And over 718 career MLB PAs, his OPS is .654 (w/a .287 OBP). Take out the 13 PAs that led to a 1.021 OPS in his first season, & the career OPS is .647. Even just in Rickie's past two seasons, his OPS is .703 with a .320 OBP. The money owed to Rickie isn't going to get freed up by cutting him, & Velez wouldn't be an upgrade in production. I get the positional flexibility point, but for me that's already covered by Bianchi. the money is a non-factor, even trading Weeks they'll have to eat some/most of that contract. so why worry about the contract? Velez went 4/5 last night, up to .474 AVG. yes, maybe his career numbers are not great, but he's got a hot bat, if there was a 40-man spot to give, he should get it (unfortunately thats not going to happen);