The Truth Behind the Rays Fire Sale

And now we know the truth behind that Tampa Bay Rays fire sale that I was attacked on Twitter about when I said there was going to be a fire sale. About 20 players traded later, I exaggerate a tad, or let go the Rays are in the midst of a fire sale and now we may know why.

The St. Petersburg City Council rejected a deal between the Rays and the city’s Mayor for a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area. The council voted 5-3 to reject the deal after the two sides reached an agreement earlier in the week. The exact quote from Mayor Rick Kriseman was:

"St. Petersburg — and the entire Tampa Bay region — stands to lose our Major League Baseball team and receive nothing in return. This is an unfortunate outcome for St. Petersburg's taxpayers and every fan of the Rays."

The Rays are under lease with the city through the 2027 season and the plan has a payment plan established for breaking the lease starting at $4 million through 2018. The payments would have decreased to $3 million per season from 2019-2022 and $2 million from 2023-2026. Rays President Brian Auld was disappointed with the decision and released this statement, although he didn’t need to because the fire sale is all the statement we need…. Tampa is pissed and the fans are going to pay for it.

"We are obviously disappointed with the city council's decision today," Auld said. "Our goal was to begin a collaborative, exploratory process in our region to determine the best location for a next generation ballpark. The council has instead decided that the status quo is what is in the best interest of the citizens of St. Petersburg."