By Pete Williams

It’s easy to second guess, especially this time of year. What if the Tampa Bay Rays still had Edwin Jackson in the rotation? What if the struggling bullpen still had Trever Miller (ERA 1.66 in St. Louis)? What if the lineup included a cheap, passionate, lumbering white guy with passion (Jonny Gomes) instead of an overpriced, ambivalent, lumbering white guy (Pat Burrell)?

What if Scott Kazmir turns things around in Anaheim?

The Rays are hardly the first team to part with talented young players before they become too expensive. The Oakland A’s and Minnesota Twins have dealt with this dilemma most of the decade.

The difference is that the A’s and Twins would wait and lose players like Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, and Johan Santana via free agency or trade them when they were mighty close to it.

The Rays traded Edwin Jackson not because he was erratic (albeit 14-11 erratic) or because they had a logjam of starting pitching. They traded him mostly because he was arbitration eligible. The Tigers are tickled to pay him a baseball-modest $2.2 million this season and will be thrilled to go to arbitration with him this winter.

It’s true that the Rays needed a rotation spot for David Price. It’s true Andy Sonnanstine might have been their most consistent pitcher last year. It’s true they had Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel out of options in March.

It’s also true, as the Rays found this season, that you never can have enough stud young pitching.

Trever Miller is hardly a young player at 36. He made $1.6 million last season for the Rays and was willing to take a paycut to stay home in the Tampa Bay area. He all but handed the Rays a blank check and they refused. Now he’s making $500,000 for his 1.66 ERA with the Cardinals while the Rays are on the hook for Chad Bradford ($3.7 million), Troy Percival ($4 million), and Joe Nelson ($1.3 million).

Last winter, the Rays looked like they got a steal in Burrell at 2 years/$16 million. But was this really a move consistent with the organization’s philosophy of placing a premium on defense, speed, and clubhouse leadership, none of which Burrell brings?

If they wanted a slow, no-glove outfielder who could hit for power and at least bring passion to the clubhouse, couldn’t they have turned down Gomes for arbitration and brought him back for a minor league deal?

Did the Rays really give up on Kazmir? Or did they just crave “payroll flexibility?”

Yes, it’s easy to second guess this time of year. But look at any World Series team and you’ll find a general manager, like Andrew Friedman last year, who made every right move.

Look at any disappointing team, and you’ll find a few moves a GM would like to have back.

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