The Rays announced a number of roster moves in advance of tonight’s deadline to set the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft. Tampa Bay made a trio of trades and, in perhaps their most notable transaction, designated left-hander Ryan Yarbrough for assignment. The Rays also designated reliever Javy Guerra and outfielder Bligh Madris for assignment. Joining the 40-man roster are infielders Curtis Mead, Osleivis Basabe and Greg Jones and pitchers Taj Bradley and Colby White, who’d all have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft.
The move officially brings to an end Yarbrough’s four-plus year run in Tampa Bay. The southpaw debuted in 2018 and spent his first three seasons as a productive innings-eater on the staff. While he wasn’t a traditional starting pitcher, Yarbrough frequently soaked up innings as a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Through the end of the 2020 campaign, he carried a 3.94 ERA in 344 2/3 career innings.
Things have gone off the rails for Yarbrough over the past two seasons. He’s been tagged for an ERA at 4.50 or above in both years, while his average fastball speed has ticked down around 87 MPH after sitting just under 90 earlier in his career. He still throws plenty of strikes and excels at generating soft contact, but his run prevention marks have gone in the wrong direction. Going back to the start of the 2021 campaign, the Old Dominion product has a 4.90 ERA through 50 appearances and 235 frames. The 2022 campaign was particularly challenging, as he was optioned to Triple-A on a couple occasions and missed time with groin and oblique issues.
Yarbrough was in his penultimate offseason of arbitration eligibility. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $4.2MM salary if tendered a contract, he’s looked like a trade or non-tender candidate for the past few months. Tampa Bay reportedly shopped him at last week’s GM meetings, but they evidently didn’t find a taker. They can still look to deal him over the next few days, or he can be non-tendered and sent to free agency for the first time.
The Rays acquired Guerra from the Padres in April. He was outrighted off the roster not long after but made it back to the big league club midseason. He provided the Rays with 16 innings of 3.38 ERA ball, but he only managed a 12.9% strikeout rate while walking 11.4% of opponents. The 27-year-old former shortstop throws very hard but hasn’t found much success missing bats at the upper levels.
Madris, 26, was snagged off waivers from the Pirates in September. He didn’t suit up at the big league level in Tampa Bay. He hit .177/.244/.265 through his first 39 MLB games in Pittsburgh. Madris had a much more impressive .297/.366/.510 showing between the two teams’ Triple-A affiliates. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so he could find some interest via trade or waiver claim in the next few days.
As far as the players making it onto the Tampa Bay roster, Mead was one of the easiest calls any team in the majors had to make. A former amateur signee from Australia, the righty-hitting infielder has broken out as one of the sport’s top prospects. Mead slots in 23rd on Baseball America’s most recent top 100, the latest in a long line of excellent infield talents coming up through the system. He hit .298/.390/.532 across 311 plate appearances between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham and should factor into the MLB mix early next season.
Bradley is a top prospect in his own right, appearing 15th on BA’s list. A fifth-round selection out of a Georgia high school in 2018, he’s flown to Triple-A. The right-hander split his age-21 season between Montgomery and Durham, combining for a 2.57 ERA across 133 1/3 innings while striking out 26.5% of batters faced. He draws praise for his fastball-slider combination and should factor into the rotation mix early next season.
Basabe was originally signed by the Rangers out of Venezuela. Dealt to the Rays in the trade that landed Nate Lowe in Arlington, he’s played his way to Double-A. The 22-year-old has experience all around the infield and combined for an excellent .324/.385/.462 mark between High-A Bowling Green and Montgomery this year.
Jones was a first-round pick in 2019 out of UNC-Wilmington. A switch-hitting shortstop/center fielder with blazing speed, he had a rough year in Montgomery. Jones hit .238/.318/.392 with eight homers and a huge 35.8% strikeout percentage in Double-A. He stole 37 bases, though, and the Rays didn’t want to chance losing his defense and athleticism.
White was a sixth-round selection from Mississippi State in that same draft. The 24-year-old is a pure reliever but has an excellent fastball and could factor into the big league bullpen next year. He spent all of this past season on the injured list.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported Yarbrough had been DFA.
I’m not sure if ‘zoinks!’ or ‘jinkies!’ is the appropriate response here.
Wow looks like with the shift no more that pitching to contact pitchers aren’t getting much love this off-season.
great point
I mean, doesn’t help Yarbrough’s been throwing in the mid-80s lately, so the contact he’s been getting has not been particularly good (at least for the Rays anyways).
I know they are saying no more shift, but what does that actually mean? No 4 OFers obviously, but are fielder’s not allowed to move at all? Are they allowed to move but the 1b and 2b stay on the R side of 2nd with the 3b and SS on the left. Does every body get a 10ft circle around them? Like what does this actually mean
Two men on each side of second base at time if pitch and also touching the infield dirt
The shift is not gone, it is just limited. Teams will align infield to the utmost limit and we ll likely see some interesting outfield alignments. Yes there will be some impact, however I don’t think it will be anything drastic. Teams will still be shifted and dead pull hitters will still be very predictable.
Glenn would have understood “baby the rain must fall”
As Robert Plant would say “… the mystery of the quotient … is that upon us all… a little rain must fall “ —-
The Rain Song
Touche, we understand one another…
Dodgers can resurrect this guy..
If I may intrude — Robert sang of “the mystery of the coldest quotient.”
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find that confounded bridge.
I’ve heard 100,000 times various versions of the Rain Song , never heard that ? Link ?
The lyrics at the top of the page from Musixmatch:
Sorry, but that was an effed-up link. Anyway, it was from Musixmatch.
To tell you the truth, I hadn’t listened to that song in years. Upon searching other lyrics sites, I see that Musixmatch’s version is an outlier. Most have “quotient, quotient,” Plant just repeating the word as he was wont to do. If you listen, you can hear it either way.
But I’m 100% sure John says “I buried Paul” at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Okay, not really.
Here’s a better link:
musixmatch.com/lyrics/Led-Zeppelin/The-Rain-Song
You know what’s long bugged the hell out of me? Why do artists let people post sometimes laughably inaccurate lyrics to their songs instead of hosting their own websites with their lyrics accurately presented?
It’s wrong ! Never has he sang coldest quotient. Not to get into a flame war lol but trust me. I’ve probably heard every version ever done. By Zep , by Plant or Page and Plant.
Other than baseball it’s all I do. Lol youtu.be/jvbwWgz8iTU
I think Plant is just repeating the word, just like he repeats “upon us” earlier in the same song.
Is that your YouTube channel?
No my friends site. I’m very active in Zep community. Thank you Fink for the music chat. I thank you for reviewing my comment without making me feel as as a know it all jerk lol
Welcome to Boston, Ryan!
Now that Eck isnt there to make fun of his 86mph Salad.
Did not expect this.
I thought Tapia was a pretty good player. Surprised.
Sorry, I commented on wrong thread.
Bottom feeder
This guy shut down the jays every time he pitched against them, fingers crossed we don’t face him next season.
Might become a Jay for all we know.
Mets go get him, whether it’s in the rotation or bullpen
I 100% agree, could be this years Trevor Williams replacement
Kanye is surprised by this move
Looks like a future Twins pitcher.
Go get him Brewers! Seriously.
Brewers already have a cheaper version of him in Suter
Mets
Rays eliminating fringe 40 players with the highest projected salaries and gambling on pre-arb players; real head-scratcher is >24 y/o Greg Jones. his numbers were a lot worse than 22 y/o teammate Ronny Simon in 2022-2023. Neither walk but Jones K rates are .~15% higher than Simon’s. Jones has also spent a lot of his young career battling (minor?) injuries.
Surprised to see power-speed, utility man LHB Brett Wisely traded. Also to see the Rays trade another utility man LHB (Mastrobuoni) when they struggled so much in 2022 against RHP.
Generally the return for the Rays trades seems light: a couple low A relief pitchers, a DSL starting? RHP, a low A corner outfielder.
I half expected the Rays to move more fringe 40 players like Cleveland did in 2021 rather than take a light return. Chirinos, Fleming (1 option left), Armstrong, Poche all stuck on the 40-man and no reliever is ever truly safe.
Another surprise for me was to see the Rays retain >28 y/o and out of options Luke Raley over >26 y/o Bligh Madris. Both have raked in the minors, struggled in the majors (over >100 PAs) but Bligh Madris seems more versatile. Both seem very fringe and could have been both DFA’ed. Maybe Raley’s tools and make-up had the slight edge.
Rays are carrying Baz (out till 2024) and 32 y/o RP Kittredge (TJS) on their 40 man as well..
I still don’t think Randy or Yandy’s roster spots are safe given their Arb numbers and the FA market for COF/3B but the Rays don’t tend to like to move big names quickly; so they could be December trades. Rays were up and down on Mejia this year so he could still get moved. BLowe seems safe to stay at his salary and with the injury concerns.
The Rays are far from done with moves as they haven’t begun to address their offseason needs. All they’ve done is clear some salary space for free agents/taking on salary in trades and protected a few R5 players, some of whom are injured (Mead, White), stumbled in the second half (Bradley) and are expected to start the year in the minors.
Lastly, despite all the huffing and puffing, the Rays didn’t move any pitchers (outside of JT Chargois, or Yarbrough DFA), nor did many other teams. This is a sign of a strong FA market I suspect.
Good point John Rocker.