The Rays are set to welcome back a pair of infielders in the coming days. Rays manager Kevin Cash told Juan Toribio of MLB.com that third baseman Matt Duffy is poised to come off the injured list in next week’s series against Boston, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Not far behind, it seems, is utilityman Daniel Robertson, who will kick off a minor-league rehab assignment in the High-A Florida State League tomorrow, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
This will mark Duffy’s season debut, as he’s been sidelined by a hamstring strain from the outset. The 28-year-old was Tampa’s preferred option at the hot corner in 2018. Despite hitting only four home runs and slugging .366, Duffy was worth a solid-average 2.4 fWAR on the strength of a high-contact approach and plus metrics at the hot corner (at least in the eyes of UZR). Over four MLB seasons, Duffy sports a career .285/.337/.385 slash (102 wRC+) with above-average defense at third base.
Robertson, who has been out since June 22 with right knee inflammation, was even better than Duffy in 2018, although his offensive output has cratered this season. As a part-time player last year, the former A’s prospect slashed .262/.382/.415 while logging time at all three infield positions. His batted ball metrics never quite backed up that level of production, but the Rays likely still anticipated at least average output at the plate from the 25 year-old moving forward.
Instead, his power has cratered, partially because his already-high ground ball rate has jumped six points from last season. The result: a .202/.311/.281 slash, translating to a 68 wRC+. Nevertheless, there’s room for some optimism about a return to form. Robertson’s elite plate discipline seems to be intact, he’s actually making more contact than last season despite a curious uptick in strikeouts, and his average exit velocity, per Statcast, hasn’t changed.
Things are a little less fortunate for AL Rookie of the Year candidate Brandon Lowe. Topkin tweets that Lowe’s bruised right shin, sustained when he fouled a ball off his leg, continues to impede his lateral quickness on fielding drills, meaning “it will still be awhile before he’s back,” as Topkin puts it. This is the second time in a week we’ve heard frustration with the 25-year-old’s recovery process. The Rays, who have lost five straight and now sit two games back in the AL Wild Card race, could certainly use Lowe in the lineup, as the second baseman sports a strong .276/.339/.523 slash.
In the interim, Lowe’s injury likely means more playing time for Duffy, who seems to have been squeezed out at third base by the club’s offseason acquisition of Yandy Diaz, and hot-hitting rookie Michael Brousseau. Joey Wendle has continued to log action at the keystone in Lowe’s absence, as well, but he’s come nowhere close to repeating his solid 2018 production and could see his playing time dwindle as the club’s infield mix gets increasingly crowded.
Wander Franco makes Adames a trade candidate for pitching, no? Adames would be a good fit in Cincinnati once Iglesias’ tenure is over. I haven’t really looked into that too much though
Franco is in A-ball so he doesn’t impact anyone’s tradeability.
Adames has good defensive numbers but he’s not hitting at all. Is his defense really all that good? How about Franco for Story.
Spinach, Franco has the potential to be Francisco Lindor 2.0… he’s not being traded for Story.
Franco is 18, so maybe 3 years from now Adames will be a trade candidate.
Franco will be in the majors next year if he continues hitting and stays healthy
Franco is expected to be a fast mover … up maybe by the end of next season.
It was fun while it lasted, Tampa.
The Rays aren’t going anywhere. Once the rosters expand, they’ll have so much help. If they can take care of their soft schedule (minus Boston) through August, they’re going to be sitting pretty for a hopeful return of Glasnow, Alvarado, Lowe and a slew of bullpen arms.
Tampa is fading and unwilling to deal from the deepest AL system to add help while the trot out these versatile infield options that don’t really hit. Team lacks power and is carrying dead weight at catcher, getting marginal production out of 1st and SS. Call me cynical that Matt Duffy is going to fix their offensive issues and the bullpen plus rotation have regressed mightily. Specifically, last years CY Young winner looks like a shell of his 2018 self.
Rays are done. Look money matters – your bench of inexperienced players waste at bats and bringing up kids from triple it’s more at bats wasted. Sometimes get lucky for a stretch. Injuries plague you and your a dead team in majors. Other teams bring in 10 yr vets with 4-12mm per year on their bench. It matters and it adds up. Bullpen and depth – mlb hopes a couple of small market teams get lucky each year and make the playoffs but it’s rigged for the large markets. Bullpen cannot recover and it’s too late to make a big difference but what’s important the rays sack 50mm in revenue sharing to pay for their down payment to a city that gift a new stadium in a 3-4 years.