A busy offseason for the Rays continued on Monday, as the team formally announced that it has signed free-agent outfielder Colby Rasmus to a one-year contract. The Excel Sports client will reportedly receive a $5MM guarantee on a contract that can reach $7MM in total if the built-in incentives are maxed out.
Rasmus, 30, hit just .206/.286/.355 last year for the Astros after accepting a qualifying offer following the 2015 season. He’s coming off of surgeries for a cyst in his ear as well as hip and core muscle ailments — which might help explain his fall-off. Certainly, a .257 BABIP might also have been to blame.
Houston extended the QO after Rasmus turned in an excellent year on a make-good contract. In 2015, he put up a .238/.314/.475 slash and 25 long balls over 485 plate appearances. That was the third-straight season in which Rasmus had hit at an above-average rate, and he averaged 22 dingers annually over that three-year run.
While the Rays will no doubt hope for a return to form at the plate, there’s also potentially some value to be found in Rasmus’s glove and legs. He has at times drawn strong defensive reviews, especially last year, and has typically drawn well-above-average grades on the basepaths despite the fact that he doesn’t often attempt to steal.
[RELATED: Updated Rays Depth Chart]
For Tampa Bay, Heyman notes, Rasmus will represent a power lefty bat capable of slotting in at DH, left field, and even center field on occasion. Rasmus has long carried rather hefty platoon splits, so he’s likely best suited for part-time duty. The Rays could utilize him in some form of rotation with players such as the right-handed hitting Steven Souza and Mikie Mahtook, lefties Corey Dickerson and Brad Miller, and the switch-hitting Nick Franklin. Though the regular center fielder, Kevin Kiermaier, is also a southpaw swinger, Rasmus has spent much of his career playing up the middle.
The Rays have also been connected, at least loosely, to a variety of right-handed hitters, including veteran slugger Jose Bautista. It isn’t known at this point whether adding Rasmus will preclude the club from pursuing one of the various first base/DH types still floating around on the market, but it’s certainly possible to imagine multiple acquisitions if the price is right. Tampa Bay is also still reportedly engaged with other organizations about their surplus of capable rotation arms.
The market was somewhat slow to develop for Rasmus, who never drew strong links to other organizations after Houston replaced him early on by signing Josh Reddick. With Rasmus now off the board, the top left-handed-hitting outfielders still available on the open market are Michael Saunders and Brandon Moss, each of whom ranked among MLBTR’s top 50 free agents. (Rasmus drew honorable mention consideration on that list.)
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported the connection between the sides (via Twitter), with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calling a deal close on Twitter. Heyman first reported the agreement (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Heyman added financial details (Twitter links)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Noooooooo!
And I’m not a Rays fan.
Dang. I was hoping for a reunion in St Louis. Not the greatest player, but would help with outfield depth consider what they have now.
So glad you didn’t get your wish.
Not me. Not him or his dad.
Huh?
Little shocked the Orioles weren’t after him. But the physical might have been a long shot to get a deal done.
Didn’t they mix that idea a couple years ago when Schowalter met with him to determine if he was a fit
Yes. That ship, though, sailed some time ago.
Buck realized he was a redneck Ahole who was going to be trouble in the clubhouse
Not so sure about this one…I know they wanted someone capable of backing up KK in center, but another left handed bat?? This probably means signing Joey Bats is out. Hopefully they aren’t paying more than 3-4 million for Rasmus though.
My guess is it’s a 2-year $10M incentive-laden contract possibly with an option year. Just as was the case 2 winters ago, demand for his services is modest at best.
My guess is 1 year for $5MM with incentives to make $7MM total.
Right on target. At least I nailed the AAV.
What do you guys think of the deal?
I don’t know the specifics or his health situation, but a left handed bat that provides good defense in left field with some pop is what the Rays needed. I like the idea of having players kind of rotate through the DH, with Dickerson being the main guy taking ABs there. Flexibility.
I don’t think there are going to be any lingering health issues. Once he came back from the cyst surgery he was doing fantastic, it clearly had affected him badly early in the year.
I admit I don’t know the STL back story, but he was an excellent team mate in Houston and was quiet and played his heart out. I secretly wished we would retain him, however it didn’t pan out and I think the Rays will be pleasantly surprised. Great on defense with lots of pop in his bat.
Rasmus was a slightly immature rookie on a largely veteran LaRussa team, they just didn’t quite mesh at the time. Strong bounce back candidate for the rays though, I’ve always wondered how his career would have turned out if he would have stayed in St. Louis
Thanks, nice to get a Astros fan’s insight.
No problem. I was seriously disappointed when I saw the headline earlier. I really hoped for an outside chance reunion. I just like the way the guy plays ball (at least in Houston). Quiet, all out, led by example.
It’s good to see the Rays going out into free agency but I don’t think he is really a good fit here. The Rays have enough power but need batting average and guys to get on base. Remember most of their home runs were solos last year right?
Value pickup if the price is right. Strong candidate for comeback player of the year if given playing time. Essentially replaces and empty Desmond Jennings on the depth chart. Hopefully they have him for a couple seasons ala Ramos like deal.
Unless he hits .270 with 25 homers, he has no chance of winning comeback player of the year
The 25 singers is no problem is he plays every day instead of platoons. The .270 is a stretch though. I’d expect about .245 at best unfortunately.
Comeback player will be Pablo Sandoval wt 280 16hr and 75 rbi!! Plus defence!!
I hope his weight is under 280!
Is this bigpapi4eva’s new account?
Nah this guy has always been here being the same a-hole he is. A lot of jokes on here are funny, but then jokes like this take it too far.
sometimes I think I miss his comments, but then I snap back to reality.
Are you referring to my comment? If so, it wasn’t a joke, I was serious. There is absolutely no excuse for a professional athlete to be as fat as he is. They get paid to play a sport and to be in shape. They have resources (trainers, dietricians, etc) at no cost that us common people have to pay large amounts of money for, and yet he’s still obese. It’s pathetic. He makes millions to play a sport that he used to be good at before he doubled in size.
I’m pretty sure it was about the Panda for comeback player of the year comment
I hope so, haha. I know I’m an a-hole, so maybe I’m just feeling guilty.
I wonder if the points are still being tracked for the free agent prediction contest? I know I had this one, Rasmus fits that veteran left handed bat looking for a rebound year the Rays seem to get every year from – Johnny Damon, Cliff Floyd, Sam Fuld, Carlos Pena, David Dejesus, Logan Morrison, Dan Johnson, James Loney etc.
Nice pick up by TB.
Huh? Really or a joke?
The title says Rays sign Colby Rasmus but the first sentence says they are emerging as a possibility. Is it something I’m missing or are they contradicting?
according to mlb, it’s a signing. article was probably written before it was official, the title was probably a quick edit.
I love this signing for the Rays. Excellent defender in left so Dickerson can DH, can play CF if Kiermaier goes down again, and a is a huge bounce back candidate at the plate now that the ear injury that was throwing off his balance is done with. Hope we got him for 2 years
Guys a pretty good player if price is right. Glove/speed a plus,rare for them. Good move.
Aren’t all batter capable of slotting in at DH.
Ehire Adrianza isn’t.
But it doesn’t make sense to play a crappy hitter there.
1 Year 4 million with a team option for a second year at 5 might work.
seemed like he would have made sense for Phils, and hard to believe they would have been outbid on a 1 year by Tampa, so guess they didnt want him, or holding out on Moss due to ability to play first base.
Rather the Phils go after Saunders, better numbers than Rasmus.
One year. Low risk. Not bad.
Yeah we signed yet another player who can’t hit for average. Some things never change.
lol batting average
It can as a result hurt your OBP also… of course there are other things Rasmus can bring to the table as the article noted.. but I wouldn’t discount his comment completely
If Wilson Ramos shows he’s healthy, and Rasmus rebounds for an above-average season, can the rays be a playoff team?
Too many what-ifs IMO especially when you look at their roster compared to Boston. I see them as a maybe .500 team? Better if Archer bounces back, Miller does what he did last year, Duffy comes back healthy and Rasmus is decent? I even think that may be a stretch.
Why are you comparing them to Boston only? There are these things called Wild Cards, you know
I think they can. Baltimore and Toronto will both be taking steps back and the Yankees are in a rebuild so I can see TB finishing ahead of those 3 teams. Archer, Odorizzi, Smyly, Cobb, Andriese is a very good rotation. Longo, Duffy, Forsythe, and Miller in the IF will produce a lot of runs. Rasmus, Kiermaier, Dickerson/Souza are a good group for the OF. If healthy the Rays can make some noise.
Their pythag record last year was 2 games behind the Yankees. They had an unlucky year, and a lot of injuries, they could be a dark horse team. A really good young rotation, versatile lineup and lots of power. Would like to see them give Smith a chance in LF he would give them a dimension that they lack. (As well as a crazy good defensive OF)
Meh. It must be tough being a Rays fan.
You have no idea!!!
Not really. It’s pretty difficult to replicate the insane joy a Rays fans felt in the 2008 and 2011 seasons. There was a magic there that only can be felt by enduring the ridicule and bad years before. When the Rays win their division, it feels extra special given the odds against them. Personally, being a fan of a big market powerhouse seems boring. But to each his own.
ray-men, brother (or sister. “ducksnort” could be androgynous). if we only could’ve gone all the way in ’08…and what an ending to ’11
I love being a rays fan.
But how is he at handling pop-up ads?
Awesome! He uses Mozilla Firefox and enables Ad Block Plus!
where were the Orioles on this ?
They’re still trying to figure out whether Vance Worley is an option, either as a SP or a reliever
just what they need, another low average-power hitter
I know 5 million is considered min wage in the MLB today. But man do lousy players make tons of money. Rasmus is not good.
He had a bad year, but his track record prior to that shows he is capable of performing at a higher value. Defense and experience are worth something too.
Rasmus is quite good actually, he just had a bad year because an imbalance in his ear that caused him to have ear surgery. He is upper echelon defensively and the guy has to be top 10 in exit velocity on his HRs. He will never hit .300, but he’s very much worth $5M.
Make a doctors appointment, please!
Just what the Rays need, another left-handed hitting outfielder, who’s good defensively, but can’t hit. WTF?
I know right. They should of signed Jose Bautista instead of him
This is a smart deal. He has skills, and if he showcases them, he’s going to be flipped at the deadline for something valuable. If he doesn’t, it’s not a huge economic commitment. He’s not old, he can do a bit of everything, and even last year, he still had 2.2 BWAR
Upside is the Trop will save on air conditioning with all the whiffing Colby will be doing.
Could be a steal if he regains his form….
Alex Avila could be a steal too, eh?
He should’ve signed with Philly, could’ve hit more home runs in that ballpark
go colbar
He has basically said he’d never play for St Louis. I think the feeling is mutual.
I would hope, for their sake, that Miller gets regular at bats rather than being used in this “rotation”.
Well considering rasmus doesn’t play 1b I would hope our actual 1b gets some at bats. Gonna be a tough call
Heh.
I like this deal actually
1. Forsyth 2nd
2. Dickerson LF/DH
3. Longoria 3rd
4. Miller 1st
5. Suza Jr. RF
6. Rasmus LF/DH
7. Duffy SS
8. Kiermire CF
9. Cassali/Male(until Ramos is ready)
Forsythe is gone too
I wonder if they signed his father along with him. The guy is a bag of tools!
FYI Moss and Saunders are of the board and Mahtook is traded
Do you happen to read the dates on the comments mr you’re right about everything