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Rays Designate Yonny Chirinos For Assignment

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The Rays have designated right-hander Yonny Chirinos, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). The move is to open an active roster spot for left-hander Shane McClanahan, who has been reinstated from the injured list. Additionally, the club also reinstated infielder Yandy Díaz from the paternity list and optioned infielder Jonathan Aranda in a corresponding move.

Chirinos, 29, has been serving in a bulk role for the Rays this year, often following an opener. He’s tossed 62 2/3 innings over 15 outings, posting a 4.02 earned run average in that time. His 7.6% walk rate and 43.2% ground ball rate are each pretty close to league averages, though his 11.8% strikeout rate is barely half of the 22.7% mean for major league hurlers this year. His .244 batting average on balls in play and 76.5% strand rate have perhaps helped him keep earned runs off the board this year.

It’s likely that Chirinos has deserved worse results, as shown by his 5.52 FIP and 5.31 SIERA, but he has had better stuff in the past. From 2018 to 2020, he tossed 234 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA, striking out 20.9% of opponents while walking just 6% and keeping the ball on the ground at a 42.8% rate. But he then had a significant absence, primarily due to Tommy John surgery, missing over two years from August of 2020 until September of 2022.

The results haven’t been quite as strong since that injury layoff but it’s still a bit surprising to see the Rays cut him from the roster since pitching depth has been an ongoing challenge for them this year. Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs were each supposed to be part of the rotation but neither will return this year as both have undergone season-ending surgeries. Shane Baz underwent Tommy John surgery late last year and hasn’t been an option all year. Josh Fleming is also on the 60-day injured list as he deals with an elbow issue.

In addition to those serious ailments, the club has also had to navigate IL stints for McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin, though each are now active with today’s transactions. They form the rotation nucleus alongside prospect Taj Bradley. That still leaves the club one arm shy of a traditional five-man rotation, so there would seemingly be a role for Chirinos, though the Rays evidently have other plans. Perhaps they would simply prefer to deploy some bullpen games or call upon someone like Cooper Criswell to take over as a bulk guy.

It’s also possible that the Rays are confident in their ability to add pitching prior to the August 1 deadline. The list of names generally thought to be available in the next two weeks is very pitching heavy and the Rays have already been connected to some of them. If they are successful in lining up a deal, then their current rotation gap would only be present for a short time.

However they decide to proceed, it’s possible that this move was spurred by Chirinos no longer being optionable. He is in his final option year and was optioned a couple of times earlier this year but has now surpassed five years of major league service time. Players who go beyond that milestone cannot be optioned to the minors without their consent, meaning the Rays had to designate him for assignment if they wanted to remove him from the active roster.

The Rays will now have one week to trade Chirinos or pass him through waivers. Though his results this year haven’t been astounding, it’s possible some club is willing to bank on his past results, especially given the number if pitching injuries around the league. He’s making a modest $1.275MM this year, leaving about $521K left to be paid out. He can also be retained for one more year via arbitration, which should add to his appeal. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency while retaining all that salary, a right held by all players with more than five years of service time.

MLB Announces 2023 All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2023 All-Star Game this evening. This year’s All-Star Game will take place at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on July 11. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

American League

National League

* Currently on injured list with sprained toe

Yandy Diaz To Undergo MRI For Possible Groin Injury

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Yandy Diaz left today’s game in the first inning due to left groin tightness.  The Rays doubled in his first at-bat and then advanced to third base in somewhat awkward fashion on a Wander Franco grounder.  Though Diaz remained on the bases and then scored on a Brandon Lowe RBI grounder, Isaac Paredes replaced Diaz at first base in the bottom half of the inning.

Speaking with reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) after the game, Diaz said he will undergo an MRI to determine the nature of the injury.  The issue didn’t begin with today’s game, as Diaz noted that he’d been dealing with some groin problems for the last few days.  The Rays don’t play on Monday, so Diaz will get some time to recuperate and possibly avoid the 10-day injured list if his MRI results come back clean.

Losing Diaz for any amount of time would be a big concern, as the 31-year-old has been one of baseball’s best hitters this season.  Diaz has been crushing the ball to the tune of a .321/.429/.593 slash line over 168 plate appearances, and his 188 wRC+ ranks second among all qualified batters.  Long known for his ability to make hard contact, Diaz’s 95.7% average exit velocity, 13% barrel rate, and 58.3% hard-hit ball rate are all career bests.

While the 31-11 Rays have the league’s best record, they have also been dealing with more than a few notable pitching injuries, such as Jeffrey Springs’ Tommy John surgery and Drew Rasmussen’s recent placement on the 60-day IL with a flexor strain.  Jose Siri missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain, but Tampa Bay has been otherwise pretty healthy on the position player side, though Diaz’s groin problem threatens to end that streak.

Paredes and Luke Raley are the only other players who have played at first base this season, so they could form a platoon to take over for Diaz at the position if he indeed needs to miss time.  Vidal Brujan and Jonathan Aranda figure to be the top options for a Triple-A call-up in the event of an injury to a position player.

Rays Notes: Diaz, Poche, Arbitration, Stadium

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The Rays expect to deploy Yandy Díaz frequently at first base during the upcoming season, manager Kevin Cash informed reporters (link via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). He’ll presumably pick up the lion’s share of at-bats there after Tampa Bay dealt Ji-Man Choi to the Pirates at the start of the offseason.

Díaz has plenty of experience at the position, logging just under 1000 MLB innings there. He led the team in first base playing time as recently as 2021 — narrowly topping Choi that season — but spent the bulk of his 2022 campaign at third base. Díaz started only 15 games at first last season and was penciled in at the hot corner on 97 occasions. Public defensive metrics have never rated him especially favorably there. Last season was no exception, with both Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved grading him among the league’s bottom five defensive third basemen.

The 31-year-old is coming off arguably the best season of his career on the other side of the ball, however. Díaz hit .296/.401/.423 with nine home runs and more walks than strikeouts in 558 trips to the plate. The Rays rewarded him with a three-year deal to buy out his final two arbitration seasons and extend their window of club control by potentially two years (including a 2026 club option). He’ll surely be in the lineup on most days and manning first base would lighten his defensive responsibilities while leaving greater opportunities at the hot corner for players like Isaac Paredes and Taylor Walls.

In other news out of Tampa:

  • The club won arbitration hearings over relievers Colin Poche and Ryan Thompson over the weekend. After the decisions were handed out, Poche expressed some frustration with the arbitrators who heard his case (link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). “I thought my agency, and the lawyers from the Players Association, made a really strong case. I thought we had a good chance,” Poche said. “But that’s kind of what happens when you leave it up to a panel of arbitrators who have experience in the process, but they’re outside the realm of baseball. So there’s a lot of things that maybe we place more importance on that they don’t fully grasp the same level of importance.” The left-hander indicated he felt the panel wasn’t properly suited to value non-closing relievers, in particular, and opined the arbitrators didn’t place enough emphasis on his 23 holds last season. Poche stressed he had no gripes with the Rays or the manner in which they presented their case (as did Thompson), confining his criticism to the arbitrators themselves. Both players had small filing gaps relative to the salaries they’ll wind up making. Poche will make $1.175MM rather than his desired $1.3MM, while Thompson will collect $1MM instead of a $1.2MM filing figure.
  • The Rays’ efforts to get a new stadium in the Tampa area took a step forward a few weeks back when St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch backed the club’s proposal for a redevelopment plan of the city’s Gas Plant district. That doesn’t tie the franchise to the city but sets the stage for continued negotiations. Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times provided an update on the process over the weekend, reporting the city has begun drafting a term sheet that’d commit the Rays to St. Petersburg for an initial term of 30 years if eventually agreed upon. Those drafts have yet to specify any proposed funding commitments between the city, Pinellas County and the Rays’ organization. That’ll obviously be a key issue to hammer out over the coming months, with the process expected to continue well into the summer. Wright notes the city retained a Minneapolis-based law firm last week in preparation for negotiations.

Rays Extend Yandy Diaz

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Jan. 31: The Rays have formally announced their extension with Diaz. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Diaz will be paid $6MM in 2023, $8MM in 2024 and $10MM in 2025. There’s a $12MM option for a fourth season, which does not contain a buyout.

Jan. 28: The Rays and infielder Yandy Diaz are close to finalizing a contract extension, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link).  The deal is a three-year, $24MM pact that contains a club option for the 2026, according to Feinsand and his MLB.com colleague Juan Toribio (via Twitter). Diaz is represented by ACES.

The extension would cover Diaz’s final two years of arbitration control and at least one of his free agent-eligible seasons.  Diaz and the Rays were slated for an arbitration hearing to determine his 2023 salary after not reaching an agreement by the filing deadline — Diaz was looking for $6.3MM and the club countered with $5.5MM.

Instead, it now looks like Diaz will be the third hearing-bound Tampa Bay player to sign an extension this week.  Jeffrey Springs signed a four-year, $31MM extension on Wednesday, while Pete Fairbanks agreed to a deal worth $12MM over three guaranteed years on Friday.  An arb hearing is usually the result when the two sides don’t agree on a one-year salary prior to the figure-exchange deadline, yet clubs often try to pursue multi-year deals as something of a loophole around the self-imposed “file and trial” strategy deployed by most of the league.

Diaz, Springs, and Fairbanks were three of seven Rays players that didn’t agree to terms by the deadline, and even the remaining group of four (Harold Ramirez, Colin Poche, Ryan Thompson, Jason Adam) still represents an unusually large number of players to be headed for hearings.  It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rays work out at least one more extension before hearings start taking place in the coming weeks.

For Diaz, the new contract locks in some long-term security and the first major payday for a player who turned 31 last August.  Beginning his career in his native Cuba, Diaz was twice arrested before finally defecting on his third attempt, and then signed with Cleveland for a $300K bonus.  Diaz didn’t make his MLB debut until 2017, when he was already 25 years old.

Back in December 2018, a headline-grabbing three-team trade between the Rays, Indians, and Mariners saw Diaz head from Cleveland to Tampa as part of the five-player swap.  The Rays had interest in Diaz’s ability to make contact and draw walks, and those skills have certainly translated as Diaz’s career has progressed.  Since the start of the 2020 season, Diaz ranks sixth among all qualified hitters in walk rate (13.7%) and ninth in strikeout rate (13.1%).

Diaz hit .266/.359/.418 over his first three seasons with the Rays, good for a solid 117 wRC+ over 1026 plate appearances.  However, Diaz took the production up a level last season, posting a 146 wRC+ while hitting .296/.401/.423 with nine home runs over 558 PA, and finishing with elite percentiles in several major Statcast categories.  For a right-handed batter, Diaz’s career numbers against left-handed pitchers had been relatively modest heading into 2022, but last year he crushed southpaws to the tune of an .892 OPS over 145 PA.

One flaw in Diaz’s performance was a lack of glovework, as public defensive metrics have indicated that he has been well below average over 1282 1/3 innings as a third baseman over the last two seasons.  This stands out even more on a defense-conscious club like Tampa Bay, though the Rays might ideally look to use Diaz more often as a first baseman in 2023 or over the course of the longer-term deal.

In the big picture, locking up Diaz seems like a shrewd move for Tampa.  While a 146 wRC+ is a high-water mark for Diaz, there wasn’t much (apart from a spike in hard-hit ball rate) to suggest that his 2022 numbers were a departure from his prior career numbers, so it’s reasonable for the Rays to expect roughly similar production going forward over the life of Diaz’s deal.

Perhaps the most intriguing element is that the Rays have now extended a 31-year-old player, as it is fairly common for the team to shop players as they get increasingly expensive.  There hadn’t been any real trade buzz surrounding Diaz, however, and thus the Rays have now locked up three members of their infield (Diaz, Wander Franco, and Brandon Lowe) though possibly the 2026 season, depending on the status of club options for Diaz and Lowe.  Of course, the Rays could still end up shopping Diaz, Lowe, or conceivably even Franco down the road, especially if the club continues to generate quality infield prospects from its minor league pipeline.

Between the yet-unknown specifics of Diaz’s contract numbers and the unresolved arbitration cases, the Rays are likely to match or exceed their previous franchise high for payroll, even if their overall spending is still quite modest by league-wide standards.  Tampa Bay’s Opening Day payroll last season was approximately $83.86MM, and Roster Resource currently (without a Diaz extension involved) projects the Rays for around $76.86MM on the books in 2023.

Requested Salary Figures For 33 Players Who Didn’t Reach Agreements By Arbitration-Filing Deadline

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January 13 was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary figures in advance of possible hearings, and as usual, the large majority of players worked out one-year agreements (or extensions) for their 2023 salaries.  MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker detailed these agreements, though there is still quite a bit of unfinished business, as 33 players still don’t have their deals settled, and thus their 2023 salaries could be determined by an arbiter.

Typically, arb hearings take place in February or March, yet there isn’t anything officially preventing a team from still reaching an agreement with a player up until the moment an arbiter makes their ruling.  However, most clubs employ the “file and trial” strategy as a way of putting more pressure on players to accept agreements prior to the figure-exchange deadline.  In short, once the deadline passes, teams head to hearings with no more negotiation about a one-year salary, though clubs are typically still willing to discuss multi-year extensions.

Here are the 33 players who have yet to reach an agreement on their 2023 salaries, as well as the players’ requested salary and the team’s counter-offer.  As always, clubs (and the league as a whole) pay very close attention to arbitration salaries, since any outlier of a number can serve as a precedent in the future, thus raising the bar for both one particular players and perhaps players as a whole.  This is why teams are generally adamant about the “file and trial” tactic and taking the risk of a sometimes-awkward arb hearing, even in cases where there is a relatively small gap between the club’s figure and the player’s figure.

[RELATED: Arbitration projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz]

Nineteen of the 30 teams have at least one unsettled case remaining, with the Rays (by far) leading the way with seven players on pace to reach hearings.  Given that Tampa Bay entered the offseason with an enormous 19-player arbitration class, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the Rays still have a lot of work to do, even after trimming that initial class size with non-tenders and trades.  Teoscar Hernandez’s $16MM is the largest figure submitted by any of the 33 players, while Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette have the largest gap between submitted figures, each with a $2.5MM difference between their hoped-for salaries and the numbers respectively submitted by the Astros and Blue Jays.

The total list (which will be updated as settlements are reached and hearing results become known)….

AL Notes: Picollo, Harris, Tigers, Perez, Rangers, Diaz

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After Dayton Moore was fired earlier this week, Royals GM J.J. Picollo was promoted to lead the Royals’ baseball operations department, and he met today with the media (including The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and 610 Sports Radio’s Josh Vernier).  Much has yet to be determined heading into what could be a busy offseason for the club, and Picollo said he has yet to make a decision on manager Mike Matheny or any members of the coaching staff.

In terms of players, Picollo said that the front office is “in the very infantile stages” of considering an extension for Bobby Witt Jr., though the team is indeed interested in such a deal.  The 22-year-old is completing a strong rookie season, and an extension would both solidify Witt as a cornerstone piece of the Royals’ future, and also give K.C. some cost certainty going forward.  Witt is already controlled through the 2027 season, however, so there isn’t necessarily any rush for Picollo and company to immediately work out an extension.

More from around the American League…

  • The AL Central’s other new front office boss also met with reporters earlier this week, with new Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris telling The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and other media members that the club simply plans to improve, without a specific timeline or any indication as to whether the Tigers will take a step back to reload, or try to build and contend in 2023.  “I am treating this as an opportunity for us to get better this winter….And we’re going to look up at the end of the winter and we’re going to have a much better feel for when the most competitive Tigers team is going to come out,” Harris said.  “That’s how I believe every baseball team should be built.  I don’t believe in strict five-year plans with specific benchmarks that you have to reach year over year.  There’s too much variability in the sport to define a plan as concretely as that.”
  • Impending free agent Martin Perez and the Rangers will wait until after the season to discuss an extension, according to The Athletic’s Levi Weaver (Twitter link).  There has been speculation for months that both and Perez and the team were interested in reaching a new deal to keep the left-hander in Arlington, and while a deal hasn’t yet been reached, there is still plenty of time for the two sides to talk before Perez is scheduled to hit the open market.  Perez is enjoying a career year, with a 2.90 ERA over 183 1/3 innings and his first All-Star selection.
  • Yandy Diaz has missed the Rays’ last five games due to a sore shoulder, but the infielder told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that he is doing “a lot better” after getting a cortisone shot earlier this week.  It doesn’t appear as though Diaz will require a trip to the injured list, but it also isn’t yet known when he might be back on the field.  Diaz has been a big part of Tampa’s offense, hitting .292/.399/.419 over 549 plate appearances this year, resulting in an excellent 145 wRC+.

Rays Place Jeffrey Springs On Covid-IL, Reinstate Yandy Diaz

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The Rays have placed left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs on the Covid-related injury list due to a close contact situation, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll swap places with Yandy Diaz, who comes off the Covid-IL after just a day.

The virus seems to be floating around the Rays team, as some staff members have tested positive in recent days. That was followed by catcher Francisco Mejia testing positive on Friday, which landed him on the injured list. Diaz was placed on the injured list yesterday after experiencing some symptoms. However, he must have tested negative due to his quick return.

As for Springs, the 29-year-old is off to a great start this year. He’s thrown seven scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Rays, with a 34.6% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate. Until he returns, the club will have Brooks Raley, Colin Poche and Jalen Beeks as the available lefties in their bullpen.

Diaz is off to a fairly standard start to the year for him, hitting for contact but not a lot of power. His .275/.383/.326 line adds up to a 127 wRC+, with his 10.6% strikeout rate well below his career rate of 16.2%, which was already better than league average.

Rays Place Yandy Diaz On COVID-IL, Promote Vidal Brujan

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The Rays have placed infielder Yandy Diaz on the COVID-related injury list, according to team broadcaster Neil Solondz (Twitter link).  Infielder Vidal Brujan has been called up from Triple-A to take Diaz’s spot on the active roster — earlier today, The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reported that Brujan would at least be joining the Rays’ taxi squad.

Diaz is showing symptoms but there hasn’t been any word about a positive COVID test, so it is possible the IL placement is simply for precautionary reasons.  If so, Diaz could be back within a couple of days’ time as long as he continues to test negative for the coronavirus.  The veteran infielder has been an on-base machine early in the season, hitting .275/.383/.325 over his first 47 plate appearances of the 2022 campaign.

While Diaz is out, the Rays will get another (possibly brief) look at a top prospect.  Brujan made his MLB debut last season but in limited fashion, appearing in only 10 games and delivering only two hits over 26 plate appearances. Brujan also received his first taste of Triple-A ball last season and performed much better, hitting .262/.346/.440 with 12 home runs over 441 PA, while also stealing 44 bases from 52 chances.

Some knee issues have limited Brujan to just five Triple-A games thus far in 2022, and he has split time as a third baseman and a shortstop.  Originally seen as a shortstop candidate, Brujan has most recently seen action at multiple positions in the infield and outfield given that Wander Franco has Tampa Bay’s shortstop position locked up for the foreseeable future.  It stands to reason that Brujan will focus on third base for now if he is to serve as Diaz’s short-term replacement, but his eventual position at the MLB level remains to be seen (assuming he doesn’t evolve into a super-utility type).

Health Notes: Paxton, Rays, Phils, Reds, Cards

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Yankees southpaw James Paxton will go the next couple days without throwing after feeling soreness following Wednesday’s session, manager Aaron Boone told WFAN (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). It’s unclear how much longer Paxton will be sidelined from the flexor strain that sent him to the IL on Aug. 21, but as Ackert notes, time is running out for him to return – at least to the Yankees’ rotation – during the regular season. Paxton’s problems, both in terms of injury and performance, are among the reasons the Yankees’ starting staff has disappointed this year. Although the 31-year-old dealt with his share of injuries in prior seasons, he typically fared well when healthy. In 2020, though, Paxton has stumbled to a 6.64 ERA over five starts and 20 1/3 innings.

  • Rays manager Kevin Cash hasn’t ruled out regular-season returns for third baseman Yandy Diaz or catcher Mike Zunino, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Diaz went to the IL on Sept. 1 with a right hamstring strain, while Zunino has been down since Aug. 29 with a strained oblique. Diaz has been a major on-base threat with a .307/.427/.386 line in 138 plate appearances, whereas Zunino has gone through a second straight horrible season on offense (.133/.235/.383 with 29 strikeouts in 68 PA).
  • The Phillies expect outfielder/designated hitter Jay Bruce to return this month, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Bruce has been on the IL twice with quad problems going back to August, and his most recent placement came Sept. 6. He was a good power source before then with a .225/.276/.578 line and six home runs in 76 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Philly’s hopeful that left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez will make it back if they earn a playoff spot. Alvarez threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball before taking a 105 mph line drive off the groin on Aug. 20.
  • Reds left-hander Wade Miley “took a step back today” in his recovery from shoulder troubles, manager David Bell announced (Twitter links via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). Consequently, the Reds don’t expect Miley back this weekend. He last took the mound Aug. 27. The news is better for outfielder Nick Senzel, who Bell said is “pretty close” to coming back. Senzel hasn’t played since Aug. 14, but the Reds haven’t disclosed a reason for his absence.
  • Cardinals righty Johan Oviedo is in COVID-19 quarantine, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Oviedo hasn’t tested positive for the illness, but he was exposed to someone who did. As a result, the Cardinals – whose season was halted for a couple weeks last month because of the virus – are taking a cautious approach. They placed Oviedo on the IL on Thursday. It seems righty Carlos Martinez will take over in the Cardinals’ rotation for Oviedo, a 22-year-old rookie who has put up a 4.66 ERA/4.26 FIP in his first four starts and 19 1/3 innings in the bigs.
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