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MiLB Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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A player in the Yankees’ farm system has tested positive for coronavirus, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). He becomes the first known case in pro baseball. The player was quarantined Friday morning.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, all Yankees minor leaguers have been instructed to self-quarantine in their hotel rooms for the next two weeks. GM Brian Cashman told reporters including The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler that the organization has only administered one coronavirus test (this positive one) thus far. Meanwhile, the team’s minor league complex will remain closed until March 25 at the earliest.

The player involved was only on the minor-league side of Yankees’ camp this spring, Passan adds. The minor-league complex has been closed since, although that was part of the team’s plan regardless, reports Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). That the player who tested positive wasn’t in major league camp hardly means MLB is insulated from the disease, of course.

It seemed like only a matter of time before the virus spread to the affiliated ranks. The NBA quickly suspended its season once the first player tested positive this week. MLB, of course, since followed suit, and teams were already set to cease group-organized workouts at their facilities. MLB has already sent minor-leaguers home; it seems the only reason the league hasn’t done the same with players on 40-man rosters is a lack of authority to do so under the collective bargaining agreement.

MLB Teams Expected To Halt Organized Group Workouts

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MLB is set to advise teams against conducting organized group workouts at team facilities, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). Limiting mass workouts is designed to comply with health experts’ recommendations that people avoid congregating when possible to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. However, facilities are likely to remain open for individual use on a case-by-case basis, Rosenthal adds. MLB has formally sent the advisement to the clubs, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). One player has informed ESPN’s Marly Rivera that teams are indeed now set to cease all organized group workouts.

MLB is mandating that non-roster players return home if safely possible (via Sherman). Players on a team’s 40-man roster remain eligible to stay onsite at spring camps, MLB announced, citing a lack of authority to send rostered players home under the CBA. Nevertheless, even players on the 40-man roster are expected to be barred from group workouts at club facilities.

Many teams were planning to continue working together while the sport is on pause. That no longer seems it’ll be the case, at least not at team facilities. Players are still free to work out individually and organize training groups among themselves. Some will almost certainly do so. But with experts calling for everyone to practice social distancing wherever possible, MLB (wisely) determined that mass gatherings of players are simply too dangerous at this point.

Today’s development only lends further credence to yesterday’s report that the season won’t be getting underway until May at the earliest, as Sherman points out (via Twitter).

Coronavirus Plan Updates: Cardinals, Astros, Mets, Royals, Rays

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Teams have taken various approaches in the wake of the coronavirus hiatus. Some more details have emerged about how a few teams plan to handle the unpredictable situation.

  • The Cardinals had initially planned to largely disperse, with only ten to fifteen players remaining at the team’s Florida complex. It seems they’ve reversed course somewhat. Fifteen to twenty-five players will stick around for the time being, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They’ll continue to work out informally, but they unsurprisingly plan to pare back the training intensity, especially on the pitching side. Cardinals officials anticipate an eventual abbreviated “2.0 spring training,” in the words of manager Mike Shildt, that’ll last around two weeks in advance of MLB’s official regular season start date. Technically, MLB could return as soon as April 9, but it’s unlikely games will get underway until at least May.
  • The Astros will split into two groups to train, pitcher Lance McCullers announced (h/t to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Some members of the club will remain in the team’s spring complex in Florida, while others are headed back to Houston. The players plan to work out collectively.
  • Most of the Mets’ coaching staff will stay at the team’s Florida spring complex, as will many players on the team, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Newsday’s Tim Healey recently reported that most of the team would stay put.
  • As of yesterday, the Royals were holding tight at their Arizona spring facility, reports Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star. As pitcher Danny Duffy acknowledged to Worthy, the fluid situation could call for a change in plans at any time.
  • A good portion of the Rays’ roster is holding tight at the team’s spring complex for now. 30-35 players took part in an informal workout yesterday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Unlike some other clubs, Tampa has no plans to conduct any sort of team-wide vote on the matter, Topkin adds, preferring to let players decide on a case-by-case basis their preferred course of action.

MLBTR Poll: Bauer vs. Ray vs. Stroman

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Baseball’s hiatus gives us an opportunity to examine both the past and future of the sport. Yesterday, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk looked back at a potential franchise-altering trade that never materialized. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the future: specifically, the upcoming free agent class.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ran his initial 2020-21 free agent power rankings a few weeks ago. No question, Mookie Betts looks like the jewel of a position player heavy class. Yet the pitching side looks a bit muddled. Trevor Bauer, Robbie Ray and Marcus Stroman checked in alongside one another (in that order) as the three arms in Tim’s top ten. Obviously, there’s time for one to emerge as the unquestioned top starter on the market in 2020. As of now, though, which hurler do the MLBTR readers anticipate getting the top guarantee next winter, and which one would you prefer your favorite team roll the dice on?

  • Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati: For most of his career, the 29-year-old Bauer’s been a durable, mid-rotation type. He’s soaked up tons of innings, but in five of six seasons, he’s put up an ERA between 4.18 and 4.55 (with marginally better FIP’s). At his best, though, Bauer flashed a ceiling most pitchers can only dream of. In 2018, the former #3 overall pick worked to a 2.21 ERA with an elite 30.8% strikeout rate. An unsustainably low HR/FB rate meant that ERA always figured to regress somewhat, but it was still surprising to see Bauer post a league-average 4.48 mark in 2019. Bauer, of course, has expressed a desire to sign a series of one-year deals as a free agent. If he sticks to that plan, he’ll almost certainly not garner the top overall guarantee for a pitcher this offseason (or any other). But that high-risk approach is easier to espouse in theory than in practice, and Bauer recently walked back that plan a little bit. His free agency will be fascinating to follow.
  • Robbie Ray, Arizona: A bit like Bauer, the 28-year-old Ray is a tantalizing but somewhat frustrating talent. Since the start of 2017, he ranks fifth among starters (minimum 300 innings) in strikeout rate and 12th in swinging strike rate. He’s surrounded by the game’s aces on both leaderboards. Only Tyler Chatwood and Francisco Liriano have higher walk rates than Ray in that same period, though. The southpaw has never had a season with a better than average walk rate; that general inefficiency has run up some high pitch counts and helped prevent Ray from ever eclipsing 175 innings in a season. His ERA’s the past four years have varied quite a bit (4.90, 2.89, 3.93, 4.34). Teams could have different evaluations for Ray’s future, but the most likely outcome seems to be solid mid-rotation production via something of an extreme approach.
  • Marcus Stroman, Mets: Unlike his top two competitors, Stroman doesn’t generate many whiffs. The 28-year-old’s sinker is more conducive to a ground-ball heavy game. He throws strikes and has managed to avoid home runs even in the juiced ball era thanks to strong contact management. Stroman’s sinker/slider/cutter mix isn’t the four-seam/curveball combination coveted by most teams nowadays. Nevertheless, he’ll have plenty of suitors since he’s proven capable of ample success. 2018 was an injury-marred struggle, but Stroman’s put up at least 184.1 innings in three of the past four seasons and boasts a career ERA of 3.76. That’s a better track record of run prevention than either Bauer (4.04) or Ray (4.11) can boast.
  • Others: Other free agents to be (complete list of 2020-21 free agents) include Kevin Gausman, James Paxton, Alex Wood and Taijuan Walker. Between age, injuries and/or recent underperformance, it’s tough to project any of them to beat Bauer, Ray or Stroman this winter. Perhaps you’re more optimistic about someone a bit under-the-radar?

poll link for app users

poll link for app users

AL Notes: Pitchers, Mariners, Sale, Click

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Pitchers are creatures of habit, yet the indeterminate delay to the 2020 season is the biggest possible disruption to any preseason routine.  Like every team, the Mariners are trying to figure out the best way of keeping their pitchers on some type of regular throwing schedule to keep them prepared, while not really knowing when actual games will get underway.  “You don’t want to lose a whole lot of momentum. We also don’t want to build them too quickly,” manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Greg Johns and other media.  “Most guys are at three or four innings, at 50-60 pitches, so we’ll try to keep them right there with our starters.  And then we’ll ramp them up once we get closer to knowing what the for-certain Opening Day would be.  For now, we just want guys to stay active, play some catch.  You won’t see anybody throwing sides or catchers with gear on, we’re just going to try to slow it down here for the next few days.”

More from around the American League….

  • One pitcher whose routine may not be impacted by the elongated offseason is Chris Sale, as Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that “from a medical perspective, nothing really changes with” Sale’s loosely-established timeline.  “There’s uncertainty regarding his pitching status generally that we want to resolve.  We’re still going to want to resolve that,” Bloom said.  “We’re still going to want to progress him.  We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but we’re still going to work, even during this time period, without games, to get some progress and get some more definition on his status.”  A flexor strain led to Sale being shut down earlier this month, and if all is proceeding well, he should be on the verge of resuming throwing.  The delayed Opening Day could mean that Sale won’t miss any regular-season action, though naturally the Sox are taking things as carefully as possible with the ace southpaw.
  • James Click “rose from constructing an ultimate frisbee website on a whim to shepherding the Houston Astros forward,” the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome writes in a profile of the Astros’ new general manager.  Click’s pre-Houston resume included a stint as a writer and database-builder for Baseball Prospectus, which led to 14 years working in the Rays’ front office thanks to a recommendation from another new Rays intern and former BP writer in Chaim Bloom, now Boston’s chief baseball officer.  Rome’s piece is a strong look at an executive whose arrival at a GM position comes with the added challenge of trying to reconfigure the Astros after an offseason of scandal and public scorn.

Phillies Sign Venezuelan Prospect Yhoswar Garcia

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The Phillies have agreed to sign Venezuelan center fielder Yhoswar Garcia, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports (Twitter link).  The Phils have been linked to Garcia for over a year, and are reportedly set to sign the 18-year-old to a bonus worth roughly $2.5MM.

Many of the top names in the 2019-20 international class were unofficially off the board since well before the signing window opened last July 2, though Garcia’s deal has only now been finalized because he only recently become eligible.  As Badler explained in December, there was an age-related holdup since Garcia initially presented a birthdate that indicated he was a year younger than his actual age.  The issue ended up being a delay rather than an obstacle, however, and Garcia will now join Philadelphia’s organization as planned.

Known as “The Drone,” Garcia backs up that MLB-ready nickname with “plus-plus speed in center field,” Badler writes.  Garcia is 6’1″ and a relatively thin 155 pounds, though MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez figures Garcia to gain more weight as he gets older and subsequently adds power to some already-intriguing hitting ability.  Garcia “shows good instincts and is a gap hitter,” according to Sanchez, who also feels Garcia has a lot of defensive promise as a center fielder with a good throwing arm.

Rumor Retrospection: The (Would-Be) Albert Pujols/Ryan Howard Trade Of 2010

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It was exactly a decade ago today that ESPN.com’s Buster Olney dropped a bombshell on the baseball world, reporting that the Phillies had held some internal discussions within their front office about the possibility of a blockbuster deal of first basemen — Phils slugger Ryan Howard to the Cardinals for Albert Pujols.  It would have been a one-for-one trade, with both players switching uniforms with two years remaining on their current contracts.

As Olney observed in his report, the concept might well have been just an idea floated within Philadelphia’s front office, rather than an actual proposal made to the Cards.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. went a step further when asked to comment on the rumor, calling it “Lies.  That’s a lie. I don’t know who you’re talking to, but that’s a lie.”  (Olney defended his reporting two days later, calling it “confirmed information” and he knew “exactly who said what to whom, and how sturdy the intent was.”)

It was an eyebrow-raising trade rumor at the time, and though this particular swap apparently didn’t come close to being a reality, the concept of a straight-up superstar-for-superstar deal is still fascinating ten years later since such deals are so rare.  And, in this particular instance, we can judge with a decade of hindsight how a Pujols-for-Howard trade might have worked out for both the Phillies and the Cardinals.

For St. Louis, the impact is simple — they might not have won the 2011 World Series without Pujols.  2011 marked what was, incredibly, the least-impressive of Pujols’ 11 MLB seasons, as he “only” hit .299/.366/.541 with 37 home runs over 651 PA.  This performance was just the warmup for an epic postseason, as Pujols posted a 1.155 OPS over 82 PA during the Cardinals’ 18 playoff games.  Pujols’ efforts included a three-homer night in Game 3 of the World Series, putting him alongside Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only men (Pablo Sandoval joined the club in 2012) to ever hit three home runs in a Series game.

Could the Cardinals have won a title with Howard in Pujols’ place?  It’s possible, as while Howard wasn’t quite as productive as Pujols during the 2011 regular season, Howard still hit .276/.353/.505 and 31 homers.  Who’s to say how those numbers might have differed in a new ballpark and a new environment as a Cardinal rather than as a Phillie; Howard, a St. Louis native, might have thrived with his hometown team, or perhaps struggled under the added pressure.

What likely doesn’t happen in this what-if scenario, however, is the nasty injury Howard suffered in his (and the Phillies’) last at-bat of the 2011 season.  Making the final out of the 2011 NLDS, Howard tore his Achilles tendon leaving the batters’ box to run out a grounder, and he didn’t return to action until July 6, 2012.  It ended up being a career-altering injury for Howard, as while he was already showing a tiny bit of decline from his prime years and any sort of dropoff for a power hitter isn’t uncommon as he enters his 30’s, the before-and-after of Howard’s Achilles injury is jarring.  From 2012-16, Howard hit only .226/.292/.427 over 2122 PA.

The Phillies lost that 2011 NLDS to, ironically, the Cardinals.  It was the second straight year the Phillies had fallen short in the playoffs after a dominant regular season, and it ultimately proved to be the end of that great era of Philadelphia baseball.  In the eight years since, the Phillies have yet to enjoy another winning season, only managing an even .500 record on two occasions (2012, 2019).  While Howard was a big part of the Phillies’ success in 2010 and 2011, replacing him with Pujols’ next-level production might well have been the difference in a World Series victory in either 2010, 2011, or both seasons.

The other major side effect of this trade is what happens after the 2012 season.  A little over a month after Olney’s report, the Phillies signed Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension covering the 2012-16 seasons.  Since Howard was already 30 years old at the time of the extension and under contract for two more years, there was a pretty immediate and negative reaction to the Phillies’ decision, and while the Achilles injury wasn’t foreseen, the deal indeed ended up being a bust for the Phils.

That said, does Howard still ink an extension if he ends up with St. Louis in this alternate reality?  As Olney noted, the Cardinals weren’t making progress with Pujols on an extension, so they could have had interest in Howard as a potential long-term replacement.  The difference, however, could’ve been that the Cards might have waited at least a season before locking Howard up.  Looking back at past extensions for such Cardinals notables as Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, or Paul Goldschmidt, the team has tended to wait until just before the pending free agent’s final season under contract to finalize a new deal.  A Cardinals/Howard extension could been potentially lesser in both years and dollars, if Howard has performed for the Cards in 2010 as he did in the real world (.276/.353/.505 with 31 home runs) for Philadelphia.  While still strong numbers, they nonetheless represented a step back from the 50 homers Howard averaged every season from 2006-09, while also batting .278/.379/.589.

As for Pujols, he did depart St. Louis after that 2011 World Series title, signing a ten-year, $240MM deal with the Angels that still has two seasons remaining.  While the Phillies were willing to splurge on Howard, extending Pujols would’ve cost twice the years and almost twice the money as Howard’s extension.  Maybe the Phils (perhaps flush off Pujols leading them to a championship or two) would have decided that Pujols was worth the extra investment and signed him to a similar extension.  Assuming the Pujols in this multiverse declined at the same pace as our universe’s Pujols did with the Angels, such a deal could have left the Phillies with an even bigger contractual albatross on their hands….especially if the Pujols-led 2010 Phils or 2011 Phils hadn’t won a World Series, leaving the team without even a “flags fly forever” silver lining.

Another route is that the Phils work out a more creative extension with Pujols, perhaps overwriting the terms of his 2010-11 salaries to give him more money sooner and less money on the back end in his decline years.  Or, in what might have been ultimately the best-case scenario for Philadelphia, the team could have just let Pujols depart for free agency after the 2011 season.  That would have left room in the Phils’ budget and a hole at first base, which could have put the team in the market for another of that offseason’s top free agent first basemen — Prince Fielder.

Needless to say, such a major trade would’ve greatly altered the last decade of Major League Baseball, and likely swung at least one World Series result.  Given how the last ten years played out for the Phillies, maybe there’s someone from that club’s front office who, if this trade proposal indeed never got past the internal discussion phase, wishes they’d picked up the phone to at least give the Cards a call.

Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

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After reaching the ALDS last season, the Rays had their usual busy offseason in search of the roster mix that could bring them into championship contention.

Major League Signings

  • Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, 3B/OF: Two years, $12MM (plus $2.4MM in posting/release fees to Yokohama DeNA BayStars)
  • Total spend: $14.4MM

Trades And Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

After finishing second among Tampa Bay position players with a 3.3 fWAR in 2019, Tommy Pham found himself heading out of town, sent to the Padres as part of a four-player deal.  The minor leaguers exchanged in that deal — highly-touted infielder Xavier Edwards and a potential two-way threat in Jake Cronenworth — are certainly noteworthy, with the Rays getting the slightly longer-term prospect in Edwards while Cronenworth could help San Diego as early as this season.  But, looking at just the big-league return in the trade, the Rays sent an older, pricier, but more established hitter in Pham to the Padres for the powerful but less-polished young slugger in Hunter Renfroe.

With 70 homers over 1450 career plate appearances, we know Renfroe can mash, though his lifetime batting average (.235) and OBP (.294) leave much to be desired.  2019 saw Renfroe enjoy something of a breakout in the first half of the season before being hampered by injuries, though even Renfroe’s numbers prior to the All-Star break (.252/.308/.613 with 27 homers in 289 PA) showed only modest improvement in the average and on-base categories.

Nonetheless, Renfroe is almost four full years younger than Pham, brings more defensive versatility as an outfielder who can be deployed in center field in a pinch, and has a much lower price tag.  Renfroe is controlled through the 2023 season as a Super Two player, and is set to earn $3.3MM in 2020, his first arbitration-eligible year.  By contrast, Pham will earn $7.9MM in 2020, which is the second of three arb years.

In short, the deal almost seems like a prototypical Rays move — they got a bit younger, saved some money, and acquired a player in Renfroe who could offer enough untapped potential to be just as good or better than Pham in 2020 (plus, there’s also the lingering injury question of Pham’s elbow).  Flexibility and depth continue to be paramount in Tampa’s approach to roster building, as the Rays can wield a lineup that offers a lot of different looks, and is stocked with players who could be moved around to different positions based on circumstances.

Consider the Rays’ major free agent signing of the winter, as they landed Japanese slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo after a focused recruitment process that convinced Tsutsugo to reject more expensive offers for Tampa Bay’s two-year, $12MM contract.  Tsutsugo is a bit of a defensive question mark as a first baseman or left fielder, yet the Rays are planning to give Tsutsugo a look at third base; a position he hasn’t played since 2014.

It’s safe to assume that Yandy Diaz will end up getting the majority of playing time at third base, but if Tsutsugo can step in at the hot corner even once in a while to spell Diaz against a tough righty starter, that opens up a spot in the lineup for a left-handed hitting Joey Wendle, or perhaps another lefty bat in Nate Lowe (should Lowe make the Opening Day roster).  Even if the Tsutsugo/third base experiment doesn’t work out, Wendle can play third base himself, and Tsutsugo could perhaps then just be slotted into the first base/DH mix.

Speaking of first base/DH candidates, the Rays added another prominent name to that list in acquiring Jose Martinez from the Cardinals.  Rumors have swirled about the Rays’ interest in Martinez for well over a year, and the lefty-crushing slugger will now be the primary right-handed hitting first base/DH option, alongside the lefty-swinging Tsutsugo, Lowe, and Ji-Man Choi.  While Martinez can play first base or a corner outfield spot, he is probably the rare Rays pickup who wasn’t targeted for his roster flexibility, due to Martinez’s longstanding defensive struggles.

Between Martinez, Tsutsugo, and Renfroe, the Rays hope they can replace or top the 57 home runs that departed last year’s lineup — Pham, Avisail Garcia (who signed with the Brewers) and Travis d’Arnaud (who signed with the Braves).  The long ball wasn’t a big weapon for Tampa Bay in 2019, as their 217 homers ranked them 21st of the 30 teams, but that number could rise thanks to both the new faces and healthier seasons from the likes of Diaz, Wendle, and Brandon Lowe.

With Guillermo Heredia non-tendered and Garcia leaving in free agency, the Rays looked at such free agents as Yasiel Puig and Shogo Akiyama as options in the outfield.  Instead, Tampa Bay bolstered its outfield depth by adding Randy Arozarena as part of the trade with the Cardinals, while also acquiring Manuel Margot in another trade with the Padres.  It was only a few years ago that Margot was a consensus top-25 prospect in all of baseball, and while he has shown to be an excellent defender at the MLB level, his bat (84 wRC+, 87 OPS+) has yet to emerge.  Since Margot is still only 25, it isn’t out of the question that he could be a late bloomer.

The Rays paid a pretty substantial price for Margot, sending their 2019 saves leader in Emilio Pagan westward.  Pagan’s lone season in Tampa Bay was a very impressive one, as he recorded 20 saves while posting a 2.31 ERA, 7.38 K/BB rate, and 12.3 K/9 over 70 innings.  Between Pagan, Austin Pruitt (dealt to the Astros), Jose De Leon, and Matthew Liberatore, the Rays did more subtracting than adding to their pitching, though Tampa is arguably one of the few teams deep enough in pitching options to handle dealing from a surplus.

To this end, the Rays will count on their collection of arms to manage the bullpen, with a closing committee of Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson, Jose Alvarado, and possibly others to handle save situations.  As for the rotation, the Rays will can always fall back on using an opener if necessary, but the team looks ready to enter the season with a rotation of five proper starting pitchers: Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yonny Chirinos, and likely one of Ryan Yarbrough or Brendan McKay.  There is some uncertainty within that group given Glasnow’s injury-riddled 2019 and Snell’s nagging elbow problems, though both are expected to be ready by the time the 2020 season eventually gets underway.

As with basically any Rays player that makes a substantial salary, there was some speculation that Morton could be a trade chip now or in the near future, should Tampa Bay fall out of the pennant race.  Morton is being paid $15MM in 2020 and (if he doesn’t retire) he has a vesting option on his services for 2021 that will be worth another $15MM if he spends less than 30 days on the injured list this season.  The 36-year-old is still pitching at a very high level, and it makes sense why the Rays seemingly didn’t test the market for him this offseason, as Morton is even more valuable considering the lingering health questions surrounding Snell and Glasnow.

Pham ended up being the one larger salary moved off Tampa’s books, which was probably the more logical move than trading Morton since good outfield help is somewhat easier to find than a front-of-the-rotation pitcher.  GM Erik Neander faces a difficult challenge in trying to manage a small budget while also trying to build a contender, and as such Rays trades are rarely as simple as a one-for-one swap.  Getting young talent back in deals is of critical importance, whether it’s landing Edwards from San Diego, a higher Competitive Balance Round draft pick from St. Louis, or acquiring catching prospect Logan Driscoll from the Padres in the Pagan deal.  Driscoll was the Padres’ second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and down the road he could develop into yet another “catcher of the future” candidate for a Rays franchise that has long looked for stability behind the plate.

After d’Arnaud signed with Atlanta, the Rays will head into 2020 with Mike Zunino as their starting catcher.  Zunino’s struggles led to d’Arnaud taking over the regular job last season, leaving the Rays hoping that Zunino’s dreadful year was just an aberration.  A couple of veteran backstops in Kevan Smith and Chris Herrmann are in camp on minor league deals, and Michael Perez is in the in-house contender for the backup position.  Unless Zunino gets on track during the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rays make catching a priority before the trade deadline.

Between dealing Pham, the free agent departures, and non-tendering players like Heredia, Jesus Aguilar, and Matt Duffy, the Rays opened up enough money to do some offseason spending without much changing their financial outlook.  As per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Rays have a projected Opening Day payroll of just under $67.6MM, which represents an increase of barely $150K over their season-ending 40-man roster payroll.

The Rays’ spending habits continue to draw attention from the MLBPA, whose grievance against the team’s use of revenue-sharing funds (in essence, wondering why those funds aren’t being spent on player salaries) was expanded to cover both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 offseasons.  Grievance notwithstanding, it doesn’t appear as if much will change for the Rays on the payroll front unless they are finally able to land their long-desired new ballpark in Tampa or St. Petersburg…or perhaps one new stadium in the Tampa/St. Pete area and another in Montreal, should the organization’s unusual split-city concept comes to fruition.

2020 Season Outlook

If it’s possible for a team to quietly win 96 games, the Rays did just that in 2019, finishing just a game short of the highest win total in franchise history.  Nothing Tampa Bay did this winter remotely came close to the Yankees’ $324MM splash on Gerrit Cole, and while New York’s on-paper roster seems far more star-studded than the Rays’ collection, Tampa finished only seven games out of the AL East lead last season.  While the Yankees famously won 103 games despite a myriad of injuries last year, the Rays also achieved their success despite losing a number of key players for long stretches of time.

The American League will be more competitive on the whole in 2020, so even capturing another wild card would represent a nice achievement for the Rays.  This could be particularly true since two ex-Rays executives are now running other AL rivals — the Red Sox hired former Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom as their new chief baseball officer, while the Astros hired former Rays VP of baseball operations James Click as their new GM in February, after Houston’s firing of Jeff Luhnow as a result of the sign-stealing scandal.

With other organizations trying to ape the Rays’ track record of quality acquisitions at low-cost prices, it leaves Neander and the remaining front office members with more of a challenge in keeping things afloat in Tampa Bay, especially with a roster that could be on the brink of a special season.  It will be interesting to see how the Rays manage the assets of arguably the league’s best farm system in making further additions to this team in July, whether a major trade could take place, or whether the front office will continue this offseason’s pattern of somewhat quieter moves.

How would you grade the Rays’ offseason?  (Link for app users.)

Teams Make Differing Arrangements As MLB Suspends Spring Training

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We started the day with teams hunkered down in their spring facilities, awaiting word on what to do next with Cactus and Grapefruit League contests cancelled. MLB and MLBPA discussions resulted in an agreement that allowed players to head home and recommended they do so in many cases. MLB has just announced that Spring Training has officially been suspended.

Thus far, however, teams have taken differing approaches — driven at least in part, it must be noted, by player preferences. In all cases, players can now elect to join their families at their homes. Should they elect to stay, they’ll receive standard per diems.

While all players are being allowed to make their own choices, the disparate approaches don’t seem optimal. We’ll have to see whether this prompts a brighter-line approach at the league-union level.

Then again, teams and players are in a gray area in terms of preparing for the season. It’s clear that Opening Day will be pushed back at least two weeks, but far from obvious when it’ll occur.

We’ll use this post to track the developments on this topic.

Staying as a full group:

  • Tigers players voted to remain in Florida for now, and general manager Al Avila will also be on hand, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes.  The players will be taking part in informal workouts with the medical staff and minor league coaches on hand.
  • Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria believe the entire Giants team will return to the field when the club’s spring facility re-opens on Monday, the two players tell Henry Schulman and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Just about all of the Rangers’ players plan to stay in camp through week and then proceed to Dallas, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.  Workouts will then continue either at the Rangers’ new ballpark or at the team’s youth academy, provided no further developments have taken place.
  • The Yankees players have unanimously voted to remain and keep training, per player rep Zack Britton (via George A. King III of the New York Post, on Twitter). GM Brian Cashman says he will remain as well, along with the coaching and training staff, Jack Curry of YES Network tweets.
  • All of the Padres’ MLB roster is staying in the area for now, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter.

Mostly or largely dispersing:

  • Most of the Twins are leaving camp, with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (Twitter link) writing that around 20 players from both the Major League and minor league camps will stay.
  • The Cardinals, meanwhile, have decided to close camp for the most part, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter links). Ten to fifteen St. Louis players will remain on hand for the time being.
  • It seems that’s more or less the approach of the Braves. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that multiple players have left the facility, some of whom hope to be able to train together in the Atlanta area.
  • The Reds are also seeing the majority of players off, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among those to report on Twitter.

Wait-and-see stance:

  • A “high majority” of Mets players are expected to remain in camp, a source tells Newsday’s Tim Healey reports.
  • The Diamondbacks face “a little bit of a unique situation” in that their Spring Training site is close to their home city, GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert).  Since so many players live in the area, Hazen believes most of the team will continue to work out at the spring facility.
  • The Rays’ Florida camp is also relatively close to home, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, though it isn’t yet clear how many players are planning to remain.  Tropicana Field will be opened for informal workouts on March 23, however.
  • The Nationals will meet as a team tomorrow, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports on Twitter, with many planning to stick around.
  • Most Cubs players will remain in Arizona, at least until their leases run out at the end of the month, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.
  • The Angels are still thinking through their options, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter.
  • Likewise, the Marlins are staying close by and waiting to make decisions, Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets.
  • All but three of the players in Mariners camp — 40-man members plus non-roster invitees — will stay on hand, Corey Brock of The Athletic was among those to report via Twitter.

Rogelio Armenteros Has Bone Spur Removed From Elbow

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Astros right-hander Rogelio Armenteros underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow yesterday, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Armenteros should be ready to pitch again in four months time.

Armenteros, 25, made five appearances (two starts) for the Astros last season, contributing 18 innings of 4.00 ERA/2.77 FIP baseball. He also put together 84 1/3 innings with a 4.80 ERA/5.08 FIP in Triple-A.

While not an upper-tier prospect (Baseball America puts him as the Astros’ #26 prospect, while MLB.com does not rank him among their top 30), Armenteros nonetheless offers some upside as a late-season contributor in 2020. He will be an option for the rotation or bullpen upon his return. Given his lack of big league experience, however, the 25-year-old will likely report directly to Triple-A upon his return. There’s enough uncertainty baked into the Astros’ rotation that Armenteros could very well find himself a key contributor at the tail end of 2020. He’ll have to prove himself healthy and effective first, of course.

In the meantime, the Astros’ rotation is most likely to consist of Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Urquidy and Josh James. The fifth spot is officially up for grabs, however, and Verlander remains on the shelf with a lat strain.

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