch, he just is lost mentally. Give Lidge a new place and less pressure and he will return to form and give this team what it has lacked the entire 10 years it has been in existence, a great closer.