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Rays Release Leslie Anderson

By Steve Adams | December 27, 2013 at 12:52pm CDT

The Rays have released first baseman Leslie Anderson so that he can pursue an opportunity to play in Asia, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

Tampa Bay signed Anderson after he defected from Cuba prior to the 2010 season, giving him a four-year deal worth $3.75MM. Anderson's bat never fully took off in the minor leagues, however, and he found himself designated for assignment prior to the 2011 campaign. In 1599 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, the now-31-year-old Anderson owns a .295/.348/.439 batting line.

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36 comments
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Comments

  1. Edictor27

    7 years ago

    His Triple A stats looks pretty good, wonder why he didn’t get a september callup at least

    Like
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    • dc21892

      7 years ago

      Wondering the same thing.

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    • Daniel Franklin

      7 years ago

      They were too busy letting Matt Joyce try to hit a middle schooler’s weight in 69 appearances than to see if a guy who’s proven he can hit AAA get a shot.

      Like
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      • tbslim

        7 years ago

        I’ve submitted your name to Andrew Friedman for a vacant Asst. General Manager position. Good luck.

        Like
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        • Daniel Franklin

          7 years ago

          Thanks, I graduate in February, would be a great opportunity for me :)

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      • TheRealRyan

        7 years ago

        You mean the same Matt Joyce who is 3 years younger, has a higher career MLB OPS than Anderson does in the minors, is an above average baserunner and not terrible in the COF. That’s the guy you think should lose his roster spot to Anderson? Anderson is a former professional, who at 31 yo and in his third try at AAA, put up ok numbers as a utility player. Players like him are a dime a dozen. The only reason the Rays didn’t cut him earlier is they were already on the hook for his salary.

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        • Daniel Franklin

          7 years ago

          Who said anything about losing a roster spot?? Anderson has played well enough for 3 years in AAA to warrant at LEAST one call up. Perhaps you should look at what coaches normally do when one of their players is in a month long slump.

          Anderson’s versatility as a utility player actually works against your argument. You’re telling me you couldn’t find ANY place to play him at all for an entire month? They sent up to the plate 7 batters who ALL hit under .212 in September a total of 357 times. 357 missed opportunities…

          If they were already on the hook for his salary, as you say, then there is absolutely no harm in bringing him up, unless he gets a direct bonus for making it the Bigs. That OPS difference you mentioned is only .006, and before I even allow you to rebut, Joyce’s MLB OPS is only .031 lower than his minors OPS; not a large drop off there. And it’s not like OPS is the only thing that matters.

          Again, it’s about not giving a deserved opportunity.

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          • TheRealRyan

            7 years ago

            The International league is full of AAAA players like Anderson. Players like Chris Colabello, Luis Jimenez and Ivan De Jesus don’t get their shots because they’re not that good. If the Rays thought for a second that they could call up Anderson to help this year and not hurt the team moving forward, they would have immediately. You referenced Joyce’s AAA numbers, but he did that at 23 and 24. Not at age 31 in his fourth season at AAA. If Anderson had put these numbers up at age 28 or 29, in his first real taste of that level, I would be all for giving him a chance. If it takes him 4 years to finally put a decent season at age 31, he isn’t good enough to help us.

            The real person who should have a gripe about not being called up is Vince Belnome. He had an even better season than Anderson, is still relatively young at 25 and has hit at just about every stop in the minors. The problem is, the Rays don’t like to sacrifice defense and it sounds like he is a bad defender pretty much everywhere.

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            • Daniel Franklin

              7 years ago

              How on earth is Anderson a AAAA player when he’s never been given a shot in the Majors?? AAAA designation is for a player who excels in AAA but can’t seem to put it together at the top level, players like Chris Davis (during his time in Texas) and Nelson Cruz before 2008.

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    • Fenway

      7 years ago

      I was wondering the same thing

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    • tbslim

      7 years ago

      That’s a question that Rays fans have asked over the many years that Anderson took up a roster spot in Durham. I’ve always just assumed that the Rays knew more about what was behind those numbers than I did. But the fact remains, to my knowledge, he never played a single ML inning in 4 years in the Rays organization. I’m sure there’s a reason why.

      Like
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  2. Brent Nault

    7 years ago

    Hahaha…… Leslie.

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    • BeisbolJunkie

      7 years ago

      What is funny about that?

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      • Daniel Franklin

        7 years ago

        Some people don’t realize that Leslie is actually a unisex name, and not a girl’s name.

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        • Mike LaRose

          7 years ago

          I was more wondering about his last name, Anderson from Cuba wasn’t was I was expecting

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          • Jake

            7 years ago

            Yeah Leslie is less peculiar than Leslie Anderson from Cuba.

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            • Infield Fly

              7 years ago

              Not as peculiar as all that. Folks move around a good deal in the Caribbean, and historically, many people from English speaking islands have relocated to Cuba – especially folks from the nearby island of Jamaica. So names like that are really not that uncommon.

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          • veetix

            7 years ago

            Other Cubans: Teofilo Stevenson, Tony Taylor, Mike Lowell, Georg Stanford Brown.

            Like
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            • Infield Fly

              7 years ago

              A few others who come to mind are: pitcher, Aroldis Chapman, musician, Chico O’Farrill and singer, Malena Burke.

              Like
              Reply
  3. BeisbolJunkie

    7 years ago

    I thoughthe derseeved a callup. I thought they would have stronly considered him for the 1st base job, or a utility job at least. His winter ball stats were mammoth. Obviously Japanese scouts agreed too, because I just read last week that the Yomiuri Giants had made him an offer. I knew then that he would take it. I hept hoping they would give him a shot, he was def deserving for the past 2 years. Especially over Duncan & Bourgeois. Freidman said when he signed him that the most important thing was that he wanted to give him time to assimilate before bringing him up to the majors. He gave him more than enough time. I met him when he & his family 1st got to the US and of course didnt know any english, but was happy to be here. I’m sure he will do very well there, I just hate that I never got to see him in the majors in a TB uni.

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    • BeisbolJunkie

      7 years ago

      Sorry for all the typos. My screen has a crack problem, and I can’t see what I’m typing.

      Like
      Reply
  4. Brian Baker

    7 years ago

    Name sounds like he defected from the Union, not Cuba.

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    • BeisbolJunkie

      7 years ago

      I thought the same thing when I met him, I thought he made it up at first, or changed it to something american sounding after he defected, but it is his name. He played with that name is Cuba, and on the Cuban team in the ’06 & ’09 WBC.

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  5. EarlyMorningBoxscore

    7 years ago

    Well you know what they say Les is more.

    Like
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  6. Jonathan

    7 years ago

    2013/AAA
    Tim Beckahm 460 AB – 127 H – 25 2B – 44 BB – 108 K – 276 BA – 342 OBP – 729 OPS
    L. Anderson 431 AB – 126 H – 28 2B – 50 BB – 58 K – 292 BA – 372 OPB – 832 OPS

    Seems like he deserved his September callup, pretty good stats to me!

    Like
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    • BeisbolJunkie

      7 years ago

      I’m sure he was wondering where his call up was too, on several occasions. Especially when they added Kiermaier.

      Like
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      • DR22

        7 years ago

        Well Kiermaier was only called up for defensive purposes. Jennings was hurt and the Rays wanted a viable backup CF for defensive replacement purposes.

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  7. RoadWarriorUSCA

    7 years ago

    Rays definately bit the bullet on this one.

    Like
    Reply
  8. BeisbolJunkie

    7 years ago

    Winter Ball Stats
    166 AB – 54 H – 12 2B – 4 HR – 29 R – 27 RBI – 25 BB – 18 K – .325 BA – .411 OBP – .881 OBP – 2 SB – 4 IBB

    Like
    Reply
  9. Douglas McGowan

    7 years ago

    Seriously people, Dan Johnson absolutely thrashed AAA for TB, and aside from a few historically clutch homeruns he was far from productive at the major league level.

    Like
    Reply
    • veetix

      7 years ago

      Leslie wishes he was far from productive at the major league level too.

      Like
      Reply
  10. Joe McHugh

    7 years ago

    He sounds like he could be a viable back up for Teixeira on the Yankees considering Teixeira’s recent injury history. The Yankees might want to take a flyer on this one. However, with their overcrowded bench already likely including Vernon Wells, Ichiro, Brendan Ryan, and Eduardo Nunez it may be difficult for him to find a spot on the roster.

    Like
    Reply
  11. pft2

    7 years ago

    That line .295/.348/.439 line is not bad in the international league which is a much tougher hitters league than the PCL. Some hitters post better numbers when they jump to MLB after languishing too long in AAA. Part of it is the ball is livelier at the MLB level. Of course, a 1Bman has to hit pretty well but a lot of teams are getting awful production at DH so he might fit there.

    Like
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  12. Jeffy25

    7 years ago

    .439 slugging percentage in AAA from a first basemen doesn’t usually warrant a call-up

    Like
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