- The Rays and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria will have their arbitration hearing Friday in Arizona, and an announcement on his 2018 salary will come Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The slick-fielding, offensively limited Hechavarria is seeking $5.9MM, while the Rays have offered a $5.35MM salary, as MLBTR’s Arb Tracker shows.
Rays Rumors
Rays Fire Team Doctor After Sexual Assault Allegations
- The Rays have fired team physician Michael Reilly amid sexual assault allegations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Prior to severing ties with Reilly, the Rays suspended him last week after a woman with the YouTube username Brianna Rah (which isn’t her real name, per Topkin) posted a video accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances toward her when she was a teenager working at his office. She also expressed certainty that Reilly has behaved similarly toward others. In addition to firing Reilly, who had been affiliated with the franchise since its inception 20 years ago, the Rays “also alerted the St. Petersburg Police Department and Major League Baseball of this situation,” team vice president and general counsel John Higgins stated. Police are currently deciding whether to file charges against Reilly, according to Topkin. Reilly, for his part, denied the allegations, but he admitted to having “a consensual relationship with her when she was an adult.”
Rays Sign Xorge Carrillo To Minors Pact
- The Rays have signed catcher Xorge Carrillo to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB camp, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Carrillo, 28, had been with the Mets dating back to the 2011 draft, in which they selected him in the 14th round. He hit .259/.327/.367 over 1,473 minor league trips to the plate with the Mets, with a .276/.326/.340 line across 308 PAs at Triple-A Las Vegas – a hitter-friendly environment.
Quick Hits: Freeman, LeVangie, NPB/KBO, Aces
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman feels great about the strength of his left wrist; strength he believes he lacked at the end of last season. Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote a detailed article that includes plenty of confident words from Freeman, who told reporters he began hitting earlier than he usually does, and even took batting practice in 25-degree whether just to see if he experienced any pain. “I have had zero problems.” Freeman said. “Everything feels great and everything feels strong.” Though he doesn’t regret coming back early after being hit by a pitch in May, Freeman experienced some frustration when his wrist fatigued during August and September. Notably, the two-time All-Star also had Lasik surgery to help alleviate some eye irritation issues he experienced while wearing contact lenses. Freeman also expressed his excitement to see top prospect Ronald Acuna arrive at the MLB level.
Some other interesting items from around MLB as we near the end of January…
- Count Rick Porcello among those in the Red Sox organization who are excited about working with new pitching coach Dana LeVangie. A piece by Tim Britton of the Providence Journal gives some insight into a phone call between the two earlier in the offseason. “A couple of days after he got the pitching coach job, he called me and we talked for an hour on things he had mapped out for me coming into the season that I need to work on and get better with,” Porcello told reporters last week. Indeed, it seems as though relievers Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel have already had a great experience working with him during his time as the team’s bullpen coach. As for LeVangie, he says his time as the Red Sox’ bullpen catcher allowed him to get a feel for movement and spin rate of pitches, as well as identify specifics of a pitcher’s strengths and weaknesses.
- The pursuit of financial security causes a handful of players to give up MLB 40-man roster spots every year in order to pursue opportunities in the NPB and the KBO, writes Kyle Glaser of Baseball America. Glaser tells the short version of Seth Frankoff’s story, though he’s just one of more than 100 ex-major or minor leaguers who played in Asian baseball leagues in 2017. While minor-league players on a 40-man roster earn just over $40K per year, players can make nearly 20 times that amount playing overseas. Other benefits of playing in the NPB and KBO include luxury apartments for foreign players, exceedingly high energy levels from people in the crowd, and a potential path back to the majors if they can improve their skill sets.
- Zach Crizer of MLB.com lists right-handers Danny Salazar (Indians) and Jake Odorizzi (Rays), and left-hander Ariel Miranda (Mariners) as pitchers with the potential to reach “ace” status in 2018. Crizer uses some incredibly specific stats to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these three pitchers, showing a potential path to a breakout for each one. The piece includes videos and heat maps as well; it’s an intriguing read, particularly considering that Salazar and Odorizzi have been mentioned in trade rumors.
Rays Agree To Minor League Deals With Monell, Snow, Weber
- The Cubs have elected to bring left-hander Michael Roth to the organization on a minor-league deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that Roth will be paid a $560K salary if he’s able to crack their big-league roster. The former ninth-round pick is entering his age-28 season; he’s made 22 total MLB appearances out of the bullpen for the Rangers and Angels, along with a single start for the latter. He owns a career ERA of 8.50, though run-prevention estimators such as xFIP (4.46) and SIERA (4.04) suggest his actual skill set isn’t quite in line with those disastrous results. Roth has also spent time at the Triple-A affiliates of the Rays, Giants and Indians.
- The Rays have agreed to minor league deals with catcher Johnny Monell and righty Forrest Snow, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Monell, 32 in March, has 61 MLB plate appearances on his resume, most of which came with the 2015 Mets when he hit .167/.231/.208. He’s a career .278/.350/.460 hitter in part of five Triple-A seasons. Snow, 29, has never appeared in the Majors and carries a lackluster 4.84 ERA in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns. However, he’s posted sub-4.00 overall ERAs in each of the past two seasons and thrived in the Venezuelan Winter League last offseason. Snow has significantly bolstered his strikeout rate and lowered his walk rate as well over the past two seasons. Both Monell and Snow will be in Major League camp with the Rays this spring.
Chris Archer Expects To Remain With Rays
Rays right-hander Chris Archer says he does not expect he’ll be traded this winter, according to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Per Archer, Tampa Bay GM Neander has “made me feel pretty good about being with the Rays in 2018.”
Sporadic chatter regarding Archer’s potential trade candidacy has been ongoing for years and has reportedly continued into the new year. He has been healthy and productive ever since breaking into the league, even if his bottom-line results (4.07 ERA in 2017) haven’t always been quite as impressive as his peripherals might suggest.
Better still, the 29-year-old’s contract includes four more seasons of cheap control, which helps explain his broad appeal. (Scroll back through his mentions on MLBTR and you’ll find a wide variety of teams linked in some way.) That same factor, though, also means the Rays don’t yet face pressure to cash in their best trade asset.
Though Archer was said to be a point of focus entering the Winter Meetings, no real momentum has seemed to form towards a deal. That could always change, of course; it’s not all that difficult to imagine a team deciding to up its offer for Archer and engage in a dedicated pursuit. Indeed, the resolution of the biggest free-agent pitching situations could tell on the matter, as Topkin points out.
While it doesn’t sound as if Archer has been given any assurances, though, it remains notable that he has been given such a strong indication from Neander and the Tampa Bay front office. The club already dealt away franchise face Evan Longoria, so it’s obvious that nothing is bolted down permanently. But that move did not mandate a broader rebuild. And there’s no real reason for the organization to mis-lead Archer about its intentions.
All things considered, the status quo largely remains intact. But we can perhaps say with some added confidence that the Rays will not simply be putting Archer up for auction and taking the best bid this winter. Any team that hopes to pry him loose will surely need to come with a big offer.
Of course, the team does still have other trade candidates worth keeping an eye on — including rotation-mate Jake Odorizzi. It seems reasonable to anticipate some significant action from the Rays over the coming weeks, though a variety of paths still remain open.
Rays Remain In Trade Talks Regarding Chris Archer
It remains unclear whether the Rays will move Chris Archer, but Jon Morosi of MLB.com writes that they and other teams have been “engaged in consistent trade talks” centering on the right-hander “in recent weeks.” Archer, a 29-year-old front-end starter who’s on one of baseball’s most appealing contracts (he’s controllable through 2021 for $34MM), has unsurprisingly drawn reported interest from a host of teams this offseason. Dealing Archer and his $6.25MM salary would help the Rays with their goal to cut payroll for 2018, but it would obviously make it all the more difficult for the team to compete in a division featuring Boston, New York and an active Toronto club.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Donaldson, Rays
There’s no official decision yet regarding where Manny Machado will play in 2018, but one could come as soon as this weekend. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com provides some insight into Orioles manager Buck Showalter’s thought process in determining the young star’s position. Showalter has spoken with both Machado and Tim Beckham in regards to Baltimore’s infield alignment, and though nothing is definite yet, Kubatko seems to have confidence that the O’s will grant Machado’s wishes to move him to shortstop this coming season, which would in turn push Beckham to third base or into a super utility role. Showalter also offers some very honest evaluations of Mike Moustakas as well as the price points of some of the high-end free agent pitchers on the market. In addition, he delves into Baltimore’s catcher situation.
A few other notes out of the AL East…
- Josh Donaldson told reporters today that, to his knowledge, his agent has not been engaged with the Blue Jays regarding a potential contract extension (hat tip to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com). This doesn’t necessarily eliminate the possibility that extension talks have taken place, but it certainly casts doubt on it. Donaldson has been the third most valuable player in baseball by fWAR (21.4) since he was traded to Toronto prior to the 2015 season, Though he started off slowly last season, he still managed an excellent .270/.385/.559 batting line for the campaign while hitting 33 homers. He’d be one of the marquee free agents of an impressive 2018, though the fact that he’ll be nearly 33 by the beginning of November will detract from his value in comparison with players like Bryce Harper and Machado.
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times points out that the Rays are in a position to enter 2018 with both a higher payroll than last season and less talent on the roster overall. Of course, there’s still plenty of time for the team to make more moves. Topkin cites the lack of activity industry wide as a factor that has “paralyzed” the organization, but believes that once the “dam finally breaks,” they’ll have a lot of things to address. He quotes GM Erik Neander, who describes the team’s to do list as similar to what it was at the outset of the offseason. Topkin mentions a number of candidates who could possibly be traded in order to cut payroll for the team, including closer Alex Colome and the recently-acquired Denard Span. From my own standpoint, it’s not unfair to wonder whether Tampa Bay has any chance to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox as things stand now, let alone if the team continues to make cuts to a payroll that’s one of the lowest in baseball. That can only increase the trade speculation surrounding Chris Archer, Colome, and others on the roster.
Rays Not Done Tweaking Roster
- The Rays are far from done with their own winter tinkering, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Trimming payroll and accounting for a few open spots on the roster will still take place, says Topkin, even if it has been quiet of late in Tampa Bay. There are still quite a few potential moving pieces for the Rays, whether or not the team ends up pulling off deals involving some of its best remaining veteran trade assets.
Rays' Talks With Cardinals More Focused On Archer Than Colome
- The Cardinals were linked to Rays closer Alex Colome in trade rumors earlier this winter, though two sources tell Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the team’s interest in Colome was “overstated.” Chris Archer seems to be the Cards’ top target in regards to trade talks with the Rays.
