The Rays have acquired outfielder Harold Ramírez from the Cubs in exchange for minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz, according to announcements from both teams. Tampa Bay announced they’ve placed reliever Nick Anderson on the 60-day injured list to open space for Ramírez on the 40-man roster.
The move brings Ramírez’s Chicago tenure to an end before he ever suited up for the team. The Cubs acquired the right-handed hitting outfielder from the Guardians in exchange for cash in late November. That came after Cleveland had designated him for assignment in advance of Rule 5 protection day, part of an overhaul of more than a quarter of the Guardians’ 40-man roster.
While Ramírez didn’t play in a game with the Cubs, he has logged a fair bit of MLB action over the past few seasons. A former Blue Jays’ farmhand, Ramírez debuted in the majors with the Marlins in 2019. He hit .276/.312/.416 in 119 games as a rookie, but he missed almost all of the following season after suffering a severe hamstring strain. Cleveland picked him up off waivers in February and gave him 361 plate appearances, and his .268/.305/.398 line wasn’t much different than his 2019 performance.
The 27-year-old Ramírez has a career .271/.308/.405 mark in a bit more than 800 plate appearances. He makes a fair amount of contact, leading to a solid batting average. Yet he’s paired that with a minuscule 4% walk rate and a below-average .134 ISO (slugging minus average). Ramírez’s 47.2% hard contact percentage and 91.3 MPH average exit velocity were more impressive than those bottom line power numbers might suggest, but he negated a good bit of that batted ball authority by putting more than half his balls in play on the ground.
Ramírez adds an affordable option to the Tampa Bay outfield. He’ll play the 2022 campaign on just a $728K salary and is controllable via arbitration through 2025. The Rays could keep him around as a long-term piece, but he’s also out of minor league option years. That means Tampa Bay must either carry him on the active roster all season or DFA him themselves.
Whether Ramírez sticks long-term could be determined by what the Rays have planned for the coming weeks. The outfield is already pretty crowded, with Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot lined up as the projected starting group. Austin Meadows will see some time in the corners and at designated hitter, while the out-of-options Brett Phillips and top prospect Josh Lowe figure to be in the mix. It may be tough to carry both Phillips and Ramírez in depth capacities all season, but the former is a better defensive option off the bench. Ramírez has some experience in center field but is better suited for the corners.
Of course, it’s possible the Rays deal from the outfield logjam before the season. Meadows, in particular, has been floated in trade rumors since the lockout was lifted. The front office isn’t going to be pressured to deal one of their regulars because they picked up Ramírez in a minor trade, but today’s deal could be a preemptive move to bolster the outfield depth in case another swap on the horizon.
From the Cubs’ perspective, the pair of Ramírez trades essentially amounts to picking up Quiroz for cash. Despite never having appeared in the majors, Quiroz is actually a few years older than Ramírez. At 30 years old, the lefty-hitting infielder isn’t a prototypical prospect. Yet he has a long track record of performing well in both the Mexican League and in the high minors, one that has caught the attention of a handful of clubs.
Originally signed by the Red Sox out of Mexico, Quiroz was dealt to the Padres for Colten Brewer over the 2018-19 offseason. Tampa Bay picked him up in March 2020 as the player to be named later in the Tommy Pham, Jake Cronenworth, Hunter Renfroe deal. Listed at 5’6″, 199 pounds, he doesn’t have overwhelming physical tools. Yet Quiroz owns a .270/.391/.534 line in his Triple-A career, including a .268/.401/.526 mark with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham last season. Quiroz won’t occupy a spot on the Cubs 40-man roster; he’ll presumably head to Triple-A Iowa and keep trying to earn an MLB debut.
Anderson’s placement on the 60-day IL was a formality whenever the Rays needed a roster spot. The righty underwent a UCL brace procedure last October that was always expected to keep him out of action past the All-Star Break.
Prospect? He’s 30 lmao
Still technically a prospect I guess.
He’s 27.
Thought you were talking about Ramirez and you can’t delete posts on the app.
I did too. and yeah I wish they would allow us to delete posts. Has Tim ever said why that’s not an option?
You have to delete within the time window for edits, otherwise you’re SOL.
No need to delete if you don’t say something stupid.
Fink- Editing/deleting is not an option on the app, unfortunately!
Safe to say the Rays won this one
How? Explain.
Two guys who will do little to nothing
Rays typically don’t trade for players who will do nothing. Maybe nothing to a dodgers fan but the rays use a true team approach and rely on every single guy even for little things, if they’re giving him a big league roster spot it won’t be wasted
The Cubs haven’t even been able to get Ramirez into the states yet this year. And they’re crowded in the middle infield at the major league level. Quiroz will fill out the Iowa roster.
“Prospect” Me: oh the cubs May have gotten something good or maybe someone younger ya know
The Prospect: 30 year old man
Second person to round his age of 27 up to 30.
It clearly says in the article that he is 30. Ramirez is the one who is 27.
Baseball Reference shows his age is 30.
It absolutely does not
Are you talking about Harold Ramirez? He is 27. We are talking about the player the Cubs acquired. Click his name, it’s says he is 30.
The player the Cubs got is 30 and the player the Cubs traded is 27… It states it in the article and you can click the links for their age.
They added talent for a guy they were going to DFA.
Makes sense for both.
Mans gonna hit 30 HR’s 100 RBI’s now
Yeah, if you combine the next 3 seasons stats.
For 29 other teams your statement is true. But for the rays, they’ll turn him into a demi god silver slugger that stalks the mvp conversation then trade him away.
Then the guy they get in return will turn into an MVP candidate or Cy Young candidate.
Ramirez was having visa issues with the cubs so he was traded for a player to fill out the AAA roster due to rosters expanding to start the season.
Hopefully it’s the wrong Esteban Quiroz linked to the article.
Where’s the guy that tells me Ramirez is better than Nimmo? Ramirez is a journeyman that can’t hit.
Marlinsfanbase
To be fair, Ramirez’s career average is five points higher than Nimmo’s.
But he doesn’t draw walks and has little power.
Last I checked, Nimmo doesn’t have power either, nor does he have the power to swing the bat consistently. He takes his rest by letting the bat sit on his shoulders.
Ramirez can’t hit, but Nimmo, who has a career batting average that is .5% lower than Ramirez, supposedly can hit when his effort at the plate is to not swing for a hit? Batting average measures how successful you are at getting a hit when you swing the bat (you know…swing….the process that a person does in order to get a hit by hitting the ball).
We have different definitions of what hitting is. In fact, baseball dictionaries/glossaries and most dictionaries/glossaries and myself have different definitions of what hitting is from you. Ramirez hits. Nimmo walks. There’s a difference between hitting and walking.
at first I thought I was Ramirez from the guardians.
In a manner of speaking. He was A Ramirez from the Guardians
He trained with A Hank Aaron.
Quiroz is 5’6″ 199 lbs, what an absolute unit. We NEED to see him on the Jays so he and Alejandro Kirk can team up
Upon further review, Quiroz is not as rotund as his listed height and weight would indicate 🙁
That is a lot of weight for his height. Of course, muscle weighs more than fat so hopefully he is built.
There was an nfl running back for the chargers that was 5’6 220 but he carried very well
Harold Ramirez regularly slacks the ball. However, it just happens to be more frequently on the ground. I don’t know if he can elevate enough to tap into his plus Statcast data.
How do you “slack the ball”?
I hope Quirioz actually gets a chance in Cleveland… I remember thinking he was under the radar when the Red Sox pulled him from Mexican League. He’s put up a decent enough slash line in AAA, his defense must be questionable
He went to the Cubs.
I’m gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that it is 100% certain that he won’t get a chance in Cleveland.
Don’t be too sure. Quiroz’ salary is about equal to the amount Dolan set for free agent signings.
With Ramirez gone, and Brennan Davis sent down to minors today, the Opening Day outfield for cubs looks like:
RF Suzuki
LF Happ
CF Heyward
4th/5th Frazer
4th/5th M. Hermasillo
Davis will be up mid-season and then either Frazier or Heyward should be traded or jettisoned.
You may want to look at Davis’s K % last season before anointing him the heir apparent.
You left out Ortega. Hermosillo has proven nothing at MLB level. Ortega put up .900 OPS against right handed pitching.
Yes, I hope it’s Suzuki rf, Happ LF CF, Ortega cf, Frazier LF and Jason heyward cheering.
I would be fine if Hermosillo and Ortega platoon in CF, and release Heyward, but probably won’t happen.
Ouch. I did leave out Ortega. Hermasillo has a major league contract. I don’t think that Frazier does. Only Suzuki and Happ would get rotated through DH for rest. Infield includes Schwindel, Hoerner, Madrigal, Villar, Simmons and Wisdom. Plus two good hitting catchers in Contreras and Gomes. Pretty good bullpen now too like the pickup of Givens. Only the starting pitching is weak. Stroman will be good. Hendricks bounce back, really hope so but not so sure. Miley regression to mean, Marquez a year away, Brault, Steele
Suzuki RF
Happ LF
CF Ortega
4th OF Heyward
5th OF Hermosillo
Cut Heyward if both Hermosillo and Frazier shine
I am pretty sure Hermosillo is on the minor league deal and Frazier the mlb. I feel like they released Hermosillo at one point in the off season
Both Hermosillo and Frazier have major league deals. Interesting!
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/12/cubs-sign-michael-hermo…
cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/cubs-clint-fra…
I would imagine they all make the team. I think rosters are expanded to 28 until May 1.
My guess is being Happ as a RH hitter has better contact, but virtually no power vs. being a LH hitter with lesser contact but major power, as well as JHey’s inability to hit water as a LH hitter, that it’ll be a Happ/Frazier platoon in LF & Heyward/Hermasillo platoon in CF with Suzuki playing RF full-time. Ortega will probably be worked in situational as between 4th OF & platoon DH. Cubs should’ve grabbed Pujols as a LH-only DH.
They will probably only carry 5 outfielders, so someone not going to make it, unless they have an injury. I’ve been impressed with Frazier. Happ and Suzuki are locks. Heyward needs to go, but….. That leaves either Ortega or Hermosillo. They badly need left handed bat, so Hermosillo starts year in minors. Happ plays center against lefties.
I cant see how you don’t give Ortega another look. Heyward is a defensive replacement 5th outfielder at this point. I’d imagine Hermosillo is the odd man out.
Absolutely Ortega is in mix, I left him out by mistake. I like Hermosillo better than Frazier and Heyward and the Cubs have a lot of infielders. to rotate through DH:
Contreras
Gomes
Hoerner
Madrigal
Villar
Simmons
Wisdom
Davis will be up by mid-season, not the MVP Cubbies want, but easily the #2 outfielder after Suzuki.
They have so few left handed bats, Ortega has to make it. He killed right handed pitching last year.
No one likes Heyward. They should release him. The only other way is to throw cash in and trade for Hosmer. Then San Diego will not even bother having him report. It might not take that much more cash. Hosmer is owed 59m and Heyward 44. Difference is Hosmer has four years left and is a replacement level player. Heyward should have already retired.
Not exactly the Ramirez I was hoping the Rays would acquire…
Maybe he’ll be the 2022 Luplow?
Hoping for a return of Manny?
Interesting comment string. 1)Ramirez was a Pirate farm hand far longer than Blue Jays. 2)Luplow also a Pirate farmhand sent to the Indians. 3)Ramirez would be competing or a backup to Meadows, who was a ????? farmhand.
Jose
I don’t see where he calls Ramirez a prospect. He’s definitely not; both due to his age as well as his time spent in the bigs.
He doesn’t, he called the other guy, the 30 year old, a prospect.
Is Quiroz finally going to get a shot?
Cubs are fairly log jammed in the infield. The potential of another July sell-off might get him a shot.
No, just org depth.
Think “Roy Hobbs” Cubs fans…
Always liked him.. I felt the Jays gave up on him too early. Solid contact hitter.
Harold Ramirez was great in Ghostbusters
Eventually gms will learn that if the Ray’s want one of your players odds are they are going to be a good player.
He’ll likely turn into a gem in short order.
I’m surprised Estaban Quiroz hasn’t been called up. I think the Cubs will play him immediately. Hopefully, he’s as good a find as Frank Schwindel was.
The thing is we already have 4 middle infielders with either higher upside or past MLB success, so I think Quiroz is going to man AAA until one of Madrigal or Hoerner gets hurt which history shows is likely. Or if Quiroz hits so well he forces his way onto the team, lets hope for that.
Ramirez is solid player and wherever he goes he contributes to the team in many different ways. This is a good pickup by Tampa
Makes no sense…unless your going for the AAA Midwest Crown!!!