Rays Roster Notes: Vilade, Palacios, Boyle
Utilityman Ryan Vilade has made the Rays’ Opening Day roster, manager Kevin Cash told reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Reds early in the offseason. Vilade could fill in around the infield while shortstop Taylor Walls is sidelined.
Vilade has spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues. He’s stumbled to a .141/.200/.188 in 71 plate appearances. Vilade has shown more promise with the bat in the minors, including a 135 wRC+ in 113 games at Triple-A between the Cardinals and Reds organizations last year.
The main draw for Vilade is his flexibility as a defender. He’s played every position except pitcher and catcher in the minors. Vilade hasn’t played shortstop since 2019, but he appeared at every other infield spot and all three outfield positions at Triple-A this past season.
The Rays sent outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and infielder/outfielder Richie Palacios to minor league camp on Friday. Both players were candidates for a bench role alongside infielder Ben Williamson, outfielder Jonny DeLuca, and backup catcher Hunter Feduccia. Prospect Carson Williams was sent to minor league camp earlier this week, only to be brought back after Walls went down. He’s likely headed toward the majority of the shortstop playing time as Walls recovers from a strained oblique.
Malloy came over in a minor trade with the Tigers after getting designated for assignment in late December. His lack of defensive value made him a peculiar fit for a Tampa Bay roster that typically prioritizes versatility. Malloy kept the strikeouts in check this spring, but he hit just .222 with just two extra-base hits.
Palacios is the more surprising cut. He stole 19 bases while providing league-average production with the bat in 2024. He bounced all over the field, spending most of his time at second base and right field. Palacios got off to a hot start this past season, posting a 138 wRC through mid-April. He then went down with a knee sprain that kept him out until September. The additions of Cedric Mullins and Gavin Lux were suboptimal for the lefty-swinging Palacios, given the platoon tendencies of the Rays.
“Richie, he’s a really good player,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It’s tough to see a scenario where he’s not helping us at some point, (with) his versatility. Just there wasn’t really a lane for him of the gate, as we are right now, coming out with health.”
On the pitching side, Joe Boyle will join Palacios and Malloy in minor league camp. As has become a theme in his career, the hard-throwing righty had a phenomenal 34.0% strikeout rate this spring, but it came with a 17.0% walk rate. Boyle got up to 74 pitches in his most recent outing, so he was preparing as a starter. Tampa Bay didn’t have an obvious spot in the rotation with free agents Nick Martinez and Steven Matz joining incumbents Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, and Shane McClanahan.
Topkin also notes that left-hander Cam Booser was informed he won’t make the big-league squad. He came to Tampa Bay on a minor league deal back in January. Booser’s deal includes an upward mobility clause. If he triggers it, he’ll be offered to the rest of the teams in the league. If another team is willing to give Booser a place on the roster, the Rays will be forced to do the same or work out a trade.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Rays Acquire Ryan Vilade From Reds
The Rays are acquiring outfielder Ryan Vilade from the Reds, according to a team announcement. Tampa is sending cash considerations to Cincinnati in exchange for Vilade’s services.
Vilade, 27 in February, joins the Rays following a season where he split time between the Cardinals and Reds organizations. He signed a minor league deal with St. Louis all the way back in December, and began the year in the minor leagues. Vilade hit well enough to get called up to the big league roster in late May, though he appeared in just seven games before being designated for assignment by the Cards in the middle of June. He was plucked off waivers by the Reds shortly thereafter, though they optioned him to Triple-A and he spent the majority of the rest of the season with the club’s Louisville affiliate and made just one appearance in Cincinnati.
Overall, Vilade went just 1-for-13 with two walks and five strikeouts in his taste of big league action this year. That more or less tracks with his limited cameos as a member of the Tigers and Rockies over the years, and he’ll join the Rays with a career .141/.200/.188 slash line across 71 plate appearances in the big leagues. His Triple-A numbers do suggest there might be more to Vilade than meets the eye, however. Between Louisville and the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, Vilade slashed a robust .290/.378/.511 in 113 games this year. He hit 29 doubles, 4 triples, and 17 homers in that time with 11 steals in 13 attempts, and struck out just 19.3% of the time. It’s an impressive profile, though on some level that’s to be expected of a 27-year-old outfielder hitting at Triple-A.
Even so, a small market team like the Rays could certainly benefit from taking a flier on Vilade. Tampa is in clear need of outfield help after a disappointing 2025 season where they had the fifth-worst outfield in baseball by wRC+ with a figure of just 85. That’s 15% worse than league average, and if the Rays don’t have the budget to make adding a big bat to the outfield a priority this winter, then it’s possible they could simply look to take fliers on players like Vilade who have succeeded in the minors but not yet gotten significant run in the big leagues. That sort of player isn’t quite as valuable for the Reds, who have Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, Noelvi Marte, Spencer Steer, and Will Benson as potential outfield contributors on the roster with both Friedl and Marte as likely average or better regulars next year.
Reds Claim Ryan Vilade, Designate Jacob Hurtubise
The Reds announced that infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade has been claimed off waivers from the Cardinals, and Vilade was optioned to Triple-A. To create roster space, Cincinnati designated outfielder Jacob Hurtubise for assignment.
St. Louis designated Vilade two days ago, after Vilade had appeared in seven games during a brief stint on the Cards’ roster. Signed to a minor league contract in December, Vilade hit an impressive .280/.375/.476 over 192 plate appearances with Triple-A Memphis to earn a selection to the Cardinals’ active roster at the end of May, though he had only one hit in 15 PA on the Cards’ active roster.
To some extent, this has been the story of Vilade’s pro career, as he had a .141/.200/.188 slash line in 71 PA over 27 career games in the majors with the Rockies, Tigers, and Cardinals. His career .272/.353/.406 slash in 2093 Triple-A appearances is much more impressive, yet it hasn’t stood out quite enough for Vilade to get much in the way of regular playing time in the Show, nor has he hit anywhere near well enough to capitalize on his small sample.
While Vilade has played only as an outfielder and in one single game as a first baseman in the majors, he has some experience at all four infield positions, including time as a first, second, and third baseman with Memphis this year. This expanded defensive repertoire seems like a logical way for Vilade to improve his usefulness to big league teams, and it might help him earn some bench time on a Reds team that is somewhat unsettled in teams of everyday regulars. In particular, Vilade’s right-handed bat might help him become a complement within a Reds outfield overloaded with left-handed hitters.
That crowded outfield may have factored into the limited playing time that Hurtubise received in his first two MLB seasons, though the left-handed hitter has batted only .167/.291/.212 over 83 PA in the bigs. This season, he made the Reds’ Opening Day roster but didn’t last long before being optioned, and then briefly returned to the majors in May.
An undrafted free agent for the Reds in 2020 (the year of the pandemic-shortened five-round draft), Hurtubise reached Triple-A for the first time in 2023, but his numbers at Cincinnati’s top affiliate have gone steadily downward over the last three years. He has hit just .144/.336/.186 in 133 PA in Louisville this season, making him an expendable piece on the Reds’ 40-man roster despite some tremendous speed and base-stealing ability (124 steals in 147 chances in his minor league career). Hurtubise can’t reject an outright assignment, so he would remain in the Reds’ organization if he clears waivers.
Cardinals Designate Ryan Vilade For Assignment, Select Andre Granillo
The Cardinals announced that they have selected right-hander Andre Granillo to their roster and also recalled outfielder Michael Siani. In corresponding moves, they have optioned righty Chris Roycroft and designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment.
Granillo, 25, was selected by the Cardinals in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. Exclusively a reliever, he has climbed the minor league ladder while posting good strikeout numbers and also giving out a high number of walks. He has 233 1/3 minor league innings under his belt to this point, having allowed 3.74 earned runs per nine innings. He has punched out 32.2% of batters faced in that time while also giving out free passes at a 12.7% clip.
It seems he has taken a big step forward in terms of his control this year. He has thrown 29 2/3 innings over 18 appearances with a 1.82 ERA. He has only walked 6.9% of batters faced while still getting punchies at a huge rate of 39.7%. In May of last year, FanGraphs ranked Granillo as the #21 prospect in the system. That report gave the highest praise for his slider, though it also mentioned his changeup and his mid-90s fastball.
With Granillo seemingly taking a big step forward at Triple-A, the Cards will give him a chance to face major league hitters. But that required a 40-man spot, so Vilade will get bumped off. Vilade, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Cards in the offseason. He put up a strong .280/.375/.476 line in 48 Triple-A games and was added to the roster a couple of weeks ago when Jordan Walker landed on the IL.
Unfortunately, Vilade hasn’t been able to do much in his limited big league playing time. He has been sent to the plate 15 times and struck out in five of those trips. He drew two walks but recorded just one hit, a single. He now has a .141/.200/.188 slash in his 71 big league plate appearances for his career.
He will now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Cards technically could take five days to explore trade interest. Vilade’s major league numbers aren’t good but in a tiny sample. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .279/.355/.457 slash and 114 wRC+ in 156 Triple-A contests. He also stole 25 bases in that time while playing the three non-shortstop infield positions and all three outfield slots. Since he still has an option year, perhaps he could appeal to a club looking for extra position player depth.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Cardinals Place Jordan Walker On 10-Day IL, Select Ryan Vilade
The Cardinals announced that outfielder Jordan Walker has been placed on the team’s 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 29) due to left wrist inflammation. Right-hander Gordon Graceffo has also been optioned to Triple-A, while coming up from Triple-A are right-hander Roddery Munoz and utilityman Ryan Vilade. In Vilade’s case, his minor league contract was selected to the Cards’ active roster.
The IL trip comes at a particularly inopportune time for Walker, as he was starting to heat up after an extended slump. After posting just a .502 OPS over his first 138 plate appearances of the season, Walker had hit .333/.353/.545 over his last 34 trips to the dish. These ups and downs have come over the first true extended stint of everyday playing time Walker has had in his three MLB seasons, as he has been the Cardinals’ starting right fielder for the majority of the 2025 season.
St. Louis came into the year committed to finding playing time for some of its younger players, and Walker has remained a lineup regular despite his struggles. With Walker now sidelined, Alec Burleson or Brendan Donovan could see more time in the outfield, and Donovan moving more into the outfield mix could open up second base for Nolan Gorman.
Vilade’s multi-positional ability should also net him some looks as the 26-year-old is on the verge of his first big league action of 2025. The Cardinals signed Vilade to a minor league deal during the offseason, and he has thus far played all three outfield positions as well as first, second, and third base over 48 games with Triple-A Memphis. Beyond his contributions to the depth chart, Vilade has also drawn attention with his bat, as he is hitting .280/.375/.476 over 192 PA with Memphis.
Vilade’s MLB resume consists of 20 career games — three with the Rockies in 2021 and 17 with the Tigers last season, with 56 PA and a .416 OPS to show for that small taste of the Show. His minor league numbers are naturally much more solid, with Vilade producing consistently better offense over parts of four seasons now of Triple-A ball.
Cardinals Sign Ryan Vilade To Minor League Deal
The Cardinals announced that they have signed infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade to a minor league contract. The Icon Sports Management client also receives a non-roster invite to major league spring training.
Vilade, 26 in February, has some slivers of major league experience. He got into three games for the 2021 Rockies and then 17 games for the 2024 Tigers. He has a .157/.200/.216 batting line in 56 plate appearances in the big leagues. He was outrighted by Detroit at the end of the season and elected free agency.
Those numbers are obviously not impressive, but it’s also a tiny sample size and the Cards are surely looking more at his minor league track record. He got into 108 Triple-A games in 2024, slashing .278/.346/.449 for a 105 wRC+ in his 442 plate appearances at that level. He also stole 20 bases while lining up defensively at all three outfield spots and the three non-shortstop infield positions.
Vilade also has a bit of prospect pedigree, as he was a second-round pick of the Rockies in 2017. He hit well in the lower levels of the minors in the early stages of his professional career, getting ranked by Baseball America as one of Colorado’s top ten prospects from 2018 to 2022. But he didn’t hit much at the Triple-A level in 2021 or 2022, so the Rockies put him on waivers. The Pirates put in a claim and ran him through waivers, with Vilade then going on to have another lackluster Triple-A season in 2023.
He was able to elect free agency going into 2024 and signed a minor league deal with the Tigers. As mentioned, he didn’t do much in his brief major league time but got back on track a bit at the Triple-A level, enough to intrigue the Cardinals.
St. Louis is planning for 2025 to be a reset year, where they will be more focused on upgrading their player development pipeline than on short-term contention. As such, it’s possible that they could consider trades of players with limited long-term value. Nolan Arenado seems like he could be on the move since he is turning 34 and wants to play for a contender. Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar have three years of club control left and are plausible candidates to be available. Nolan Gorman still has four years of club control remaining but seems to have fallen out of favor with the Cards, making him a change of scenery candidate. Paul Goldschmidt is already gone via free agency.
Vilade’s ability to play multiple positions means that he could take up some of the playing time that might shake loose as the club shuffles the roster. If he gets a roster spot at any point, he still has one option year remaining and only has a few days of service time, meaning he can potentially be cheaply retained into the future.
Tigers Decline Option On Casey Mize, Retain Club Control Via Arbitration
The Tigers declined their $3.1MM option on Casey Mize. That’s a procedural transaction, as Mize does not have the requisite six years of service to become a free agent. He remains under arbitration control and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2MM salary. Detroit also outrighted Bligh Madris, Ryan Vilade and Bryan Sammons off the 40-man roster.
Mize took the ball 22 times this past season. The former first overall pick still hasn’t developed as hoped. He turned in a 4.49 ERA with a middling 17.3% strikeout rate. That limited his earning potential in arbitration. The modest $2MM projection means the Tigers will very likely bring Mize back to compete for a spot at the back of the rotation. He’ll be eligible for arbitration one more time before reaching free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.
Madris, Vilade and Sammons all played small roles for the Tigers in 2024. Madris and Vilade made a handful of appearances off the bench. Sammons, a rookie left-hander, pitched 27 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball as a bulk pitcher. All three players can become minor league free agents.
Tigers Reinstate Kerry Carpenter
The Tigers announced that outfielder Kerry Carpenter has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open an active roster spot. In a corresponding 40-man roster move, right-hander Brendan White was recalled from Double-A Erie and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow strain.
The return of Carpenter should be a nice boost for the Detroit lineup. He has appeared in 199 major league games to this point in his career and has hit 34 home runs in that time. His .275/.336/.495 slash line translates to a 128 wRC+, indicating he’s been 28% better than league average overall.
He landed on the IL at the end of May due to an unknown lower back injury that was later reported to be a lumbar spine stress fracture. He eventually missed over two months, getting transferred to the 60-day IL along the way, but is now able to rejoin the lineup. The Tigers are nine games back of a playoff spot and have long odds for a miracle run at this point, but it will still be good for Carpenter to get some playing time before the offseason kicks in.
White, 25, has been on Detroit’s 40-man roster since November of 2022. Last year, he was able to toss 40 2/3 innings in the big leagues with a 5.09 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 51.8% ground ball rate.
This year, he was optioned during Spring Training and has been in the minors all season. At the end of May, the club listed him as dealing with right elbow inflammation, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group on X. He was still experiencing elbow discomfort in July, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X.
At this point, details are still murky about what’s next but it seems the club doesn’t expect him back this year, hence the 60-day IL placement. If there’s a silver lining for White, it’s that he’ll get major league pay and service time for the rest of the season. He was able to accrue 111 days of service last year, putting him 61 days shy of the one-year mark. There’s not enough time left in 2024 for him to get over that line but he’ll creep towards it and get a little pay bump while navigating his injury absence.
Tigers Place Riley Greene On Injured List
The Tigers announced that outfielder Riley Greene has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move.
At this point, it’s unclear how long Greene is expected to be out of action and the player himself couldn’t provide much clarity. “It’s Grade 1 or 2, whatever it is,” Greene said, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X. “It could have been worse. I’m glad it’s not. There’s really no timeline behind it. It’s based on how I’m feeling, and go from there.”
Even with that murky prognosis, it could be a notable development nonetheless as Greene has easily been the club’s best position player this year and the Tigers are one of many in-between teams that could impact Tuesday’s trade deadline.
In 101 games for Detroit this year, Greene has 17 home runs. His 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit on the high side but he’s also drawn walks in 11.9% of his plate appearances. His .264/.357/.485 batting line leads to a 136 wRC+, indicating he’s been 36% better than the league average hitter.
Greene’s glovework has also received strong reviews. He has played all three outfield slots, though mostly in left field. Thus far, he’s racked up nine Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average.
Combining his offensive and defensive contributions, Greene has been worth 2.9 wins above replacement this year, per the calculations of FanGraphs. No other position player on the Tigers has been worth more than 1.5 fWAR this year so Greene is essentially doubling all of his non-pitching teammates in that department.
The Tigers are one of many clubs within sight of a playoff spot but not necessarily with a great shot. They are 51-53 and currently 5.5 games back of an American League Wild Card spot. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them an 8.8% chance of getting into the postseason while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them a tad lower at 7.7%.
If they decide to sell between now and the deadline, they could make some very interesting players available. Jack Flaherty is viewed as the top rental starting pitcher on the market and the Tigers have other possible rentals in Carson Kelly, Mark Canha and Gio Urshela. They have 2025 club options on Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Though Tarik Skubal has two years of club control remaining after this one, rival clubs are undoubtedly trying their best to get him out of Detroit.
The Tigers are playing the Twins this weekend, one of the clubs they are chasing in the playoff race. Perhaps their results this weekend will impact what kind of moves they make. Losing Greene figures to hurt their chances in those upcoming games and the ones to come after that, making this a potentially significant IL stint.
Tigers Place Reese Olson On Injured List, Select Bligh Madris
The Tigers announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game. Right-hander Reese Olson was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain and infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. To take those two roster spots, the Tigers selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Bligh Madris and recalled left-hander Easton Lucas. To open a 40-man spot for Madris, outfielder Kerry Carpenter was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Olson started for the Tigers yesterday against the Blue Jays but departed after just two innings with the club announcing his injury as right shoulder soreness. Now it seems a strain has been discovered and he’ll need to miss at least 15 days, though it’s unclear how severe the strain is or exactly how long the club expects to be without him.
That will interrupt a very nice season for Olson, as he has made 19 starts with a 3.23 earned run average. His 21.6% strikeout rate is subpar but he’s limited walks to a 7.3% clip and kept 51.2% of balls on the ground.
The Tigers’ rotation is also without Casey Mize and Sawyer Gipson-Long, as both of those hurlers are currently on the IL. Gipson-Long had internal brace surgery in April and is done for the year while Mize has a left hamstring strain and has yet to begin a rehab assignment. In recent days, Matt Manning suffered a lat strain in the minors and won’t be an option anytime soon either.
Detroit has been hot lately, with 11 wins in their last 14 games, pulling them to within five games of a Wild Card spot in the American League. Prior to that, they looked like clearcut deadline sellers, but that looks a bit more questionable after they recent climb.
A couple of weeks ago, Jack Flaherty was the top name on MLBTR’s list of deadline trade candidates. That was due to the combination of his excellent season, his status as an impending free agent and Detroit’s place in the standings. Guys like Gio Urshela, Mark Canha and Andrew Chafin also made some sense as deadline trade candidates, while plenty of clubs have seemingly been trying to pry Tarik Skubal loose as well.
Skubal was always a long shot with his two extra years of control and he’ll probably be even harder to acquire now that the Tigers are back in the playoff picture. Whether the club trades any impending free agents in the weeks to come will be an interesting situation and could perhaps depend on how they perform in the next week.
For now, they will have to proceed without Olson, Mize, Manning or Gipson-Long. That leaves them with a rotation consisting of Flaherty, Skubal and Keider Montero. They could perhaps return Kenta Maeda to the rotation, after bumping him to the bullpen recently. Prospect Ty Madden is in Triple-A but has an 8.43 ERA there and isn’t on the 40-man roster. Other non-roster options could include Bryan Sammons, Brant Hurter or Lael Lockhart. The Tigers also have one of the best pitching prospects in the league in Jackson Jobe, though he has not yet reached Triple-A and doesn’t even have 40 innings at the Double-A level yet.
Madris, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and has been performing well in Triple-A this year. Through 80 games at that level, he has hit 14 home runs and walked in 12.8% of his plate appearances. The offensive environment is quite strong in the International League this year so his .236/.339/.464 batting line only translates to a wRC+ of 105, but he’s also stolen 17 bases and lined up at first base and all three outfield spots.
Since optioning Spencer Torkelson to the minors, the Tigers have been rotating first base duties mostly between Canha and Urshela but neither is having an especially strong year and both of them can play other positions. They also both hit right-handed while Madris is a lefty, perhaps creating platoon opportunities. Madris has hit just .217/.314/.383 against lefties this year but .241/.346/.488 against righties. Madris is in today’s lineup at first base against righty Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays. Madris has a couple of options and less than a year of major league service time, so he could potentially be a long-term piece for the Tigers if he continues to hold onto his 40-man spot.
As for Carpenter, this move is largely a formality as he’s almost been on the IL for 60 days already. He landed there at the end of May due to a lumbar spine stress fracture and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. He’ll be eligible to come off the IL once it’s been 60 days from his initial placement. That’s only a few days away but he’s not close to a return anyhow.