The Rays announced that they’ve added four players to their 40-man roster. The players being added are infielder Jonathan Aranda, infielder/catcher Ford Proctor, and right-handed pitchers Calvin Faucher and Tommy Romero. Following some earlier trades today, the roster is now full at 40 players.
None of this group cracked the Rays’ midseason top 30 prospects at Baseball America. Tampa Bay’s farm system is one of the league’s deepest, though, and it stands to reason clubs would’ve had interest in even some of the lower-ranked names in the organization.
Proctor, 24, is a former third-round pick who has posted strong minor league numbers over his pro career. He hit .244/.381/.419 in 381 Double-A plate appearances this past season. Perhaps most interestingly, he saw significant work behind the plate in addition to his customary middle infield role. Aranda mashed at a .325/.410/.540 clip over 322 Double-A plate appearances while playing all over the infield.
Faucher and Romero have both missed plenty of bats in the high minors. The former, who works primarily as a reliever, was acquired from the Twins as part of the Nelson Cruz trade this summer. The latter came over from the Mariners in 2018 as part of the Denard Span deal.
Proctor is a classic Rays-type player
Reminds me of a young Austin Barnes…nice to have a 2B who can catch, even if the offensive upside is questionable.
Last year 7 lost to Rule 5 so it’s not who they kept but more so who will the Rays loose that’s the real story!
Mastrobuoni, Rosenberg, Hunt, fit the rule 5 profile. At least 5 smart to make moves like they did with Myers.
The thing with Hunt though is his bat is nowhere near ready, he really needs ABs in the upper minors. Most teams won’t carry 3 catchers so you’ve got to be willing to have a backup catcher who is probably going to have an OPS under .500.
Tons of upside if you can find a way to roster him this whole year because I think he is going to be legit, but it’s way harder to stash him as a catcher with barely any AA experience than Rosenberg in the bullpen or Mastrobuoni as a utility guy.