Patrick Reusse discusses the Rays trading Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, as part of a drive to reduce Tampa Bay’s payroll as they try to get a new stadium:

I was talking to Marc Topkin, the Rays reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, on Monday and he said the front office was being asked to reduce the payroll from the high 70s in millions to the mid-60s.

Mainly, I wanted to ask Topkin about the Twins’ chance to acquire starting pitcher Chris Archer. Topkin’s answer was it was highly unlikely Archer would be traded – that a package including Max Kepler, Nick Gordon and a top pitching prospect would not be enough.

His message was that if the Twins wanted a starter from the Rays, the one they could get was Jake Odorizzi.

And that’s what happened on Saturday night:

First, the Rays designated for assignment Chris Dickerson, an All-Star in 2017, rather than pay his $5.95 million salary. They brought in C.J. Cron ($2.3 million) from the Angels to take his place, and hope to trade Dickerson in the next 10 days.

As the smattering of Rays followers in Tampa Bay were digesting that, the word got out around 9:45 p.m. Eastern that the Twins had acquired Odorizzi from the Rays, and did so by surrendering their fourth best shortstop prospect in 21-year-old Jermaine Palacios.

Palacios, in the low minors, did a great job of hitting for average and getting on base. In his best years, Odorizzi shows very good control, a Hallmark of Twins pitching for a long time.

As for the Rays, I don’t know if they are trying to drive attendance down further so they can blame the stadium, or if they are saving for costs associated with a new park. It might be both.

Update: The player mentioned in the quote should be Corey Dickerson.