Third Basemen Out for Blood

Last year it was Travis Shaw; a third baseman traded from his old team for practically nothing due to lack of faith, and becoming a fixture in his new city, right when everyone counted him out. Shaw has been lights-out in Milwaukee, and has been one of the main figures in the revival of this Brewers team.

This year...Matt Duffy is attempting to do what Shaw did. Matt Duffy was traded to Tampa Bay two years ago, in exchange for Matt Moore (and that certainly went well for him). The Giants were relying on Duffy as their third-baseman, but felt like they could survive without him, and...they sort of have? We're back to Pablo Sandoval covering third for the Giants, so this essentially put them back further than they were before the trade.

Duffy, meanwhile, after taking a season to recover from injuries, is hitting over .300, is covering third base after the departure of Evan Longoria (and that certainly went well for him), and is helping the most unlikely competitor squeeze over .500 at the top of the second half of the season.

Duffy gives the Rays what they've been needing for a while- someone well-rounded, who can play good defense, hit for average, and stay healthy. Kevin Kiermaier has turned out to be less reliable in the latter division, and Mallex Smith isn't as well-rounded as the Rays would like. So, that means Matt Duffy has to lead by example.

He picked the perfect year to do it- Joey Wendle, Daniel Robertson and Jake Bauers are all playing in the majors this year, and are expected to be the foundation for the next Rays dynasty. And Duffy has been the leadership figure for them all. It's been illuminated that some of the contract-players, like Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Adeiny Hechavarria, aren't going to last very long (and Span's already gone), and they'll only be there until they get the call-ups, or bigger contracts, that they need. And with the unusual strength of the Rays' pitching, and the return of Duffy's former teammate Sergio Romo in the ninth, it's looking like the Rays might be a sleeper pick over the next few months.

I don't think they're ready for the playoffs yet (and with the Yankees and Mariners covering the WC spots, and the A's chain them, they won't have room this year), but they could definitely trip up some teams that want to compete. They could be very dangerous down the line, and they could challenge the Yankees and Red Sox next year.

Coming Tomorrow- Another Florida team trying to rebuild. This one's....not so lucky.