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Rumor Retrospection: The (Would-Be) Albert Pujols/Ryan Howard Trade Of 2010

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It was exactly a decade ago today that ESPN.com’s Buster Olney dropped a bombshell on the baseball world, reporting that the Phillies had held some internal discussions within their front office about the possibility of a blockbuster deal of first basemen — Phils slugger Ryan Howard to the Cardinals for Albert Pujols.  It would have been a one-for-one trade, with both players switching uniforms with two years remaining on their current contracts.

As Olney observed in his report, the concept might well have been just an idea floated within Philadelphia’s front office, rather than an actual proposal made to the Cards.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. went a step further when asked to comment on the rumor, calling it “Lies.  That’s a lie. I don’t know who you’re talking to, but that’s a lie.”  (Olney defended his reporting two days later, calling it “confirmed information” and he knew “exactly who said what to whom, and how sturdy the intent was.”)

It was an eyebrow-raising trade rumor at the time, and though this particular swap apparently didn’t come close to being a reality, the concept of a straight-up superstar-for-superstar deal is still fascinating ten years later since such deals are so rare.  And, in this particular instance, we can judge with a decade of hindsight how a Pujols-for-Howard trade might have worked out for both the Phillies and the Cardinals.

For St. Louis, the impact is simple — they might not have won the 2011 World Series without Pujols.  2011 marked what was, incredibly, the least-impressive of Pujols’ 11 MLB seasons, as he “only” hit .299/.366/.541 with 37 home runs over 651 PA.  This performance was just the warmup for an epic postseason, as Pujols posted a 1.155 OPS over 82 PA during the Cardinals’ 18 playoff games.  Pujols’ efforts included a three-homer night in Game 3 of the World Series, putting him alongside Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only men (Pablo Sandoval joined the club in 2012) to ever hit three home runs in a Series game.

Could the Cardinals have won a title with Howard in Pujols’ place?  It’s possible, as while Howard wasn’t quite as productive as Pujols during the 2011 regular season, Howard still hit .276/.353/.505 and 31 homers.  Who’s to say how those numbers might have differed in a new ballpark and a new environment as a Cardinal rather than as a Phillie; Howard, a St. Louis native, might have thrived with his hometown team, or perhaps struggled under the added pressure.

What likely doesn’t happen in this what-if scenario, however, is the nasty injury Howard suffered in his (and the Phillies’) last at-bat of the 2011 season.  Making the final out of the 2011 NLDS, Howard tore his Achilles tendon leaving the batters’ box to run out a grounder, and he didn’t return to action until July 6, 2012.  It ended up being a career-altering injury for Howard, as while he was already showing a tiny bit of decline from his prime years and any sort of dropoff for a power hitter isn’t uncommon as he enters his 30’s, the before-and-after of Howard’s Achilles injury is jarring.  From 2012-16, Howard hit only .226/.292/.427 over 2122 PA.

The Phillies lost that 2011 NLDS to, ironically, the Cardinals.  It was the second straight year the Phillies had fallen short in the playoffs after a dominant regular season, and it ultimately proved to be the end of that great era of Philadelphia baseball.  In the eight years since, the Phillies have yet to enjoy another winning season, only managing an even .500 record on two occasions (2012, 2019).  While Howard was a big part of the Phillies’ success in 2010 and 2011, replacing him with Pujols’ next-level production might well have been the difference in a World Series victory in either 2010, 2011, or both seasons.

The other major side effect of this trade is what happens after the 2012 season.  A little over a month after Olney’s report, the Phillies signed Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension covering the 2012-16 seasons.  Since Howard was already 30 years old at the time of the extension and under contract for two more years, there was a pretty immediate and negative reaction to the Phillies’ decision, and while the Achilles injury wasn’t foreseen, the deal indeed ended up being a bust for the Phils.

That said, does Howard still ink an extension if he ends up with St. Louis in this alternate reality?  As Olney noted, the Cardinals weren’t making progress with Pujols on an extension, so they could have had interest in Howard as a potential long-term replacement.  The difference, however, could’ve been that the Cards might have waited at least a season before locking Howard up.  Looking back at past extensions for such Cardinals notables as Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, or Paul Goldschmidt, the team has tended to wait until just before the pending free agent’s final season under contract to finalize a new deal.  A Cardinals/Howard extension could been potentially lesser in both years and dollars, if Howard has performed for the Cards in 2010 as he did in the real world (.276/.353/.505 with 31 home runs) for Philadelphia.  While still strong numbers, they nonetheless represented a step back from the 50 homers Howard averaged every season from 2006-09, while also batting .278/.379/.589.

As for Pujols, he did depart St. Louis after that 2011 World Series title, signing a ten-year, $240MM deal with the Angels that still has two seasons remaining.  While the Phillies were willing to splurge on Howard, extending Pujols would’ve cost twice the years and almost twice the money as Howard’s extension.  Maybe the Phils (perhaps flush off Pujols leading them to a championship or two) would have decided that Pujols was worth the extra investment and signed him to a similar extension.  Assuming the Pujols in this multiverse declined at the same pace as our universe’s Pujols did with the Angels, such a deal could have left the Phillies with an even bigger contractual albatross on their hands….especially if the Pujols-led 2010 Phils or 2011 Phils hadn’t won a World Series, leaving the team without even a “flags fly forever” silver lining.

Another route is that the Phils work out a more creative extension with Pujols, perhaps overwriting the terms of his 2010-11 salaries to give him more money sooner and less money on the back end in his decline years.  Or, in what might have been ultimately the best-case scenario for Philadelphia, the team could have just let Pujols depart for free agency after the 2011 season.  That would have left room in the Phils’ budget and a hole at first base, which could have put the team in the market for another of that offseason’s top free agent first basemen — Prince Fielder.

Needless to say, such a major trade would’ve greatly altered the last decade of Major League Baseball, and likely swung at least one World Series result.  Given how the last ten years played out for the Phillies, maybe there’s someone from that club’s front office who, if this trade proposal indeed never got past the internal discussion phase, wishes they’d picked up the phone to at least give the Cards a call.

Ryan Howard Announces Retirement

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Long-time MLB slugger Ryan Howard announced in a post today at The Player’s Tribune that he is retiring from the game of baseball. Howard had not played during the 2018 season, but also had not formally hung up his spikes.

Howard will finish out his big-league playing tenure having logged time in 13 seasons, all of them with the Phillies. Though he spent time with the Rockies and Braves organizations last year, Howard’s final MLB showing came in 2016 with Philadelphia.

It’s perhaps too easy to forget now that Howard was once one of the game’s most productive power hitters. He was voted the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2005 and its Most Valuable Player in 2006, emerging alongside players such as Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Cole Hamels to form a core that would soon take the game by storm.

As it turned out, the fate of the Phillies was tied closely to that of its first baseman. Howard finished in the top-ten of MVP voting in every one of the five ensuing seasons, 2007 through 2011, helping to drive the club’s five-year run of NL East titles.

Though the 2008 World Series win represents the crowning achievement of that era of Phillies baseball, the 2011 club actually turned in the most impressive regular-season performance with an excellent 102-60 record. That great team was bounced in stunning fashion from the postseason, though, with Howard making the final out of the NLDS on a play in which he tore his left Achilles tendon.

As went Howard, so went the Phillies; neither was the same from that point forward. The once-feared slugger posted a .226/.292/.427 batting line over the next five seasons. The club played a cumulative 88 games under .500 in the same span.

Of course, the relationship might have ended much sooner had it not been for the fact that Howard signed a five-year, $125MM extension at the start of the 2010 season — an agreement we examined at length after its conclusion. As I explained in that post, the cracks in Howard’s game may not have been obvious at the time of the deal, but began to show not long after.

Mostly, of course, the contract represented a combination of partially but not completely related failures: then-GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies’ brass did not accurately project Howard’s future and the big man’s body did not hold up. There was some tension later in his tenure with the team, though ultimately he played out his contract and bowed out after some nice moments to wrap things up in Philadelphia.

While the club did not achieve value on that contract, it certainly made out quite well overall on a player who came to the organization as a fifth-round pick in the 2001 draft. And Howard expressed fond memories in his farewell statement, which is well worth a full read. MLBTR wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockies Sign Ryan Howard To Minors Deal

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The Rockies announced that they have agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman Ryan Howard.

This is the second time this year the longtime Phillie has taken a minors pact. Howard signed one with the Braves back in April, but the 37-year-old only lasted about a month with the organization. After Howard batted just .184/.238/.263 in 42 plate appearances with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, they released him.

At his best, Howard was an NL MVP-winning slugger in Philadelphia, where he belted 382 home runs from 2004-16 and swatted between 31 and 58 HRs in each season from 2006-11. But Howard declined markedly as his Phillies career progressed and posted a personal-worst season in 2016, making it difficult for him to find work since.

Howard still possesses enough power to make him a somewhat interesting fit for Colorado’s Coors Field, but he’s certainly not a lock to ever play a game for the Rockies. The playoff hopefuls have gotten solid production at first this year from Mark Reynolds, and they just promoted big-hitting prospect Ryan McMahon on Friday. Nevertheless, with Sept. 1 roster expansion forthcoming, Howard will hope to make his way back to the majors during the season’s final weeks.

Quick Hits: Otani, Howard, Reds, Maness

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The pursuit of Shohei Otani could be unlike anything we’ve ever seen, but it won’t begin in earnest for some time. Given the stakes, though, teams have already begun jockeying. The Rangers, in particular, sent a contingent led by GM Jon Daniels to watch Otani work out, as Even Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Though the 22-year-old phenom isn’t even able to pitch right now, sending over the top baseball ops brass was presumably conceived of as a means of laying some groundwork and working to get on Ohtani’s radar. Texas is a particularly interesting potential suitor, given that the team has employed star Japanese hurler Yu Darvish — and that he’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Here’s more of interest from around the game:

  • Veteran slugger Ryan Howard isn’t planning to retire, Meghan Montemurro of the News Journal reports. While the 37-year-old did not last long with the Braves organization after signing recently, he says he still has designs on playing. “By no means am I done,” Howard said. Nevertheless, the former National League MVP has also turned some attention to the future; he has become a partner with a venture capital firm called SeventySix Capital.
  • While things have been far from perfect in the Reds pitching staff, the current roster represents a major upgrade in at least one way, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Despite needing to rotate through some arms, the club has only needed to clear a 40-man spot on one occasion, owing to the presence of more optionable players.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch takes a look at the potential impact of the return of reliever Seth Maness, the former Cardinals hurler who’s now with the Royals. The so-called “primary repair” procedure he underwent on his elbow represents a less-invasive alternative to Tommy John surgery. The question, naturally, is how (and how long)  it’ll hold up in full-speed MLB circumstances, and Maness will begin to provide some of the data needed to make that assessment.
  • If you’re looking for some other reading material heading into the weekend, you’ll definitely want to bookmark the epic account of the 1992 expansion draft put together by MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom. Once you’re through that (it’s long, but worth it), you can check out any number of interesting pieces at Fangraphs, including these on the Orioles’ unlikely successes, the possible breakout of Aaron Altherr, and how Eric Thames turned free time into mastery of the strike zone. Those interested in reading about the bump in home runs early this year should check out this post from Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer. And if you’d like to learn the latest on the prospect front, check out Baseball America’s updated top-100 prospects list and its new top-50 draft list.

Braves Release Ryan Howard

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The Braves have released Ryan Howard, per a club announcement. He had joined the organization recently on a minor-league deal.

Howard, 37, headed to Triple-A after getting ready for the season. But he struggled through his first 42 plate appearances there, hitting just .184/.238/.263 with a single home run and 11 strikeouts.

Once named the National League’s Most Valuable Player, Howard’s strikeout issues and inability to hit lefties have steadily overtaken his power over recent years. Though he swatted 25 home runs in just 362 plate appearances last year in his final campaign with the Phillies, Howard managed only a .196 batting average and .257 on-base percentage on the season.

Transactions Retrospection: The Ryan Howard Extension

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On April 26, 2010, Ryan Howard was a star. For four consecutive seasons, the Phillies first baseman had landed in the top five of the National League MVP voting and swatted over forty home runs. With the Phils in the midst of a five-year run of dominance, the sides linked up on a five-year, $125MM extension.

It’s easy to mock that contract now, with the Phillies still paying down the final portion of it — a whopping $10MM buyout of a $23MM option for the 2017 season. Perhaps the organization believed at the time of the signing that the $13MM decision would be an easy one, but surely since-departed GM Ruben Amaro Jr. did not expect it would be so obvious to say goodbye to (rather than retain) the slugger.

With Howard now looking to make his way back to the majors on a minor-league deal with the Braves, his huge contract is no longer weighing down the Phillies. Instead, it serves mostly as a cautionary tale.

It’s easy to go overboard in criticizing the Howard contract, because we know what became of it. Though he continued to hit at an above-average rate in 2010 and 2011, while playing out the remainder of his arbitration-eligible seasons (which had been bought out under a prior extension), the actual years covered by the five-year deal were a disaster. From 2012 through 2016, Howard averaged 19 home runs annually while slashing a miserable .226/.292/.427.

But that outcome surely wasn’t the expected one at the time of the signing. Howard hadn’t yet suffered a devastating Achilles injury. His K/BB numbers hadn’t eroded to the point that they would. (In fact, he had posted 15% or better walk rates in two full MLB seasons — 2006 and 2007 — and had to that point never ended a full year with less than a 10.7% walk rate.) The swing-and-miss was always there, but Howard hadn’t yet seen his chase rate jump suddenly (it topped 30% in 2010 and kept going up from there).

That is to say: the Phillies weren’t wrong in assessing that Howard was a heck of a player. He was! And he gave them 64 dingers and a .265/.350/.497 batting line over the next two seasons, helping the organization to two more postseason berths. That sort of reduced-but- still-useful production might’ve continued had Howard not blown out his Achilles in making the last out of the club’s stunning 2011 NLDS exit.

Of course, while the Howard extension perhaps turned sour quicker than might’ve been anticipated, that doesn’t mean it was well-conceived. Even at his best, Howard was an extremely limited player; at the time of the deal, he was already thirty years old. And the real sin was committed in making the deal so far in advance of Howard’s free agency, at the end of his peak, and in expectation of a longer run of organizational success than could be sustained. This wasn’t exactly unforeseeable, either. As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes wrote at the time: “The length makes this an unnecessary risk, and at $25MM a year the Phillies didn’t get a discount for taking the gamble and locking him up two years before free agency.”

The Phillies did not come up with a favorable bounce on their ill-advised dice roll. That’s clear. And the deal ended up costing the organization quite a bit of money that could have been reallocated — perhaps, to other players who might’ve helped extend the contention window. (Or, perhaps to other players who might’ve been signed to unwise contracts that would have deepened the eventual financial hole.) But here, too, it’s best to avoid dramatizing the impact. When the Phillies began dismantling their once-great core, Howard’s contract meant that he’d stay on — eventually becoming the lone remaining relic. But it’d be a bit of a stretch to say that the deal impacted the team’s recent decisionmaking, or changed the timeline for a hoped-for return to contention. The delayed rebuilding launch surely wasn’t driven by this one contract.

For the Phillies, the Howard contract proved to be something like the cost expended on a fancy diamond ring in a relationship that ultimately falls apart. When put in perspective, it’s hardly the thing that stings the most. And eventually, you can look back on it all with fondness despite the hard times. By the end, Howard was even able to be seen once more as a proud part of a golden era for the franchise. The Phillies organization will no doubt remember him just that way for decades to come … with the front office also constantly reminding itself of the lesson paid for in his contract.

Braves To Sign Ryan Howard

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The Braves have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran slugger Ryan Howard, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link). He’ll head to extended Spring Training before taking a minor-league assignment. Howard will earn at a palatable $750K annual rate if he makes it to the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

Howard, 37, had a quiet offseason after the Phillies paid him a $10MM buyout rather than picking up their club option following the 2016 campaign. But he’s now headed to a division rival after wrapping up a 13-year run in Philly.

Whether Howard will ever see the majors with Atlanta remains to be seen, of course. He’s not exactly a clear fit for a National League roster that features Freddie Freeman at first base. Perhaps, though, he’ll function as an insurance policy while burnishing his resume should another opportunity arise. It’s also possible that Howard could ultimately take a spot as a bench bat for the Braves.

The market was not kind to lumbering power hitters this winter. With younger, somewhat more defensively capable players signing for far less than expected or even taking minors deals, Howard faced an uphill path to earning a MLB job. Veteran DH Billy Butler has still yet to sign.

Howard certainly still has some pop left in his bat. Last year, he swatted 25 long balls in just 362 plate appearances. He also struck out 31.5% of the time and slashed just .196/.257/.453, though that was driven in part by a meager .205 batting average on balls in play.

That said, Howard did make hard contact 45.9% of the time he did put bat to ball, a level he hadn’t reached since way back in 2009 — his last season as a high-quality regular. Being limited almost exclusively to facing right-handed pitching probably influenced that figure, though. Howard has long been much more successful when hitting with the platoon advantage, with more than .200 OPS points separating his career splits, and it’s hard to imagine him squaring up against southpaws much at all from this point onward.

Cafardo’s Latest: Santana, Howard, Red Sox, Baker, Papelbon

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Here are highlights from the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • Ervin Santana of the Twins could soon become a sought-after trade target due to his talent, experience and affordability, one AL scout opines. Santana makes just $13.5MM this season and next, with a $14MM option that can vest under certain conditions. Jose Quintana attracted plenty of attention over the offseason, but Santana should emerge as a big name too if the Twins make him available — which they haven’t yet, according to Cafardo.
  • Slugger Ryan Howard would like to continue playing, but has not yet received any opportunities, Cafardo writes. Howard did, of course, struggle through most of the past several seasons in Philadelphia, and he batted just .196 last year. He did hit 25 home runs in 362 plate appearances and bat .262/.324/.608 in the second half. It appears there aren’t any teams out there swayed by those numbers, however.
  • Thanks to Allen Craig ($11MM) and Rusney Castillo ($10.5MM), the Red Sox’ affiliate in Pawtucket will have the largest Triple-A payroll ever. Neither are on the 40-man roster. Craig played sparingly for Pawtucket last year and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2015; he’s in what should be the last year of the $31MM contract he signed with St. Louis prior to the 2013 campaign. The Red Sox will almost certainly pay him a $1M buyout on his 2018 option once the season is over. Castillo was outrighted last season and is still owed $46MM through 2020.
  • Nationals manager Dusty Baker, whose two-year contract with the club expires after the 2017 season, says he would like to continue managing beyond that. (As of last week, there weren’t any pending extension talks between Baker and the Nats.) On an unrelated note, Baker also shares his take on whether a manager can tell whether his team will be good or bad at this point in the season. “There are too many variables like injuries and different things that happen in players’ lives,” he says. “One thing though, you know when you have a bad team. When you leave spring training you know when you have a bad team and you know when you have a good team. Just hard to predict how good sometimes.”
  • Former star closer Jonathan Papelbon still hasn’t decided whether he’s going to keep playing, Cafardo writes. Papelbon didn’t sign this winter while dealing with a family matter.

Quick Hits: Howard, Marlins, Rockies, Rays, Wieters

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Ryan Howard tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that a productive second half in 2016 — Howard batted .262/.324/.608 in his last 140 plate appearances — convinced him that he still has “a lot left in the tank.” Howard is working out and waiting in hopes of receiving an offer for the upcoming season, Rosenthal writes. The longtime Phillies cornerstone is open to signing in the American League and serving as a designated hitter, and he’s realistic and understanding of the fact that he isn’t likely to be given an everyday role. Howard is one of many left-handed sluggers on the free-agent market — Brandon Moss, Pedro Alvarez, Adam Lind and Justin Morneau are all also available, for instance — but a strong finish and 24 home runs against right-handed pitching (in 327 plate appearances) could get him a look as a part-time DH or a bench bat in 2017.

Here are a few more late-night notes from around the game…

  • The Marlins’ acquisition of right-hander Severino Gonzalez filled the team’s 40-man roster, making further guaranteed contracts unrealistic, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. The Marlins could still add some players on minor league deals, but with a full 40-man roster and a payroll that is at its limit (roughly $110MM), additional spending is a long shot. Miami was recently connected to both Chris Carter and Mark Reynolds, but Frisaro calls the chances of signing either “extremely remote.” The Fish do have interest in Jeff Francoeur, but he’d have to be willing to sign a minor league contract in order to return to Miami. That could ultimately happen, but Francoeur does have interest elsewhere, as the Braves are said to be in on him as well.
  • Sticking with the Marlins, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears that it was the agents for Carter and Reynolds who reached out to the Marlins recently, and not vice versa. That would certainly make sense, as Miami could look like an appealing landing spot, on paper, for either slugger. Jackson writes that the Marlins are considering a 13-man pitching staff and a four-man bench, making the addition of even a modestly priced right-handed bat like Carter or Reynolds unlikely. There’s still some interest in Francoeur and Chris Johnson, he notes.
  • Fangraphs’ David Laurila spoke with Rockies GM Jeff Bridich about a number of topics, interestingly touching on what lessons that Major League front offices can learn from the front offices of teams in other sports. Laurila notes that Bridich is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan, and the two discussed Green Bay’s ability to build through the draft as well as the Atlanta Falcons’ turnaround from a sub-.500 club to a Super Bowl participant. Bridich also spoke about the Rockies’ focus on youth and athleticism as well as their growing analytics department. “We’ve worked in leaps and bounds to do that, but it’s probably unfair to say we’ve brought our analytics process up to par with our scouting process,” said Bridich. “…in terms of the human capital, in terms of the financial capital, and the time spent in the growth of the analytics over the last year, year and a half… it’s real. We’re starting to really see some movement there.”
  • Rays general manager Erik Neander tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that newly acquired right-hander Jose De Leon is very close to making a “significant impact” on the team, though Topkin writes that De Leon could open the year in Triple-A. De Leon’s shoulder has been a source of concern for some, but the right-hander denies that there’s any cause for concern and said his arm is healthy. “I’m on a mission,” De Leon tells Topkin. “I was a low draft pick, nobody knew about me, nobody believed in me, so I’m on a mission to fulfill my dreams. Getting to the big leagues is just the beginning.”
  • Topkin also notes at the end of that column that the Rays are “possibly” considering free-agent catcher Matt Wieters in their search for a bat. While that may seem like a curious fit at first glance, offseason signee Wilson Ramos will be out early in the season as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Even when Ramos is healthy enough to take the field, it’s all but certain that the Rays will want to be cautious at first once he’s activated. Wieters could catch regularly for a good portion of the season and eventually be part of a catcher/DH timeshare with Ramos, in theory.

Rays Discussing Several Free Agent Hitters

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Newly promoted Rays general manager Erik Neander isn’t ruling out a rebuild “if the interest and market dictates,” he told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. But, on the heels of a 68-win campaign, it seems Neander is more focused on immediately returning the Rays to relevance.

“There’s a certain belief that we have in the core of our team, that it’s not out of the question that we can compete deep into the season,” Neander said.

As Topkin previously reported, it’s unlikely the Rays will subtract their best starter, Chris Archer, from that core. But they continue to discuss left-hander Drew Smyly with other teams, and right-hander Alex Cobb is also a candidate to end up elsewhere via trade. Dealing one of those two would leave the Rays with a still-capable group that would also consist of Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell and perhaps Matt Andriese. They’re mulling adding free agent starter Nathan Eovaldi to the mix, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in August and wouldn’t become a factor until 2018.

[RELATED: Rays Depth Chart]

In order to complement what should be a respectable 2017 starting staff, the Rays are considering outside help for their bullpen and lineup, per Topkin. Specifically, the team would like to add an adept defensive outfielder and a first base/designated hitter type to its collection of position players. With the latter need in mind, Tampa Bay has discussed such left-handed free agent hitters as Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Howard, Brandon Moss, Luis Valbuena and 2016 Ray Logan Morrison. If they opt for a right-handed batter, which could make more sense given that first baseman Brad Miller and DH Nick Franklin struggle against left-handed pitchers, 2016 National League home run co-champion Chris Carter and Billy Butler are on their radar.

However, of greater intrigue than securing any of the aforementioned names is the possibility of signing Jose Bautista. While he seems like a longshot pickup for the low-payroll Rays, they could be in position to pounce on the Tampa Bay-area resident if his market doesn’t develop as hoped this offseason. Plus, because the Rays finished in the bottom 10 of the standings last season, they wouldn’t have to give up a first-round selection to sign Bautista, who rejected the Blue Jays’ qualifying offer. The Rays would instead surrender their competitive balance pick (currently No. 31 overall) in next year’s draft to ink the longtime AL East rival.

Regardless of whether they’re able to reel in Bautista, it does seem the Rays are aiming to compete next year. Last season’s subpar record notwithstanding, the club has a bevy of quality players in the fold, and free agent signing Wilson Ramos should further help matters if the catcher is able to return from a torn ACL in early 2017.

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