Trade Candidate: Harold Ramirez
As is frequently the case for the Rays this time of year, the club has a sizable class of arbitration-eligible players to sort through this offseason: with 16 players eligible for arbitration this winter, only the Yankees have more. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects that group of players to cost a combined $46.3MM in 2024 if all 16 of them are retained. That could prove to be an untenable situation for the Rays, as RosterResource estimates the club’s projected 2024 payroll to be $130MM, an increase of more than $50MM over this year’s $79MM budget.
While the club has recently indicated that it would be open to increasing payroll next season, it’s unclear to what level an increase would be. Even a substantial increase in payroll could leave the club looking to shave $20MM or more off of its payroll, to say nothing of any potential external additions the club could look into making as they aim to build on a 99-win season in 2024. Given these realities, it seems likely that the Rays will at least shop around some of the players from their deep pool of arbitration-level talent this offseason.
Of Tampa’s group of arbitration talent, just four players are projected to make more than $3MM next year: infielder Isaac Paredes, who is still just 24 years old and enjoyed a breakout season in 2023; right-hander Aaron Civale, the steady mid-rotation arm the club dealt top first base prospect Kyle Manzardo to acquire this past summer; outfielder Randy Arozarena, a face of the franchise and former Rookie of the Year who made his first All Star appearance in 2023; and Harold Ramirez, a right-handed slugger the club acquired in a minor deal with the Cubs prior to the 2022 season who splits time between DH, first base, and the outfield corners.
Among that group of four, it seems wildly unlikely that the club would deal Civale after winning the bidding for his services just three months ago. Given his youth, positional versatility, and strong 2023 campaign, it seems more likely that the club would rather retain Paredes as a member of the club’s core rather than trade him away just as he enters his prime years.
While Arozarena may be the most expensive of the group by far with a $9MM projected salary in 2024, the 28-year-old outfielder is under team control through the end of the 2026 season and provides consistency to the Rays lineup. He’s made at least 600 trips to the plate, with a wRC+ of 120 or better, 20 home runs or more, and 20 stolen bases or more in each of the past three seasons. That consistency, power and speed makes Arozarena a key piece for the Rays going forward, to say nothing of his status as one of the most recognizable players on the team.
That leaves Ramirez, who has contributed to the Rays in a big way over the past two seasons. In 869 trips to the plate with the club over the past two seasons, Ramirez has slashed an impressive .306/.348/.432 with a 17.4% strikeout rate, good for a wRC+ of 123. Good as that production is, it’s worth noting Ramirez carries a hefty platoon split; while he was roughly league average against right-handers with a .281/.329/.420 slash line in 310 trips to the plate against them this year, he absolutely crushed lefties to the tune of a .387/.411/.555 slash line in 124 trips to the plate. His career splits are roughly similar, with a .719 OPS against righties and an .816 OPS against southpaws.
Valuable as a lefty-mashing corner bat can be, the Rays are fortunate to be well-stocked in terms of DH and corner options. Yandy Diaz has locked down the first base spot with star-level production the past two seasons, while slugger Luke Raley made a strong impression during his first run of significant playing time this year, slashing .249/.333/.490 with 19 home runs in just 406 trips to the plate while covering first base, DH, and all three outfield spots. This also doesn’t consider young infield prospect Jonathan Aranda, who slashed .230/.340/.368 in 103 plate appearances with the big league club this year and could play his way into a bigger role next season.
Additionally, each of those options has more team control remaining than Ramirez. While the 29-year-old will be a free agent following the 2025 season, Diaz is under control through 2026, Raley through 2028, while Aranda has yet to accrue a full season of service time in the big leagues. Given the club’s bountiful options at the position and Ramirez’s relative lack of team control, he could be the perfect trade candidate for a Rays team interested in lowering payroll to make other additions or even simply in leveraging a valuable asset from a clear area of depth.
In terms of potential suitors, there are several teams that could conceivably be interested in Ramirez’s services. The Brewers and Cubs both have uncertain first base situations headed into 2024, with Rowdy Tellez looking like a potential non-tender candidate and Matt Mervis having struggled through his first cup of coffee in the majors earlier this year. The Cubs, of course, are the club the Rays acquired Ramirez from prior to his breakout in the spring of 2022.
Meanwhile, the Padres could look to add a right-handed complement to Matt Carpenter at DH, with Ramirez as a strong option to fill the role the club hoped Nelson Cruz could fill in 2023. The Diamondbacks and Braves could also find themselves in search of a bat like Ramirez this offseason, in the event Tommy Pham and Eddie Rosario depart the club this offseason. In truth, there’s few aspiring contenders that couldn’t make use of a lefty-mashing corner bat with two seasons of team control remaining, giving the Rays plenty of potential paths in the event they do pursue a trade of the 29-year-old.
AL Notes: Abreu, DiPuglia, McKinstry
A bad back might’ve saved Jose Abreu‘s season, as the first baseman’s debut season in Houston didn’t start to turn around until a two-week stint on the injured list in August. Abreu was batting only .234/.291/.343 in 464 plate appearances prior to the IL trip, yet as Astros hitting coach Alex Cinton told ESPN’s Buster Olney, Abreu “was a different guy” after returning to action. Abreu improved to .248/.315/.530 with eight home runs over 130 PA in the rest of the regular season, and he has a .962 OPS and four homers over 39 PA during Houston’s postseason run.
Beyond just letting his back heal, the IL trip also seemed to serve as a mental reset for Abreu after the grind of his first four-plus months. After signing a three-year, $58.5MM contract with Houston last winter, Abreu was perhaps too eager to contribute to his new team. Olney writes that “Cintron began to view Abreu’s relentless diligence as a problem. As Abreu relentlessly took batting practice, his coaches believed, he was sapping his energy day after day — and likely prolonging his slump.” Fortunately for all parties, Abreu has found his form at the ideal time for an Astros team that is one victory away from a return trip the World Series.
More from around the American League….
- Former Nationals assistant GM Johnny DiPuglia is interviewing with the Rays about a front office job, according to reporter Francys Romero (via X). DiPuglia had been working as Washington’s international scouting director since 2009 and assistant GM since 2020 before he resigned from the organization in September, reportedly due to the Nationals’ desire to reduce his salary. It isn’t surprising that the Rays (and presumably other teams) have interest in hiring DiPuglia, who has over 30 years of experience of scouting and front office experience, and a rich history of success in finding and developing Latin American talent.
- Zach McKinstry is planning “to live in the weight room” this offseason to improve his core strength, the Tigers utilityman tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. This represents a departure from last winter, when McKinstry was rehabbing from a torn groin suffered in August 2022, though he played through the injury without going on the IL. The interruption to his usual offseason routine may have been a reason behind McKinstry’s underwhelming .231/.302/.351 slash line over 518 PA last season, not to mention the increased workload as a whole. McKinstry had played in only 121 MLB games and received 364 PA from 2020-22 as a member of the Dodgers and Cubs before taking on a regular role with Detroit in a variety of different positions. Petzold notes that McKinstry is out of minor league options, so there’s less of a margin for error as the uilityman will try to retain his spot as a multi-positional option. “I’ll try to get my rotational strength a little bit stronger. Hopefully, it can last me a little bit longer throughout the whole season, not just one month, two months or three months,” McKinstry said.
Offseason Chat Transcript: Tampa Bay Rays
In conjunction with the recent offseason outlook, MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald held a Rays-specific chat. Click here to read the transcript.
Offseason Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays continued their impressive run of success while working with limited funds. Despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the league, they made the playoffs for a fifth straight season in 2023. Their offseasons generally see plenty of roster turnover, but it’s possible they spend a little bit more this winter in order to keep the gang together.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Wander Franco, SS: $174MM through 2032 (includes buyout on 2033 club option)
- Zach Eflin, RHP: $29MM through 2025
- Jeffrey Springs, LHP: $27MM through 2026 (includes buyout on 2027 club option)
- Tyler Glasnow, RHP: $25MM through 2024
- Yandy Díaz, IF: $18MM through 2025 (includes 2026 club option with no buyout)
- Manuel Margot, OF: $12MM through 2024 (includes buyout on 2025 club option)
- Brandon Lowe, IF: $9.75MM through 2024 (includes buyout on 2024 club option; deal also has club option for ’25)
- Pete Fairbanks, RHP: $8.48MM through 2025 (includes buyout on 2026 club option)
Option Decisions
- None
2024 financial commitments: $76.82MM
Total future commitments: $303.23MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Raimel Tapia (5.144): $2.4MM
- Shawn Armstrong (5.113): $1.8MM
- Andrew Kittredge (5.070): $2.3MM
- Jalen Beeks (5.003): $1.8MM
- Harold Ramírez (4.124): $4.4MM
- Colin Poche (4.114): $2.1MM
- Aaron Civale (4.058): $4.6MM
- Zack Littell (4.043): $1.7MM
- Christian Bethancourt (4.038): $2.3MM
- Cole Sulser (3.157): $900K
- Jason Adam (3.132): $3MM
- Randy Arozarena (3.129): $9MM
- Drew Rasmussen (3.111): $2.2MM
- Isaac Paredes (2.160): $3.2MM
- Shane McClanahan (2.158): $3.6MM
- Josh Fleming (2.144): $1MM
Non-tender candidates: Tapia, Beeks, Bethancourt, Sulser, Fleming
Free Agents
The 2023 campaign started out incredibly strong for the Rays, with the club winning its first 13 games and jumping out to a big lead in the American League East. But the injuries mounted as the season went along, forcing the club to limp into the playoffs via a Wild Card spot before getting euthanized by the Rangers, as Texas outscored them 11-1 in the two-game sweep.
This would normally be the time where speculation would turn to which players the club will trade before the next season. Given their tight budgets, the Rays generally operate by trading players as they get more expensive and closer to free agency, with Tommy Pham and Blake Snell being some of the examples from recent years. It’s possible that this offseason will be different, as president of baseball operations Erik Neander recently said that the club might move the payroll up in order to limit the turnover. That’s partially related to their new stadium funding deal, which is kind of sort of almost official.
Time will tell whether that comes to fruition or to what extent. The data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts has never seen them push beyond the $80MM range in terms of an Opening Day payroll, but Roster Resource estimates their 2024 payroll to be around $125MM right now. A few of their 16 arbitration-eligible players will surely end up non-tendered, which will cut into that number a bit, but it will still take a substantial payroll increase if the club legitimately wants to keep the roster intact.
Even if there aren’t a lot of changes this winter, there would still be question marks, particularly on the pitching staff. Each of Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan required elbow surgery in 2023, with each of their respective recoveries expected to carry into next year. Springs underwent Tommy John in April and is probably out until the middle of 2024, even in a best-case scenario. Rasmussen had the slightly milder internal brace procedure in July, which puts him out of action until at least midseason as well. McClanahan had TJS later in the year and is expected to miss all of 2024 as a result.
There are some names that can be pencilled into next year’s rotation, as each of Zach Eflin and Tyler Glasnow are under contract. They both have fairly spotty injury histories but they were each largely healthy in 2023. Aaron Civale didn’t finish strong but has a solid track record and can be retained via arbitration.
After that, things get less certain. Shane Baz missed all of 2023 recovering from his Tommy John surgery and should be healthy enough for next year, but he may have workload concerns. He only pitched 40 innings in 2022 between the majors and minors, and 92 the year before. There were no minor leagues in 2020 due to the pandemic and Baz was largely in short-season ball before that, meaning he’s yet to reach 100 innings in a season.
Zack Littell was gradually stretched out as the 2023 season wore on, similar to Springs and Rasmussen in previous years, though the results weren’t quite as emphatic. Littell tossed 87 innings as a Ray with a 3.93 ERA but striking out just 19.8% of opponents. His 2.5% walk rate in that time was excellent but is probably unsustainable in the long run. Amongst qualified pitchers this year, only George Kirby limited free passes at that rate.
Taj Bradley is on the depth chart as well, though he’s not a sure thing. He came into 2023 as one of the top pitching prospects in the league but posted an ERA of 5.59 in his first 104 2/3 innings. He won’t turn 23 years old until March and can certainly still put it together, but there’s clearly more development needed.
The club is generally unafraid to be creative in constructing its pitching staff, frequently deploying bullpen games or openers to get through a season. Perhaps they feel this group gives them enough of a rotation to start the year, with Springs and Rasmussen options to jump in later in the season. If that doesn’t come to fruition, reinforcements could always be found at the deadline.
In the bullpen, the club generally does a good job of finding quality arms without paying too much, and that could be the case again next year. Each of Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam, Colin Poche, Andrew Kittredge and Shawn Armstrong had an ERA of 3.09 or lower in 2023. Fairbanks is already under contract for around $3.82MM next year and none of the other four are projected to catch him via the arbitration process.
On the position player side of things, the shortstop position is a giant question mark given ongoing investigation into Wander Franco‘s alleged inappropriate relationships with underage girls. It’s a fairly unprecedented situation and it’s unclear how long it will take to be resolved, but the club will likely operate under the assumption that they can’t rely on him. That likely leaves some combination of Taylor Walls, Osleivis Basabe and Junior Caminero covering the position, with Carson Williams perhaps debuting at some point later in the year.
Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, Yandy Díaz and Harold Ramírez should be able to cover the non-shortstop positions, with Curtis Mead and Jonathan Aranda in the mix as well. The outfield mix seems solid with Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe, Jose Siri, Manuel Margot and Luke Raley all slated to be back.
Catcher is a bit less certain, as Christian Bethancourt took a step back from a solid 2022 season. René Pinto got a decent amount of playing time down the stretch and held his own, so perhaps the club is content to give him a shot to take over as the lead backstop and bump Bethancourt to the backup role or cut him loose.
That still gives the club a strong core, but it’s also fair to wonder what kind of cuts may be coming. It’s not a guarantee that the payroll is going to suddenly get a 50% jump from the $80MM range to the $120MM range, so we might still see some classic Rays trades designed at saving some money and continually restocking the farm. Even if they do have that kind of money, it might be prudent to free some of it up in order to pursue upgrades to the starting staff or behind the plate.
Trading one of those arbitration relievers could still leave them with a solid bullpen, for instance. Arozarena is already set to make a projected $9MM, with two arbitration seasons after that. He’s still a bargain at that price but the Rays have shown that these kinds of players usually get dealt before reaching free agency. Ramírez hits well but is a poor defender, only getting 13 starts as a fielder in 2023. $4.4MM is still a good price for a solid bat but a Rays team that loves versatility could probably find a way to live without him. Lowe (Brandon, not Josh) is now just one year away from the end of his deal, perhaps allowing the club to make him available and replace him from within. Margot might be squeezed in that outfield picture a bit. He wouldn’t have a ton of trade value as a glove-first player with mounting injury concerns and declining defensive grades, but his deal has just one year and $12MM remaining. Many fans of rival clubs might look to Glasnow’s $25MM salary and dream of getting him out of Tampa, but the club probably can’t afford to thin out their starting depth any further.
Moving any of those players could help with the depleted starting staff, perhaps in a direct way by bringing pitching back the other way. Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill and Paul Blackburn are some pitchers speculated to be available. The White Sox seem to be planning on contending, but Dylan Cease would be a logical trade chip if they pivot. The same goes from Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval of the Angels or Mitch Keller of the Pirates. Perhaps the Mariners feel they have enough pitching to part with Logan Gilbert or Bryan Woo while still contending.
Or perhaps the Rays will trade for prospects and then use the new payroll space to pursue a free agent pitcher. They wouldn’t be likely to shop at the top of the market, of course, but a targeted strike similar to last year’s Eflin deal wouldn’t be totally shocking. Perhaps they feel they can get the best out of someone like Jack Flaherty, since they almost acquired him at the deadline. Lucas Giolito, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha or Sean Manaea should be similarly in that mid-rotation or back-end batch of free agents.
The Rays are often a tough team to project, given their willingness to churn the roster perhaps more than any other club, even if that means moving star players. The comments from Neander suggest this winter might be different, but it’s tough to accept that at face value when it contradicts their established modus operandi. However it plays out, the Rays are starting from a decent position. Their departing free agents are mostly relief pitchers, leaving most of their 99-win team intact for now. The starting pitching looks a bit flimsy but that’s been the case in the past and the Rays always seem to find a way to wriggle to success regardless.
In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held a Rays-centric chat on 10-20-23. Click here to read the transcript.
Coaching Notes: Counsell, Astros, Rays
Brewers manager Craig Counsell just wrapped up the final year of his contract in Milwaukee, prompting widespread speculation that he could depart his hometown team after nine years in the club’s dugout. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported this evening that the Mets have “a reasonable chance” of prying Counsell away from his longtime team, though Heyman added that a source connected to the Brewers indicated that the organization believes he’ll remain with the team as long as he gets paid “what he believes is fair.”
Heyman adds that negotiations between Counsell and the Brewers have seemingly not yet progressed at this point, though as previously reported, Counsell won’t have the option to speak to other teams until November. While Counsell, who lives year-round with his family in the suburbs of Milwaukee, has strong ties to both the are and the Brewers organization, Heyman notes that the Mets have potential advantages in newly-hired president of baseball operations David Stearns and, perhaps more importantly, the reported ability to offer Counsell a significant raise; Heyman relays that a source suggested the Mets could offer Counsell double his 2023 salary with Milwaukee of $3.5MM.
A consensus top-tier manager in today’s game, Counsell would surely attract interest from other clubs if he was willing to depart Milwaukee; the Guardians, Giants, and Angels all have managerial openings of their own. Whether Counsell eventually ends up staying with the Brewers, headed to the Mets, or somewhere else entirely, Heyman notes the Mets are still proceeding with their managerial search in order to ensure they have options outside of Counsell.
More coaching notes from around the game…
- One candidate for the Mets Heyman floats is Astros manager Dusty Baker, though his connection of Baker and Queens appears to be purely speculative. That said, Heyman does suggest that Baker is “frustrated” over disputes with the front office regarding analytics. Baker’s decision to use Martin Maldonado as the club’s primary catcher rather than rookie Yainer Diaz as an example of a situation where GM Dana Brown’s front office has butted heads with the dugout. Baker, for his part, has managed in Houston for four seasons on a series of one-year pacts and was noncommittal regarding whether he planned to manage beyond 2023 when asked earlier this year. If the Astros do go in another direction for the manager’s chair after this season, Heyman speculates that bench coach and longtime managerial candidate Joe Espada would be a “logical replacement” for Baker in the Houston dugout.
- The Rays announced today that first base coach Chris Prieto and assistant hitting coach Dan DeMent will not return to the club’s coaching staff for the 2024 season. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds that the Rays are expected to consider both internal and external candidates as they look to replace Prieto, though DeMent will not be replaced on the staff. Topkin notes that with hitting coach Chad Mottola and assistant hitting coach Brady North already in place, the Rays felt a third hitting coach “proved unwieldy.” The only other change in the club’s coaching staff Topkin relays as expected is the departure of process and analytics coach Jonathan Erlichman, who Topkin adds is moving to another position in the organization, though that position has not yet been disclosed.
21 Players Elect Free Agency
With the offseason quickly approaching, a number of players elect minor league free agency on a regular basis. Separate from MLB free agents, who reach free agency five days after the World Series by accumulating six years of service time in the big leagues, eligible minor league players can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season comes to a close. Each of these players were outrighted off of their organization’s 40-man roster at some point during the season and either have been outrighted previously in their career or have the service time necessary to reach free agency since they were not added back to their former club’s rosters. For these players, reaching free agency is the expected outcome, and there will surely be more in the coming weeks. Here at MLBTR, we’ll provide occasional updates as players continue to elect minor league free agency.
Here is the next batch, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Pitchers
Quick Hits: Ng, White Sox, Alvarez, Rodriguez
The Marlins parted ways with GM Kim Ng earlier today, and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic offered additional details on the situation this afternoon. Ghiroli writes that one of the primary issues between the sides was the club’s decision not to offer Ng a three-year extension rather than simply pick up their end of the mutual option, a practice that Ghiroli notes is “fairly standard” for executives at the end of their current deal who have made significant achievements. Those descriptors certainly seem to fit Ng, under whom the Marlins returned to the postseason for the first time in a full-length season since they won the World Series in 2003.
Beyond the contract dispute, Ghiroli adds that Ng and the club were at odds over personnel decisions regarding the front office, the largest of which was ownership’s previously-reported desire to put a president of baseball operations in place above Ng in the organization’s hierarchy, a move that would effectively be a demotion for Ng. Aside from that, Ghiroli notes that Ng had plans for personnel changes regarding leadership-level positions in the club’s scouting and player development departments, which owner Bruce Sherman opposed.
Ghiroli adds that Ng’s next steps are currently uncertain. While there are GM-level openings in both Queens and Boston at the moment, any GM hired in New York would serve under president of baseball operations David Stearns, creating a similar situation to the one Ng sought to avoid in Miami. Meanwhile, Boston’s GM search has seen a number of high-profile candidates decline to interview for the position, with Ghiroli citing the influence of manager Alex Cora and the club’s proclivity for changes at the head of the baseball operations department as potential pitfalls in accepting the job. One possibility Ghiroli floats is a return to the White Sox, where she began her career in professional baseball and served as a member of the front office for seven seasons. Though the club recently promoted Chris Getz to the role of GM, Ghiroli notes the possibility that the club could have interest in Ng as a president of baseball operations to oversee Getz and the rest of Chicago’s front office.
More notes from around the league…
- Yordan Alvarez is recovering from a virus, Astros manager Dusty Baker revealed to reporters (including Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic). His symptoms include a headache and an upset stomach, although Baker declined to discuss the exact details of his star slugger’s illness. The skipper said Alvarez was “better today than he was yesterday” and downplayed the significance of the virus, saying “I got a virus, everybody got a virus. So he’s fine.” While Alvarez had a difficult game last night, going hitless with three strikeouts, he hit two home runs off during today’s 5-4 loss to the Rangers. In the event Alvarez does wind up needing a day off at some point in the series, Yainer Diaz and Jon Singleton are among the club’s options who could fill in for the slugger as the team’s DH.
- According to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays sent scouts to the Dominican Republic recently to observe a workout by Cuban free agent righty Yariel Rodriguez. They were far from alone on that excursion, however, with Topkin adding that fourteen other teams were present to scout Rodriguez. Rodriguez was reportedly released from his NPB contract earlier this month and appears to be in line to test MLB free agency this offseason. Rodriguez did not pitch professionally outside of the World Baseball Classic this year, though in 2022 he was a dominant relief arm for the Chunichi Dragons as he posted a 1.15 ERA in 56 appearances while striking out 27.5% of batters faced.
East Notes: Nationals, Ciolek, Orioles, Phillies, Rays
The Nationals have hired Brad Ciolek as their new senior director of amateur scouting, as initially reported by The Athletic’s Keith Law (X link). Andrew Golden of the Washington Post was the first to report Ciolek’s specific new title, and he’ll work under another new hire in scouting director Danny Haas. Both Hass and Ciolek worked together in the Orioles‘ front office from 2012-19, with Ciolek only just leaving Baltimore after acting as the director of draft operations.
The Talk Nats blog also reported that amateur scout Reed Dunn is close to joining the organization, and Ciolek and Dunn are just two of several new hires within a significantly reshaped player development system. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has been looking to upgrade how the Nationals identify and develop young talent, as the latest step in the team’s rebuilding process. D.C. made some progress with the big league roster in 2023, but with contention still probably at least one more years away, figuring out how to add more quality prospects to the pipeline is of major importance. Ciolek has plenty of experience on this front, as he contributed to the Orioles’ own rebuild, and the deep core of prospects that now has the O’s in great shape to contend for the next decade.
More from around the NL and AL East divisions…
- Advancing to the NLDS means that the Phillies will now need a fourth starter, and Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez are set to throw simulated games on Sunday to ramp up their arms for the possible assignment, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes. Neither pitcher saw any action in the first two playoff rounds, and neither has pitched since September 30, hence the need for some extra warm-up. Gelb figures Walker might get the official start in Game 4 since Walker has rarely ever worked as a reliever during his career, though both Walker and Sanchez could get some action during the game, perhaps in a piggyback capacity. The Phillies haven’t yet announced their starters for the first three games, though it is expected to be Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez, probably in that order.
- The Rays announced a series of internal promotions and role changes within their organization on Friday. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has the full list, led by Blake Butera becoming the new senior director of player development. Just 31 years old, Butera will now oversee the Rays’ vaunted player development system just seven years after he was in the farm system himself as a 35th-round pick for Tampa Bay in the 2015 draft. After ending his playing career, Butera spent five years in the minors as a coach and manager in the Rays’ system, then worked as an assistant field coordinator in 2023.
14 Players Elect Free Agency
As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.
Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR, including a list of 29 players last week. The next group, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:
Catchers
- Chris Okey (Angels)
Outfielders
- Henry Ramos (Reds)
Pitchers
- Kyle Barraclough (Red Sox)
- Silvino Bracho (Reds)
- Daniel Castano (Marlins)
- Diego Castillo (Mariners)
- Nabil Crismatt (D-Backs)
- Justin Dunn (Reds)
- Javy Guerra (Rays)
- Brent Honeywell Jr. (White Sox)
- Brett Kennedy (Reds)
- Jake Reed (Dodgers)
- José Rodríguez (Mariners)
- César Valdez (Angels)
Rays Open To Increased Payroll In 2024
The Rays have a challenging offseason ahead, as they often do. Even after successful seasons, they usually find themselves looking for financial cuts given their low-spending ways. That could be the case again this winter though Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays that the club is open to running a higher payroll in order to keep much of the club intact.
“We have the ability to do that,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander says. “And that’s a nice starting point to have — 99 wins with contributions from as many players as we did this year, players that established themselves, young players getting their first opportunities. It puts us at a really strong position.”
The Rays usually run a payroll near the bottom of the league, with the data of Cot’s Baseball Contracts never having them above $85MM on Opening Day and they haven’t been higher than 25th in the league since 2010. Topkin’s report says the $78.245MM Opening Day figure from last year is actually the franchise high, which is even lower than the listing at Cot’s. But with raises due to various players on the team, running out a similar roster for 2024 would involve getting way up into the $120MM range.
Part of that is Tyler Glasnow, who made just $5.35MM this year but is set to jump to $25MM next year as part of the extension he signed with the club. Lesser raises are also due to other players who signed extensions like Manuel Margot, Yandy Díaz, Jeffrey Springs and Brandon Lowe. Then there’s the arbitration class, which features 16 players. Some of those are non-tender candidates but projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz show that Randy Arozarena will likely earn around $9MM, more than double this year’s $4.125MM salary, among many other notable jumps.
Roster Resource estimates that the club already had about $74MM committed for next year, without those arbitration estimates taken into account. The class is projected as a whole for $46.3MM, which lines up with Topkin’s $120MM figure for keeping the whole gang together.
In the past, the Rays have often dealt with this situation by moving on from notable players like Tommy Pham, Blake Snell and many others. The willingness to trade established big leaguers for cheaper and less-proven ones has allowed the club to continually compete even with their budgetary limitations. 2023 saw them reach the postseason for a fifth straight year, despite sharing a division with many bigger spenders. Though they were quickly eliminated in their last three postseason trips, it’s nonetheless been an impressive tightrope walk.
Perhaps they can proceed with a bit more continuity next year, if Neander’s words prove to be true. Skeptics would be forgiven for rolling their eyes, but the club has hinted at some greater spending capacity in the past. As Topkin points out, the club made an offer of $150MM over six years to Freddie Freeman before he ended up with the Dodgers.
Sticking with the same roster would still leave issues, given how the 2023 club started out red hot and faded as the season went along. But it’s possible that the reverse trajectory could be in store next year. Shane Baz missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery but should be ready to go for Spring Training. Springs required the same procedure in April and could rejoin the club next summer. Drew Rasmussen could also be a midseason returnee after undergoing an internal brace procedure in July. Continued development from younger players like Taj Bradley, Junior Caminero and Curtis Mead could also give them some more momentum.
The Freeman offer from a few years ago shows that the willingness to change course doesn’t necessarily lead to it actually happening. But as Topkin points out, the club had increased attendance this year and has a funding agreement for a new stadium, perhaps giving principal owner Stuart Sternberg some extra incentive to sign off on a different spending level, though it seems it may not be permanent even if it does happen.
“If the timing’s right — right player, right team, right time — there’s always that ability to push,” Neander says. “It’s probably going to come from somewhere at a later date. But there is a fluidity to our payrolls and things, there’s a freedom to it, that allow us to be more competitive if the right circumstances suggest we should make that run.”
Still, there are many who won’t believe in the higher payroll potential until it comes to fruition. It will likely also depend on what discussions happen in the winter with free agents or potential trade partners, something Neander acknowledges. “Every offseason is unique,” he says. “A lot of it will depend on what the other 29 teams are looking to do in addition to what we think is best for us. So, very TBD. Not much of an answer, but a lot of it is you’ve got to be ready to go in whatever direction the winter takes us. But we can run this group back. And it’s a good starting position.”