Tyler Glasnow Returns To Rays’ Camp
11:00am: Glasnow previously tested positive for COVID-19, thus explaining his absence, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to cover (Twitter links). Fortunately, he never experienced significant symptoms and has obviously now been cleared of the disease.
Glasnow says he fully expects to be ready for the Opening Day roster.
10:05am: Rays righty Tyler Glasnow finally appeared in Summer Camp today. Better still, he was able to take the hill in the team’s intrasquad game, as Juan Toribio of MLB.com covers on Twitter.
One of the highest-ceiling hurlers in all of baseball, Glasnow just might hold the key to the Rays’ hopes in 2020. The 26-year-old looked like an elite starter in an injury-shortened 2019 season, working to a 1.78 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 over 60 2/3 frames.
The big stuff was on display this spring, as Glasnow reemerged after offseason wrist surgery (which itself followed a lengthy layoff for a forearm strain). The hope was that the coronavirus pause would give Glasnow a chance to rest up fully in preparation for a 60-game sprint.
Anticipation met the realities of the covid world when Summer Camp opened and Glasnow was nowhere to be seen. We still don’t know what precipitated his absence, though answers could now be forthcoming.
With the delayed training, it’s fair to wonder whether Glasnow will be at full tilt when the season opens in just a week and a half. But the fact he is throwing multiple frames today suggests he has maintained a throwing program and is in good health. It’s a significant boon to the Rays’ outlook.
Brandon Guyer Announces Retirement
Veteran outfielder Brandon Guyer announced his retirement as a player on Monday. In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), Guyer wrote:
As I sit here and think about my baseball journey, I am so grateful for the life baseball has given me. I met my wife and raised three children in the game, made friendships that will last a lifetime, played on some amazing teams, and traveled the world making memories. None of it would have been possible without all my former teammates, coaches, trainers, friends, and family. Thank you all for being by my side during this amazing ride.
Guyer goes on to make clear that he isn’t walking away from the game entirely — just his time as a player. He’s launched an online training platform, FullyEquippedAthlete.com, and now strives to help shape the careers of a new generation of baseball players with that venture.
A veteran of seven Major League seasons, the now-34-year-old Guyer hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2018. He spent the 2019 season in the White Sox organization but was on the Triple-A injured list for most of the year, and he was cut loose by the Giants right around the time the league initially shut down. He’d signed a minor league pact with San Francisco over the winter.
Guyer split his career between the Rays and the Indians, tallying 517 games and 1487 plate appearances while hitting .250/.339/.388 with 32 home runs, 72 doubles, five triples and 22 stolen bases. While he was never a full-time outfielder, the right-handed-hitting Guyer was a constant thorn in the side for opposing lefties, as evidenced by a career .274/.376/.449 slash against them. Guyer was particularly adept at getting on base when holding the platoon advantage, in no small part due to his league-leading penchant for getting hit by pitches (as explored at great length by FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom back in 2016). He was also a notable contributor in the Indians’ 2016 World Series run, going 6-for-18 with three RBIs, a double, four walks and, yes, a pair of hit-by-pitches that postseason.
The former fifth-round pick banked more than $7MM in his career (prior to agent fees, taxes, etc.) and will now step into a hands-on role in developing younger talents. Best wishes to Guyer in whatever the game has in store for him next.
MLB, MLBPA Still Discussing Vesting Options, Retention Bonuses
The length of the season, prorated salaries and protocols for health and safety are finally all set in place, but Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are still negotiating the manner in which contractual options, performance incentives/bonuses and escalator clauses will be handled, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required).
Fortunately, an agreement is believed to be “within reach,” per Rosenthal. The league had initially sought to prorate the value of 2021 options using the same formula as 2020 salaries, although the MLBPA obviously pushed back against that notion. There’s still some debate over the handling of vesting options — particularly those that are triggered by reaching a set number of games pitched or plate appearances over the life of multiple seasons. The two sides also must determine how those options would be treated in the event that the season is canceled at any point due to health concerns.
There aren’t too many vesting options in MLB this year, although some of the notable ones include:
- Jon Lester, LHP, Cubs: Lester’s $25MM mutual option ($10MM buyout) for the 2021 season would become guaranteed with 200 innings pitched in a normal season.
- J.A. Happ, LHP, Yankees: Happ’s $17MM club option for the 2021 season would’ve become guaranteed upon making 27 starts or totaling 165 innings in 2020.
- Andrew Miller, LHP, Cardinals: Miller’s $12MM club option for 2021 would have been guaranteed if he totaled 110 games between 2019-20. As Rosenthal explores, there are various ways to interpret how many more games he’d need to pitch to trigger that option — some more beneficial to Miller and others to the Cardinals.
- Charlie Morton, RHP, Rays: Morton’s option is another that comes with a multi-year criteria. His contract calls for a $15MM club option in 2021 if he spends fewer than 30 days on the injured list between 2019-20. The option value decreases if he spends additional time on the injured list. Morton avoided the IL entirely last year. Unlike Miller, who surely hopes the number of appearances he needs to make in 2020 can be prorated, it’d be beneficial to Morton for that number (30) to remain as is. That seems unlikely, but the disparity between the clauses of Miller and Morton illustrates that this isn’t exactly straightforward for the player side. The value of his option
- Kelvin Herrera, RHP, White Sox: Herrera, too, needed 110 games between 2019-20 for his $10MM club option to become guaranteed. He pitched in 57 games last year, leaving him 53 shy of his target.
- Wade Davis, RHP, Rockies: Davis’ $15MM mutual option would’ve converted to a $15MM player option in the event that he finished 30 games. He’d only need to finish out 11-12 games in the shortened 2020 season if the two sides go with a strictly prorated interpretation of the qualifiers.
- Bryan Shaw, RHP, Rockies: Shaw has the same 110-game target for 2019-20 that Miller and Herrera have. He pitched 70 times in 2019 and needed just 40 appearances in 2020 to lock in a $9MM salary for the 2021 campaign.
- Jake McGee, LHP, Rockies: With 60 games pitched or 40 games finished in 2020, McGee would’ve locked in a $9MM salary for the 2021 season. His contract also allowed the option to vest with a with 110 games between 2019-20, but he only pitched in 45 contests last year.
- Stephen Vogt, C, Diamondbacks: Vogt’s contract included a $3MM club option that not only vests but increases to a $3.5MM base upon starting 45 games and appearing n a total of 75 games overall.
- Dee Gordon, 2B/SS/OF, Mariners: Gordon would’ve been guaranteed a $14MM salary for the 2021 season with 600 plate appearances this year. That, of course, was extremely unlikely in the first place, though.
Beyond those options, there are myriad escalator clauses throughout baseball that could be impacted by the shortened schedule. It’s fairly common for club options and/or future salaries to be boosted by steady performance — particularly among players returning from injury. Take Dellin Betances, for instance. His contract with the Mets calls for the value of next year’s $6MM player option to increase by $800K upon pitching in 40 games. He’d receive additional $1MM boosts to that figure for appearing in 50, 60 and 70 games apiece.
The league and the union are also still discussing potential retention bonuses for six-year veterans on non-guaranteed deals. In a typical year, any player with six-plus years of service who finished the preceding season on a 40-man roster qualifies as an Article XX(B) free agent. Such players must either be added to the 40-man roster, released five days prior to Opening Day or paid a $100K retention bonus to remain with the club in the minor leagues. Many players in that situation are released and quickly re-signed to a new minor league deal, but that won’t be possible in 2020 due to the fact that players who are removed from a team’s 60-man pool become ineligible to return to that team this season.
Rays Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool
Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.
Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.
The Rays’ initial player pool consists of the following players, per various reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).
Right-handed pitchers
- Nick Anderson
- Shane Baz
- Diego Castillo
- Yonny Chirinos
- Dylan Covey
- John Curtiss
- Oliver Drake
- Pete Fairbanks
- Tyler Glasnow
- Andrew Kittredge
- Sam McWilliams
- Charlie Morton
- Trevor Richards
- Chaz Roe
- Joe Ryan
- Aaron Slegers
- Ryan Thompson
Left-handed pitchers
- José Alvarado
- Anthony Banda
- Jalen Beeks
- Josh Fleming
- Sean Gilmartin
- Aaron Loup
- Shane McClanahan
- Brendan McKay
- Colin Poche
- Ryan Sherriff
- Blake Snell
- D.J. Snelten
- Ryan Yarbrough
Catchers
Infielders
- Willy Adames
- Mike Brosseau
- Vidal Bruján
- Ji-Man Choi
- Yandy Díaz
- Lucius Fox
- Wander Franco
- Brandon Lowe
- Nate Lowe
- José Martínez
- Kevin Padlo
- Esteban Quiroz
- Daniel Robertson
- Taylor Walls
- Joey Wendle
Outfielders
- Randy Arozarena
- Dylan Cozens
- Kevin Kiermaier
- Ryan LaMarre
- Josh Lowe
- Manuel Margot
- Austin Meadows
- Brian O’Grady
- Hunter Renfroe
- Yoshi Tsutsugo
The Rays are the first team to announce their 60-player pool, and they’ve opted to fill all 60 spots—30 pitchers and 30 position players. We’ll see how many teams choose to leave some slots open; clubs aren’t required to use all 60 roster spots. There aren’t many surprises for the Rays, who will essentially carry their 40-man roster alongside many of the same non-roster veterans and prospects who were relevant in the first iteration of Spring Training. Wander Franco, regarded as the top prospect in baseball, will train with the club thanks to his inclusion in the player pool, though that’s far from an indication that he’ll appear at the MLB level this year. The only 40-man player who isn’t included here is Brett Honeywell, who is still recovering from an ulnar nerve procedure.
Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay
The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day. It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States. “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write. “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”
More from around baseball…
- Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included. The Twins‘ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets. Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
- The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials. Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
- Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day. A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation. Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February. After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
- The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.
Amateur Draft Signings: 6/26/20
Several more post-Round 1 picks have agreed to deals with their teams. Here’s a look at the newest group of players…
- The Brewers have locked up a pair of picks – second-rounder Freddy Zamora and fourth-rounder Joey Wiemer – Robert Murray tweets. As the 53rd pick, Zamora’s selection carried a recommended value of $1,370,400, but he’ll collect an under-slot bonus of $1.15MM, per Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Zamora’s a former University of Miami shortstop whom MLB.com placed 100th in its pre-draft rankings. Meanwhile, Wiemer will earn $150K, which falls well shy of the $473,700 slot value of the 121st overall choice, Murray reports. Baseball America ranked Wiemer, an outfielder from the University of Cincinnati, as the 136th-best player in this year’s class. While BA’s bullish on Wiemer’s defense, it writes that he “consistently underwhelmed as a hitter” in college.
- The Indians announced the signings of second-round left-hander Logan Allen and fifth-round righty Mason Hickman on Friday. Allen, not to be confused with the other lefty named Logan Allen in the Cleveland organization, went 56th overall. Financial details are unknown, but his pick came with a slot value of $1,276,400. The former Florida International hurler rated as MLB.com’s No. 46 prospect before the draft. Hickman, an ex-Vanderbilt Commodore who came off the board at No. 154, signed for the full slot value of $343,400, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. Baseball America pegged the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Hickman as the 161st-best prospect available before the draft.
- The Rockies have wrapped up second-round righty Chris McMahon – pick 46 – for $1,637,400, Callis reports. That checks in a tad above the recommended slot of $1,617,400. McMahon, yet another former Miami Hurricane, came in at No. 45 on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic going into the draft. Law calls McMahon “a strike-thrower with three pitches, a pretty good delivery, and nothing plus or even consistently above-average.”
- The Mariners and ex-Mississippi third baseman Tyler Keenan reached a deal Friday, Callis tweets. Keenan, a fourth-rounder and the 107th pick, signed for $500K – down from the recommended value of $543,500. Keenan’s a powerful, high-exit velocity hitter, but he’ll need to improve his quickness as a defender in order to stick at third, Callis writes.
- The Rays have signed fourth-round shortstop Tanner Murray, according to Callis. His deal means the club has signed all six of its selections from this year. Murray, previously with UC Davis, inked a deal worth $455,600 – full slot value for the 125th pick. He’s a high-contact, high-OBP offensive player who’s versatile enough to play multiple positions, per Callis.
Rays To Add Wander Franco To 60-Man Player Pool
The Rays will add uber-prospect Wander Franco to their 60-man player pool, according to Jesse Sanchez and Juan Toribio of MLB.com. He’ll participate in the pre-season ramp up and be eligible to continue training with the team during the season.
As with the Tigers, and surely all other teams, the Rays are considering developmental prerogatives alongside competitive demands in deciding which players will participate in Summer Training and be available as the season gets underway. Franco, the consensus top prospect in baseball, will get invaluable experience to help make up for what’s tracking to be a lost minor-league season.
Just because Franco is in the player pool does not mean he’ll debut in 2020. The preternatural hitter could likely hold his own in the majors already, but he doesn’t even need to be added to the 40-man roster until next winter.
It’s certainly possible — expected, really — that Franco will force his way onto the big league club before the team must grant him MLB status to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. And that could yet occur in the sprint of a campaign we’re about to witness.
The odds of a 2020 debut likely went downhill when the coronavirus intervened, as Franco won’t have the chance to get reps (and put up outlandish offensive numbers) in the upper minors. The 19-year-old has been outstanding at every level thus far — in particular, his unmatched plate discipline jumps off the page — but he has yet to appear above the High-A level.
Franco may yet force the hand of the Tampa Bay brass in training, though it’s likelier that any promotion to the active and 40-man rosters would occur if a need and/or opportunity arises. This short season format could give the Rays a stronger chance of toppling the division-favorite Yankees or at least snatching a Wild Card. While service time will surely weigh in the calculus, the ability to call upon a unique talent may prove compelling.
For now, the key point is that Franco’s foot is in the door. At minimum, he’s on track to polish off his development in 2020. If he doesn’t debut this year, it’s reasonably likely we’ll be holding service time manipulation debates next spring.
Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/20
A look at the latest post-Round 1 signings from this year’s draft class…
- The Mariners have signed second-round outfielder Zach DeLoach and fifth-round right-hander Taylor Dollard, the team announced. DeLoach, the 43rd overall pick, will make full slot value of $1,729,800, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. The ex-Texas A&M outfielder ranked as MLB.com’s 79th-best pre-draft prospect. Dollard, the 137th choice, also signed for slot value ($406K), Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets. The former Cal Poly hurler was MLB.com’s No. 184 prospect entering the draft.
- The Rays have signed second-rounder Ian Seymour, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Virginia Tech left-hander reached a deal worth $1,243,600, full slot value for his pick (No. 57), according to Robert Murray. Keith Law of The Athletic rated Seymour as the No. 94 prospect available heading into the draft, writing that he has a “very funky” delivery and could have a chance to amount to something more than a back-end starter if he improves one of his three pitches (fastball, changeup, breaking ball).
- The Cardinals announced that they’ve reached an agreement with Arkansas high school right-hander Tink Hence, the 63rd overall pick. Financial details are unknown, but the recommended slot value checks in at $1,076,300. The Cardinals acquired the Competitive Balance Round B selection they used on Hence in a noteworthy trade with the Rays in January. Hence entered the draft as the 123rd-ranked prospect available at Baseball America. He committed to the University of Arkansas before the draft.
- The Reds have inked fourth-rounder Mackenzie Wainwright, Callis tweets. The 113th overall pick signed for his full slot value, $512,400. While shin issues have hampered Wright, Callis observes that the Ohio high schooler outfielder and Ohio State recruit possesses “projectable power” and a “solid arm.”
Rays Sign First-Rounder Nick Bitsko
5:15pm: The signing’s now official, the Rays tweeted.
3:45pm: The Rays will sign first-round right-hander Nick Bitsko, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’ll earn $3MM, an increase over the $2.83MM slot value of the 24th overall selection.
Bitsko is an 18-year-old right-hander from Pennsylvania who graduated high school a year early in order to enter the 2020 draft class. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently profiled Bitsko, writing that a good deal of scouts regarded him as the highest-upside hurler available in the draft. As McDaniel explained then, Bitsko’s a hard thrower with excellent spin rates, though the coronavirus led to the cancellation of his final high school season and stopped teams from getting extensive looks at him in person. Bitsko did, however, impress clubs by posting workouts on social media and interacting via Zoom. In fact, according to Rays scout Zach Clark, Bitsko’s Zoom call with the team was among the reasons they took him.
“I think the Zoom call sent it over the top for our guys,” Clark said. “Listen to Nick talk about pitching, preparation, what he’s done in the past, you’re like, ’Man, it’s really hard to believe you’re talking to a 17-year-old.’ ”
Shortly after profiling Bitsko, McDaniel ranked him as the 15th-best prospect in the 2020 class. MLB.com (14) FanGraphs (16), Keith Law of The Athletic (18) and Baseball America (19) placed Bitsko in a similar vicinity before the draft.
Amateur Draft Signings: 6/20/20
Let’s catch up on the latest draft signings …
- The Astros were able to wrap up all of their draft business, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In addition to picking up some undrafted free agents, the Houston organization inked its four draftees. The key signing was Alex Santos, a high school hurler who’ll turn pro after being offered $1.25MM — a fair bit over the $870,700 slot he was chosen at. Zach Daniels and Tyler Brown each signed for near their slot amounts, while fifth-rounder Shay Witcomb took just $56K and left the team with room to ink Santos.
- Also inking for $1.2MM was Rangers’ choice Dylan MacLean. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the news on Twitter. MacLean was a fourth-round pick in the draft, signing for more than double his slot amount. MacLean is a southpaw hurler out of Central Catholic High School in Oregon.
- The Braves went well over slot to sign fifth-rounder Bryce Elder, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). Elder will receive $850K, far north of the $336,600 allocation for the 156th overall pick.
- As he said he would, Tigers fourth-rounder Gage Workman has reached agreement on a deal with his new team. The Detroit organization announced the signing, though it isn’t yet known what the Arizona State infielder will receive to forego a return for another run with the Sun Devils. Still just twenty years of age, Workman posted a lifetime .298/.372/.496 mark at ASU. He’s likely to begin his pro career as a shortstop.
- The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed third-rounder Levi Prater. He’ll earn $575K ($627,900 slot value), Callis tweets. Callils notes that Prater is a right-handed hurler with a 90-93 mph fastball.
- The Phillies added fourth-rounder Carson Ragsdale and fifth-rounder Baron Radcliff, per Callis (Twitter links). Ragsdale will earn $225K, well under the $497,500 slot value. Radcliff, a Georgia Tech outfielder, is slated to take home $100K, which will also leave some savings since his draft slot came with a $371,600 pool allocation.
- The White Sox chased some serious mid-round savings. Third-round choice Adisyn Coffee has inked for $50K and fourth-rounder Kade Mechals went for $10K, Callis reports (Twitter links). Both are right-handed hurlers, Coffee from Wabash Valley College and Mechals out of Grand Canyon. It’s not hard to interpret these signings: the White Sox wish to reallocate the rest of the slot money ($733,100 and $517,400, respectively). The club is believed to be lining up a big bonus with second-rounder Jarred Kelley, though he hasn’t yet signed.
- Rays third-rounder Hunter Barnhart is heading to Tampa Bay on a $585K bonus, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The Rays saved some cash in inning Barnhart, whose third-round slot carried a value of $604,800.
- High school righty Marco Raya has agreed to terms with the Twins. Callis tweets that he’ll receive a $410K bonus, which isn’t far shy of the $442,900 slot value. Raya is foregoing a commitment to Texas Tech. Though he’s hardly a power hurler, he’s said to have an “interesting four-pitch mix.”