- 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).
Rays Rumors
Rays Acquire INF Pedro Martinez From Cubs
The Rays have acquired infielder Pedro Martinez, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Martinez is one of two players to be named later the Rays received from the Cubs in the teams’ deal Aug. 30 deal centering on Jose Martinez. The identity of the other player still isn’t known.
Pedro Martinez, who’s just 19 years old, joined the Cubs as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2018. He spent that season and last year producing quality numbers between rookie and low-A ball, where he combined for a .310/.393/.422 line with four home runs and 50 stolen bases on 69 attempts over 461 plate appearances.
While he’s still a ways from the majors, Martinez did rank as a well-regarded Cubs prospect before they traded him. MLB.com and FanGraphs are among the outlets that have favorable views of Martinez, as the former placed him 14th in the Cubs’ system and the latter ranked him 22nd. FanGraphs complimented the switch-hitting Martinez’s “bat-to-ball skills” and suggested he could at least turn into a role player in the majors.
60-Man Player Pool Additions: 9/9/20
Here are the latest players added to their team’s 60-man player pool …
- Hurlers Penn Murfee and Ian McKinney are now a part of the Mariners’ 60-man group, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The 26-year-old Murfee had a strong 2019 showing, producing good numbers at the High-A level and then dominating Arizona Fall League hitters. It’s possible he could be an option at the MLB level if he shows well at the alternate training site. The same holds true of McKinney, 25, who joined Murfee as a productive member of the Modesto rotation last year. McKinney is a 2013 draftee who joined the Seattle organization as a minor-league free agent in advance of the 2019 season.
- The Rays brought aboard a pair of youngsters in righty Seth Johnson and infielder Ford Proctor, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times covers on Twitter. The 40th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Johnson hasn’t pitched above the Rookie ball level and is likely being added for developmental purposes. Proctor, 23, is a 2018 third-rounder who has shown strong on-base ability but little power in the low minors. He appeared this year in the Constellation Energy League, knocking out a healthy .346/.500/.679 slash in 28 games.
- The Padres have added youngster Owen Caissie to their pool at just 18 years of age, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports via Twitter. It’s quite the vote of confidence in the recent second-round pick, who obviously won’t be expected to make his professional debut this year at the MLB level. The Canadian outfielder will get some excellent experience at the Friars’ alternate training site before joining an affiliate in 2021.
Ryan Yarbrough Returning To Rotation On Tuesday
Ryan Yarbrough will return to the Tampa Bay Rays rotation on Tuesday against the Nationals, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Yarbrough doesn’t have the name appeal of many of his rotation mates, but he’s developed into a solid rotation arm for the Rays. This season: 7 starts with a 3.65 ERA/4.55 FIP with 6.3 K/9 to 2.2 BB/9 over 37 innings. Over his first two seasons, the lanky Texan has been a 140-150 innings a year swingman who survives by limiting hard contact.
That undersells his impact, however. Throwing a four pitch mix (cutter, changeup, curveball, sinker), he’s one of the game’s softest-tossers to hold down a regular rotation spot. Thus far, he’s been more Dallas Keuchel or Hyun Jin Ryu than Tommy Milone or Wade LeBlanc: He was in the top 1% last season in opposing exit velocity (84.8 %) and hard hit percentage (26.2%) while posting a 2.7 fWAR season in 2019.
The Rays haven’t gotten tremendous length from their starters, but they’ve held their own with a 3.74 ERA that ranks 7th in the majors for starters. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have been within the realm of expectations. Charlie Morton just returned for a couple of 2-inning semi-rehab starts, looking especially sharp his last time out versus the Yankees. Josh Fleming, 24, has become the Rays’ annual out-of-nowhere contributor through three starts after Yonny Chirinos was lost for the year to Tommy John. Yarbrough will slot back into the fourth spot in the rotation on Tuesday.
Injury Updates On Reed, McClanahan
- The Rays have been plagued by pitching injuries this season, and two more hurlers ran into potential issues on Saturday. Newly-acquired southpaw Cody Reed left tonight’s game during the eighth inning with an injury to his pinkie, though manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Jose Toribio (Twitter links) that the problem doesn’t appear to be serious. The news isn’t as good for left-hander Shane McClanahan, as the prospect will miss around two weeks after suffering a hyper-extended left knee during a fielding play at the Rays’ alternate training site. The 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft, McClanahan got some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball American prior to the season, and there was some speculation Tampa Bay might give the 23-year-old his first taste of big league action sometime in September.
Austin Pruitt Out For Season After Elbow Surgery
When the Houston Astros acquired Austin Pruitt from the Rays this past January, they thought they were building on their pitching depth with a veteran swingman who could plug the gaps in the rotation or bullpen as needed in 2020. To no fault of Pruitt or the Astros, things haven’t worked out as planned. The 31-year-old Pruitt hasn’t thrown a pitch for Houston this season, and he’s not going to. Pruitt underwent surgery to fix a hairline fracture in his right elbow on Wednesday. He’ll be out for the remainder of the season, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Pruitt may also miss the beginning of 2021 as he recovers.
The Astros’ acquisition of Pruitt came at a funny time in their history, as GM Jeff Luhnow would be fired just four days later. Little more than a month after that, current GM James Click would follow Pruitt to the Astros to take over as general manager. There may be slight pangs of regret surrounding this deal, then, for Click, who would have been part of the team that sent Pruitt to the Astros in exchange for outfielder Cal Stevenson and right-hander Peyton Battenfield. Stevenson originally came to the Astros from the Blue Jays as part of the return for Aaron Sanchez, while Battenfield was a ninth-round pick in the 2019 draft.
In parts of three seasons with the Rays, Pruitt logged 199 2/3 innings across 57 relief appearances and 10 starts. The Houston native owns a 4.87 ERA/4.17 FIP for his career with a modest 6.6 K/9 versus 2.3 BB/9. He was up-and-down between Triple-A and the majors each season since making his debut as a 27-year-old in 2017.
The Astros could have used Pruitt as they’ve struggled at times to piece together the arms necessary to build a rotation. Their staff is middling overall in terms of production, ranking 16th in the majors by fWAR, 9th by ERA, and 15th by FIP. Beyond Pruitt, Jose Urquidy has yet to throw a pitch after landing on the COVID-19 injured list, and ace Justin Verlander made just one start before a strained forearm sent him to the IL. Still, Houston happened to have another ace on hand in Zack Greinke, Framber Valdez has broken out and claimed a rotation spot with a 2.58 ERA/2.59 FIP over 6 starts, and rookie Cristian Javier has more than held his own at the back end. The Astros are firmly in playoff position and just 2 games behind the division-leading Athletics.
Rays Activate Nick Anderson, Move Jose Alvarado To 45-Day IL
The Rays announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Nick Anderson from the 10-day injured list and outfielder Brett Phillips from the COVID-19 IL. The team also moved left-hander Jose Alvarado to the 45-day IL and optioned fellow southpaw Ryan Sherriff to its alternate site.
The Rays dodged a major injury with Anderson, who went on the IL on Aug. 23 with inflammation in his right forearm. The Rays continued to roll without Anderson, though, and at 26-12, they own a comfortable five-game lead over the Blue Jays and Yankees in the American League East. Still, they’ll be glad to welcome back the valuable Anderson, who broke out a year ago between the Marlins and Rays and has remained among the game’s top relievers this season. Anderson hasn’t allowed a run through 9 1/3 innings in 2020 and has posted 15 strikeouts against a single walk.
While Anderson’s comeback is welcome news for the Rays’ bullpen, it’s unfortunate for the club that it will go without Alvarado through the end of the regular season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old landed on the IL on Aug. 15 with shoulder inflammation, ending a second straight limited season of mediocre production for the reliever. Alvarado was terrific for the Rays from 2017-18 (especially in the second of those seasons), but he has only logged 39 innings of 5.08 ERA/4.55 FIP pitching with 12.0 K/9 and 7.62 BB/9 dating back to 2019.
Rays Add Greg Jones To Player Pool
- Outfielder Parker Meadows and right-handers Logan Shore, Jason Foley and Alex Lange have all been added to the Tigers’ pool, the team announced Thursday morning. Meadows, the No. 44 pick in 2018 and the younger brother of Rays star Austin Meadows, is the most highly regarded of the bunch. He posted strong numbers that summer but struggled in his first full season, slashing .221/.296/.312 against older competition in Class-A. He’s ranked 13th among Detroit prospects at MLB.com and at FanGraphs. Lange, 24, was the better of the two pitching prospects acquired from the Cubs in the trade that sent Nick Castellanos to Chicago last year. He’s pitched as a high as Double-A already and could be an option for the Tigers by next year. Foley was an undrafted free agent in ’16 who missed the 2018 season due to injury but returned with solid numbers in Class-A Advanced last year. Shore, a former second-round pick of the A’s, was sent to Detroit as a PTBNL in 2018’s Mike Fiers trade. Shore’s changeup is considered a potentially plus pitch, but the rest of his arsenal isn’t regarded nearly as highly.
- Infield prospect Greg Jones was added to the Rays’ player pool, per a club announcement. Tampa Bay selected the now-22-year-old Jones with the No. 22 pick out of UNC Wilmington in 2019. He posted a .335/.413/.461 slash in 48 games and 218 plate appearances with the Rays’ short-season Class-A affiliate in the New York-Penn League, although that wasn’t a particularly aggressive initial assignment for a college bat. The success is still notable, of course, and he’ll get some additional simulated game reps and face time with coaches over the season’s final month.
Suspensions Issued To Yankees, Rays
3:33pm: Chapman will appeal his suspension, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to report.
3:01pm: Major League Baseball has issued suspensions to Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and manager Aaron Boone for their conduct during Tuesday’s win over Tampa Bay. Rays manager Kevin Cash also received a short ban. Chapman will sit for three games, while the two managers will be suspended for a game apiece. Boone and Cash will serve those penalties in the clubs’ matchup Wednesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Whether Chapman will actually miss three games remains to be seen, as he could appeal his ban in an effort to reduce it. However, MLB noted in its statement that Chapman “intentionally” threw at the head of the Rays’ Mike Brosseau in the teams’ game Tuesday, which could make it harder to land a reduced ban. Chapman uncorked a 101 mph fastball at Brosseau at a time when the Yankees were nursing a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning of an important game. With their victory, the Yankees moved to within 3 1/2 games of Tampa Bay in the American League East.
Chapman went on to strike out Brosseau to finish the game, but it got heated afterward. Both benches cleared, and the two division rivals continued taking shots at one another during postgame interviews. Cash fired back at the Yankees, saying the Rays have “a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph,” which seemed to suggest they wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate against the Bronx Bombers. Boone called Cash’s comment “pretty scary,” meanwhile, and Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier admitted that neither side likes one another. The two teams’ disdain toward one another could make a September division race and perhaps a playoff series even more interesting.
Rays Activate Charlie Morton
Sept. 2: The Rays have reinstated Morton from the injured list and optioned first baseman/outfielder Brian O’Grady to their alternate training site, per a team announcement.
Aug. 31: The Rays are planning to activate Charlie Morton from the injured list to start Wednesday’s game against the Yankees, manager Kevin Cash announced to reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). The right-hander has been out since August 10 with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
Morton’s two-year, $30MM contract comes with a 2021 club option that could pay him up to $15MM. Initially, the option price was set to decrease if Morton spent more than thirty days on the injured list between 2019-20. The veteran avoided the IL last season. In 2020, vesting options have been prorated due to the shortened season.
However, Morton’s deal has been reworked to remain at the $15MM price point so long as he spends no more than 23 days on the injured list, MLBTR has learned. Wednesday’s activation, not coincidentally, comes 23 days since Morton’s initial injured list placement. Thus, the option continues to be valued at $15MM, so long as he avoids future IL stints. Of course, the option price is only relevant if the 36-year-old wants to play next season, and he’s been noncommital on that question in the past.
Morton was fantastic in his first year in Tampa, pitching to a 3.05 ERA/2.81 FIP in 194.2 innings, garnering some Cy Young support in the process. His first four starts this season haven’t been as impressive, but he’s a big key to the 24-11 Rays’ hopes of postseason success.
