The Rays announced Friday that they’ve designated catcher Nick Ciuffo for assignment. His 40-man spot will go to top prospect Brendan McKay, whose previously reported promotion to the Majors is now official. Tampa Bay also reinstated lefty Jose Alvarado from the restricted list and recalled Casey Sadler from Triple-A Durham. Lefty Jalen Beeks and infielder Mike Brosseau were optioned to Durham in a pair of corresponding moves.
The 24-year-old Ciuffo was a first-round pick back in 2013 but has yet to live up to the potential that came along with that draft billing. His DFA will come with somewhat atypical circumstances, as Ciuffo is on the injured list in the minor leagues after undergoing thumb surgery that was expected to sideline him for eight to ten weeks. There’s still another four to six weeks to go on that projected recovery time. Because Ciuffo is on the IL, he can’t be outrighted, which means the Rays will likely release him and then hope to re-sign him to a new minor league contract. That’s a fairly common outcome in the rare instances that an injured minor league player is designated for assignment.
In 134 plate appearances with Durham this year, Ciuffo batted .228/.276/.350. He’s posted a .529 OPS in a tiny sample of 50 big league plate appearances and is a career .250/.292/.369 hitter in 370 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level.
Alvarado, also 24, was on the restricted list after stepping away from the club for family reasons. He’s arguably Tampa Bay’s best reliever, having posted a 2.85 ERA (2.50 FIP) with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 117 innings since making his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 2017.
The 25-year-old Beeks has been excellent for the Rays in 2019, serving primarily as a followup pitcher to frequent opener Ryne Stanek. In 61 1/3 innings, Beeks has a 2.79 ERA (3.48 FIP) with 7.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Despite that strong performance, Beeks is a casualty of yesterday’s 18-inning marathon win over the Twins. Beeks pitched 3 1/3 innings yesterday and wouldn’t have been available for a couple of days. The Rays, in need of fresh arms, sent him down for some additional depth, but it’s likely that Beeks will be back once the 10-day minimum length of his optional assignment has been met.
I’m surprised he was even able to make it to the big leagues with the minor league numbers he has put up.
at the time they were very thin on catchers
Why was Beeks demoted? He was pitching pretty well this season
18-inning game yesterday. Need fresh arms. He’ll be back probably as soon as the 10-day minimum is up (or sooner if they need to put someone on the IL).
Ah I should have realized that. Thanks Steve!
Did you read the article?
When I read the article and posted this comment, the section about Beeks wasn’t included, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.
Why is Brosseau sent down when Wendle can’t even hit his weight?
Wendle’s actually been hitting better the past few games, and there’s no comparison between him and Brosseau defensively. Wendle is at least average (sometimes better) everywhere; Brosseau, is, well, not.
Another terrible and wasted 1st round pick by the Rays. All of the momentum after their amazing 2008 run came to a complete halt after they ran out of cheap, young and controlled talent. It was easy when they were picking in the top 5 every year, which is who was a big part of their magical 2008 season, either through direct contribution or via trade. Then the Rays had a string of 1st round picks that ended up being about as bad as you can get from 2008-2016 (outside of Blake Snell of course in 2011, however all of their other top picks that year were a big bust!). I was hoping 2017 was the start of a turnaround for them in their draft strategy and overhaul of their scouting department after picking McKay and Liberatore in back-to-back drafts, however this year they got Greg Jones who reminds me of many of their prior busts aka “great athletes” with potential and can’t hit a lick!!
Well now they should hire you!
They should, I bring a lot to the table. And I interned with them my last semester of college and they offered me a job after I graduated. I turned them down and went to law school instead. I’m happy with my choice as an attorney but still love the Rays and want them to do well that’s all.