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Rays Acquire Nelson Cruz

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With just over a week before the trade deadline, the Rays have made a big move in acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Twins as part of a four-player swap.  Cruz and minor league righty Calvin Faucher will head to Tampa, while Minnesota will pick up right-handers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.

With the Twins in the midst of a nightmare season, Cruz became a natural trade chip, as the 41-year-old slugger can be a free agent this winter.  Cruz re-signed with Minnesota last offseason on a one-year, $13MM contract, and Cruz has roughly $4.87MM remaining in owed salary.

Nelson Cruz | Tim Heitman-USA TODAY SportsThere was no announcement made of cash considerations being involved, so it appears as though the Rays will be taking on all of Cruz’s remaining salary.  This is no small matter for a Rays team that always has an eye on the budget, and even with Cruz now in the fold, the club’s payroll is still under the $67MM threshold.  Tampa Bay can (and likely will) make other moves before the July 30 deadline that could move some other dollars off the books, but as it stands, the Cruz deal is a sign that Rays ownership is willing to stretch a bit financially to bolster a team that looks like a contender to return to the World Series.

Despite Cruz’s age and seeming lack of defensive value, his bat has remained so dangerous that even some National League teams were reportedly including him in trade considerations, with an eye towards deploying Cruz in the outfield for the first time since 2018.  While the Rays’ penchant for roster maximization could lead to Cruz getting at least a bit of time in the outfield, it’s a very safe bet that he’ll slot in as Tampa’s new everyday DH, bringing some big-time pop to a lineup that is solid overall but middle-of-the-pack in terms of power.

Austin Meadows had received the bulk of Tampa’s DH at-bats, though Meadows now looks to move into the outfield mix with Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Lowe, and (when he returns from the IL) Manuel Margot.  Lowe can also be utilized at second base, and between any other injuries or even trades that might emerge, the Rays shouldn’t have much issue in finding enough playing time to keep everyone fresh and ready for another postseason push.

Cruz will suit up for the sixth different team over what has been a very impressive 17-year career.  Named to his seventh All-Star team just this season, Cruz is showing no signs of slowing down, hitting .294/.370/.537 with 19 homers over 346 plate appearances in 2021.  This production is actually a dropoff from the .308/.394/.626 slash line he posted over 735 PA for Minnesota in 2019-20, but “decline phase” doesn’t really seem like an applicable description.

Neither Ryan and Strotman are in the upper crust of Tampa prospects, though MLB Pipeline did have them solidly ranked (Ryan 10th, Strotman 17th) on their list of the Rays’ best minor league talents.  Both are starting pitchers with solid performances at Triple-A this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see their make their Major League debuts before 2021 is finished.  Since the Twins are looking to return to contention next year, landing two big league-ready arms will help their rotation depth, considering Michael Pineda and J.A. Happ are both free agents this winter (and either could be moved before July 30.

Ryan is 25 years old and was a seventh-round pick for the Rays in the 2018 draft.  He cracked Baseball America’s top 100 list (at 98th) prior to the 2020 season, and Ryan has continued his rise up the ladder by posting a 3.63 ERA over 57 innings at Triple-A Durham this year.  At all levels, Ryan has been great at missing bats (36.65% strikeout rate over 217 minor league IP) and avoiding walks (6.05% walk rate), thanks in large part to an excellent four-seamer.  MLB Pipeline’s scouting report isn’t as enamored with his other pitches, but Ryan’s slider did merit a 55 grade on their 20-80 scouting scale.

The 24-year-old Strotman was a fourth-rounder in the 2017 draft, though his pro career has been limited to 179 innings thanks to the canceled 2020 minor league season and a Tommy John surgery that kept him out of action for big chunks of the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.  The Rays saw enough from Strotman that they added him to their 40-man roster last winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and Strotman has looked solid in posting a 3.39 ERA over 58 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.  His walks have increased as he has moved up the minor league ladder, topping out at an unimpressive 13.15% walk rate at Triple-A this year.  Pipeline notes that command has been a strength for Strotman in the past, however, and the right-hander’s fastball, cutter, and slider are all ranked as above-average to plus pitches.

Faucher is the other name in the deal, a 25-year-old righty who has struggled in his first taste of Double-A baseball, posting a 7.04 ERA with six homers and 24 walks in 30 2/3 innings this season.  After consistently posting big strikeout numbers earlier in his minor league career and in college (at UC Irvine), the hard-throwing Faucher has continued that trend with a 27.63% strikeout rate amidst his difficulties this season.

ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link) was the first to report that the Rays were acquiring Cruz, while Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links) was the first to report that it was a four-player deal also involving Strotman.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Draft Signings: 7/22/21

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The latest on some notable Day Two draft signings.  For more on the 2021 draft, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

  • The Twins agreed to deals with Competitive Balance Round A pick Noah Miller and second-rounder Steve Hajjar, the team announced.  As the 36th overall pick, Miller had an assigned slot price of $2,045,400, and Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter) reports that the high school shortstop’s bonus was under slot at $1.7MM.  Hajjar’s bonus hasn’t yet been reported, but the 61st overall pick has an assigned price of $1,129,700.
  • The Rockies announced the signing of second-round pick Jaden Hill, with MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis reporting the LSU righty signed for the $1,689,500 slot price attached to the 44th overall pick.  Also from Callis, the Rockies agreed to another at-slot deal with Ohio University southpaw Joe Rock, whose deal is worth the assigned $953,100 price for the 68th overall pick.
  • The Mets signed 46th overall pick Calvin Ziegler for a $910K bonus, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports.  The Canadian right-hander’s deal falls significantly below the $1,617,400 slot value, so the Mets gained some significant pool savings that were necessary for the above-slot deal in the works with tenth overall pick Kumar Rocker.
  • The Brewers signed second-rounder Russell Smith for a $1MM bonus, Callis tweets.  A left-hander out of TCU, Smith was the 51st overall pick, which has a slot value of $1,436,900.
  • The Cubs agreed to a $2.1MM bonus with second-round pick James Triantos, according to Callis.  It’s an overslot deal for Triantos, a high school third baseman from Virginia, as the 56th overall selection had an assigned price of only $1,276,400.
  • The Rays reached a deal with second-rounder Kyle Manzardo, with Callis reporting that the Washington State first baseman signed for $750K.  The 63rd overall pick (and the final pick of the second round proper) has a slot price of $1,076,300.
  • The Astros went well over slot to sign third-rounder Tyler Whitaker, as Callis reported that the high school outfielder landed a $1.5MM bonus.  That is more than double the $689,300 slot price for the 87th overall pick.  Of note, Whitaker was Houston’s first pick of the 2021 draft, due to their punishment from the sign-stealing scandal.
  • The Yankees also more than doubled the slot price on a third-round selection, as Callis writes that prep left-hander Brock Selvidge received $1.5MM.  The 92nd overall pick has a recommended value of only $637.6K.  The Yankees have now signed all their draft picks from the first 10 rounds, going underslot on eight of the 10 players.

Rays Sign First-Round Pick Carson Williams

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The Rays announced they’ve come to terms with first-round draft choice Carson Williams. An infielder from a California high school, Williams will receive a $2.3475MM signing bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s a touch below the $2.4939MM slot value that accompanies the 28th overall selection.

A UC-Berkeley commit, Williams drew some disparate opinions from public evaluators. While Baseball America and FanGraphs each slotted the right-handed hitting shortstop among their top 40 prospects pre-draft, Keith Law of the Athletic placed him 101st. Williams has a chance to be a power-hitting shortstop, but it seems there’s some divisiveness regarding the consistency of his hit tool.

Tampa Bay has now wrapped up deals with both of their Day One picks. The Rays signed Competitive Balance Round A selection Cooper Kinney last night.

Rays Sign Cooper Kinney

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The Rays announced they’ve come to terms with Cooper Kinney, whom they selected in Competitive Balance Round A in this year’s draft. Kinney’s signing bonus is at or near the $2.1481MM slot value associated with the #34 overall selection, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

A high school infielder from Tennessee, Kinney was rated by most public evaluators a bit lower than where he ultimately wound up selected. Baseball America slotted him 69th among the class’ prospects, while Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs placed him 47th. Both outlets praised Kinney’s advanced hit tool from the left side and power projection while expressing some trepidation about his future defensive home since he’s already moved off of shortstop.

Kinney received full slot value to sign away from his commitment to the University of South Carolina, so selecting him wasn’t a ploy by the Rays to save money and cut overslot deals with later selections. Evidently, Tampa Bay’s evaluators are a bit higher on Kinney’s long-term potential than are most in the public sphere.

White Sox Acquire Deivy Grullon

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The White Sox have acquired catcher Deivy Grullon from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).

With Yasmani Grandal still recovering from knee surgery, it isn’t surprising that the White Sox are looking to add to their catching depth.  Zack Collins has been starting while Grandal is sidelined, with Seby Zavala as the backup and Yermin Mercedes (who has caught in a couple of games but is primarily a DH) is at Triple-A trying to get his swing on track.  Grullon adds another backstop with at least some MLB experience to the mix.

It represents an opportunity for Grullon to perhaps finally get another crack at the big leagues after a number of different uniform changes over the last 10 months.  Originally with the Phillies last September, Grullon has been claimed off waivers five times by four different teams — the Red Sox, Reds, Rays, Mets, and then the Rays again back in May.

Grullon appeared in one game with Boston in 2020, after debuting with four appearances for Philadelphia during the 2019 season.  A veteran of eight minor league seasons, the 25-year-old Grullon didn’t show much at the plate until 2018, when he hit 21 homers over 353 plate appearances for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate.  He has had a lot of success at the Triple-A level, hitting .265/.340/.488 with 29 homers in 574 Triple-A plate appearances.

Chris Archer, Oliver Drake To Begin Rehab Assignments

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Rays starter Chris Archer is beginning a minor league rehab assignment with the club’s Florida Complex League affiliate today, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Reliever Oliver Drake is scheduled to begin his own rehab stint with Triple-A Durham tomorrow, per Topkin.

Archer’s coming off a lost 2020 season, in which he didn’t pitch after undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. The Rays bought low on the 32-year-old over the winter, reuniting with the two-time All-Star on a one-year, $6.5MM deal. Unfortunately, forearm tightness knocked him out of his second start of the season and he’s spent the past three months on the injured list.

Now, though, Archer’s on the road to recovery. Players have up to thirty days on a rehab assignment, so the right-hander will be back with the big league club by mid-August at the latest (barring future setbacks). Archer’s return will add some depth to a rotation that has since lost ace Tyler Glasnow to a partially torn UCL that’ll keep him out for most or all of the remainder of the season.

The Rays could still look to add some depth to the pitching staff before the July 30 trade deadline. It’s not a glaring weakness, since the Rays have gotten generally good work from Rich Hill, Ryan Yarbrough, Shane McClanahan and Josh Fleming. There’s room to upgrade over Michael Wacha, though, and the Rays are among the league’s most flexible teams in terms of pitcher usage. It’s easy to envision the front office acquiring another starter and bumping Fleming or Wacha into a multi-inning relief role. At 53-37, Tampa Bay trails the Red Sox by a game and a half in the American League East. With arguably the league’s deepest farm system, there should be no shortage of opportunities for the Rays front office to bolster the big league roster for the stretch run.

Drake, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched all year after suffering a forearm injury during last year’s postseason. The Rays re-signed the 35-year-old over the winter with the understanding he’d miss the first few months of the campaign. Drake is part of a group of Rays relievers — Nick Anderson, Chaz Roe, Colin Poche and Cody Reed among the others — who have dealt with long-term injury issues this season.

Both Archer and Drake are on the 60-day injured list, meaning they’re not currently occupying spots on the 40-man roster. Upon their returns, Tampa Bay will need to create 40-man vacancies, which could inspire them to trade a player or two from the back of the roster before the deadline.

Rays Place Manuel Margot On 10-Day IL, Activate Josh Fleming

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1:50PM: In preparation for the second half of the doubleheader, the Rays have optioned Sherriff back to Triple-A and activated left-hander Josh Fleming from the 10-day IL.  Fleming will work as the bulk pitcher in the second game, behind opener Collin McHugh.  After a right calf strain sent Fleming to the injured list on June 26, the southpaw will return after missing just slightly beyond the 10-day minimum.

9:22AM: The estimated recovery timeline is 2-3 weeks, Margot told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

8:47AM: The Rays have placed outfielder Manuel Margot on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain, the team announced.  The placement is retroactive to July 6.  Left-hander Ryan Sherriff was called up from Triple-A to take Margot’s roster spot, and the Rays also officially promoted star prospect Vidal Brujan as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader with the Indians.

Margot suffered his injury while legging out an infield single in the ninth inning of Monday’s game, a 9-8 Tampa Bay victory over Cleveland.  It was a sour end to a 4-for-4 night for Margot, who is now hitting .252/.297/.404 with nine homers over 290 plate appearances in 2021.  Since the Rays have an off-day tomorrow and the All-Star break is looming, Margot won’t miss much actual game time if his IL stint is a minimal one.

The 26-year-old Margot delivered some big hits during the Rays’ 2020 playoff run, though he generated slightly below-average (94 OPS+) offense over his two seasons with the Rays.  While his bat has been inconsistent, Margot’s strong baserunning, defense, and ability to play all three outfield positions has made him a key contributor to Tampa’s roster.  With Margot sidelined, Brandon Lowe might see more time in the outfield, joining the mix of Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Austin Meadows, and backup Brett Phillips.  This would provide Brujan will more of an opportunity in the infield, though the Rays will continue to juggle their roster to give everyone playing time as warranted.

Rays Promote Vidal Brujan

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The Rays are expected to promote highly-regarded infield prospect Vidal Bruján before tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Indians, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). While Bruján’s first call will be as the “27th man” allotted for doubleheaders, Topin adds that he’s likely to stick around beyond Wednesday.

Bruján will become the latest arrival to a Rays infield that has already welcomed Taylor Walls and Wander Franco this season. Bruján isn’t quite the caliber of prospect Franco is (no one is, since Franco is the game’s consensus top rookie talent), but he’s an extremely promising player in his own right. Each of Baseball America, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs, and Keith Law of the Athletic slotted him among the game’s top 60 prospects entering the year, with Longenhagen placing him 24th.

All three outlets praise Bruján’s combination of athleticism, straight-line speed and bat control. Both Longenhagen and Law suggest he could eventually mature into an All-Star caliber player, with Longenhagen suggesting he bears some some similarities to Ozzie Albies and Ketel Marte at the same age. Bruján’s not a towering physical presence — he’s listed at 5’10”, 180 — but evaluators write that the switch-hitter’s athleticism enables surprising bat speed and power, particularly from the left-handed batters box.

Bruján’s minor league numbers support those visual evaluations. He’s been a better than average hitter at every stop, slashing .290/.374/.423 with 28 home runs and 166 stolen bases (in 217 attempts) across parts of six seasons. Bruján has spent this year with Triple-A Durham and hit a productive .259/.344/.471 over 216 plate appearances in his first crack at the minors’ highest level.

Just as importantly, Bruján has walked almost as often as he’s struck out throughout his time in the system. Over the course of his career, he’s drawn free passes at a strong 10.6% clip while punching out a minuscule 11.6% of the time. His strikeout percentage has jumped to a career-high 15.7% in Triple-A this year, but that’s still far better than the 23.2% major league average.

At 49-36, the Rays have fallen 4.5 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East, but they hold a four-game advantage over the Mariners in the Wild Card race. Bruján’s high minors performance seemed likely to get him an opportunity to contribute to Tampa Bay’s playoff push at some point regardless, but the immediate impetus for his promotion is an injury to center fielder Manuel Margot. Margot suffered a hamstring injury yesterday that seems likely to lead to an injured list stint, opening up active roster space for the 23-year-old Bruján. He was already added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

The deadline has long since passed for Bruján to accrue a full year of major service, as has the expected window for Super Two qualification. Even if he sticks in the majors from here on out, he’ll be controllable through 2027 and won’t reach arbitration eligibility until the 2024-25 offseason.

Marlins Trade Justin Sterner And Cash Considerations To Rays For David Hess

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The Marlins and Rays have agreed on a swap of right-handed arms. Miami will send Justin Sterner and cash considerations to Tampa Bay for right-hander David Hess. The Marlins have selected Hess’ contract in order to add him to the active roster. To make room, Jordan Holloway was optioned to Triple-A.

For the Rays, this is a classic case of swapping out depth to take a chance on a younger arm. Sterner, 24, moved from Single-A to High-A this season, his first in pro ball after playing three seasons at Brigham Young University. He went undrafted out of BYU, signing with the Marlins in July, 2020.

Hess appeared in the bigs with the Orioles each season from 2018 to 2020. In total, he made 47 appearances (33 starts) totaling 190 1/3 innings, earning a 5.86 ERA/6.41 FIP, 16.8 percent strikeout rate, 8.1 percent walk rate and 33.7 percent groundball rate. Surrendering fly balls as he did, Hess yielded an unsightly 6.0 percent home run rate with Baltimore, a mark he’ll need to improve upon to add much value to Miami.

He did not appear in the Majors for the Rays, but given his numbers with the Durham Bulls this year, it’s not hard to understand Miami’s interest. Hess has a 2.81 ERA/3.96 FIP over 32 innings in Triple-A. He’s still a fly ball pitcher, but a 28.9 percent strikeout rate and 3.9 percent walk rate are promising numbers nevertheless.

As for Holloway, he’ll head back to Jacksonville with a 4.35 ERA/4.13 FIP in 20 2/3 innings. Holloway was knocked around in his last outing, giving up five earned runs in three innings on Wednesday. More to the point, with Pablo Lopez getting tossed after just one pitch on Friday, the Marlins are likely to move some pieces around to reset their rotation and account for the impromptu bullpen game.

Rays Activate Taylor Walls From Injured List

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The Rays have activated Taylor Walls from the injured list, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The move comes after Luis Patino was optioned back to Triple-A yesterday. Walls would give manager Kevin Cash a five-man bench, which would be unusual for the Rays. Still, for now, Walls is back on the active roster, having recovered from a bout of wrist tendonitis. Certainly, the return of Walls puts the immediate future of Wander Franco into question, though there’s been no indication of a roster move at this time. For what it’s worth, Walls held his own with a .222/.337/.333 line in 95 plate appearances, good for a 96 wRC+to pair with stellar marks on the defensive side of the ball — he was credited with 8 DRS, 2.0 UZR, and 2 Outs Above Average in just 214 1/3 innings at short. Staying on the East Coast…

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