The Rays have signed three righties to minor league deals, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Heath Hembree, Ben Heller and Zack Burdi will all receive invitations to major league Spring Training.
Hembree, 34, is easily the most experienced of the bunch. He’s appeared in each of the past 10 major league seasons, getting into 357 games over his career thus far. He had some really good years for the Red Sox from 2014 to 2019 but has gone into journeyman mode over the past few campaigns, suiting up for the Sox, Phillies, Mets, Reds, Pirates and Dodgers since the start of 2020.
Last year, Hembree made 26 appearances between the Bucs and Dodgers but registered a 7.36 ERA in that time. He posted matching 15.9% strikeout and walk rates, with both of those figures worse than league average. It was a disappointing season but he’s not far removed from a 2021 campaign where he struck out 34.2% of batters faced against a 9.9% walk rate. A 59% strand rate pushed his ERA up to 5.59 that year with advanced metrics feeling he deserved much better, such as a 3.15 xERA, 4.34 FIP and 3.11 SIERA.
Heller, 31, appeared in 31 major league games from 2016 to 2020, all of those with the Yankees. He has a career 2.59 ERA over those years, though that’s surely depressed by an unsustainable 98.4% strand rate. He struck out 21.7% of batters faced in that time, walking 10.9% of them and got grounders on 40.9% of balls in play. He spent some time last year with the Twins on a minor league deal, throwing 8 2/3 innings with a 9.35 ERA.
Burdi, 28 in March, was a first round selection of the White Sox in the 2016 draft. Unfortunately, injuries have taken a toll on his progress thus far, including 2017 Tommy John surgery. He eventually made 15 appearances over 2020 and 2021, throwing a combined 17 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, he posted a 7.79 ERA in that time with a 20.9% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 34.5% ground ball rate. He signed a minor league deal with the Nats for 2022 but was only healthy enough to throw 13 innings down on the farm, though he did post a 1.38 ERA in that small sample.
All three players will provide the Rays with some non-roster pitching depth and try to earn their way back to the majors. If either Burdi or Heller make their way onto the roster, they each still have one option year remaining, potentially giving Tampa some roster flexibility. Burdi has less than a year of service time and could be retained for future seasons cheaply, while Heller is over the three-year mark and would qualify for arbitration if holding onto a spot at season’s end. Hembree, however, is over six years of service and would qualify for free agency.
I really don’t want to see Heath Hembree pitching for the Durham Bulls this summer…
Rays will develop Burdi into an allstar
Both Burdi brothers have the talent to be Allstars. Just not the health.
Yeah, Zach Burdi’s season high for IP came all the way back in 2016, the year he was drafted. Even then though, he only pitched a whopping 38 innings.
In 2017, Burdi only managed to reach 33IP, and he really hasn’t even come close to that season total ever since..
I know he once had a ton of promise and potential, so hopefully his perseverance will finally pay off, and the Rays will be able to get the most out of him..
He’ll fit in Tampa Bay.
They blow through pitchers like it’s nobody’s business. He’ll post a sub 3ERA and put up 12K’s per 9 in 30 innings before blowing out his arm!
Those guys were studs in college. If they would had both stayed healthy they would be all star closers in MLB.
Relievers are not all reliable year in & year out. A lot have some up & down seasons.
That is actually not a bad batch of longshot flyers on arms to add on minor league deals. They will likely all be duds, but the Rays are one of the better teams at getting something out of their clearance aisle specials.
Hah! I tried to reply to deGrom Texas Ranger on his reply to me, and he I guess has me muted. Gotta’ love the kidz…very cute. Must be a teenager.
Hembree…not Harambe…has been around for quite a while and is on tail end. A few years of ineffectiveness place him in that longshot category. Heller, too has been around. Even Burdi is entering his age 28 season but was derailed by TJS. So what was your point in the question?
Harambe has been around quite a while now.
So Rays. Not do anything all winter to improve an offense that needs a couple of bats but sign three fodder arms when it’s time to open the floodgates for all the “invitees” that make it possible to get a teams batting practice in during ST.. Waiting for them to add two of Plawecki, Torrens, Perez and Chirinos now to have someone to catch these guys.
It has been a frustrating offseason. They may even end up turning one of these three into a viable picture, but it won’t matter if they show up with the same offense next year.
Last year the Rays offense was hurt by a bunch of factors, but I think 2023 might see one of the better offensive seasons from a Rays club.
Brandon Lowe was injured; Wander Franco was injured and sophomore slumped; Randy struggled w/ no lineup protection; and OF Lowe was up and down all year trying to get his bat to MLB level. I don’t think any of those things continue/happen again.
Just an outside perspectiv.
I agree, they will undoubtedly be better if they stay healthy for all the reasons you cite (they can’t be much worse than last year). Still, lots of what ifs and not a lot of depth to back up injuries. I do hope some of the AAA talent makes progress, like Lowe, Brujan, and Meade. I just wish we had more certainty in case they don’t work out.
On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed see the Orioles become more competitive last year. They matched up well against the Rays.
Yeah, I can see that too, the lack of depth for the offense. But I think they always find those players too (Margot and Perades). Didn’t seem that long ago that the Rays had, seemingly, a beavy of MI prospects, but other than Wander, the rest kinda faded (Walls, Brujan, etc). I’m sure one or two of those guys will eventually figure it out.
As far as my Birds go, I think your Rays owned us last year, if memory serves. While the Orioles seemed to play well against the rest of the East, I just remember being flummoxed by how we played so well vs everyone else, but could never get it done against the Rays. Always tight games w/ Rays. I don’t think I remember a blowout vs. Rays, but can recall them against every other East team.
Rays are always in every single game. Credit the Org for the focus (well, at least from the Orioles games I see them in).
Really gonna miss the Unbalanced schedule…I always enjoyed at least knowing a divisions teams almost as well as my own. And the Rays in particular will be missed matchups. (,Not so much the Yankees, lol)
So, I hear you, and as fan of the White Sox, I understand and empathize with you. But this cannot come as a surprise to you if you are a Rays fan. This has been their MO since basically 98.
No, it is not a surprise at all. I’ve been following them since the beginning and cheapness has always been their MO. It is still frustrating because I feel like it wouldn’t take that many additions for this team to be a World Series contender. As is, this team’s ceiling is another wild card and early playoff exit.
Also, I don’t get spending money on Eflin and not applying that to a left handed bat. An extremely irksome offseason to say the least.
So….. can we hit as a team yet or nah? Literally, the GM was on national TV after the season and said “the offense needs to be addressed” yet to not address it. Guess we can just stay happy with AAA championships.
If it makes you feel any better, I did really enjoy a few Durham Bulls games last season… ; )