Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Rumors

Rays To Place Pete Fairbanks On 15-Day Injured List

By | at

The Rays’ 8-7 extra-innings win over the Diamondbacks today came at an unfortunate cost, as both Pete Fairbanks and Yandy Diaz left the game due to injuries.  Fairbanks’ injury is the more serious matter, as manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the closer suffered an apparent lat strain, and will be headed to the 15-day injured list.  Diaz had to leave the game after being hit in his left elbow with a pitch, but Cash said the infielder is day to day since X-rays and an MRI of Diaz’s elbow were both negative.

More will be known once Fairbanks undergoes tests, but depending on the severity of the strain, it is possible Fairbanks might’ve thrown his last pitch of the 2024 campaign.  This will be his second IL stint of the season, after he missed around three weeks earlier this year dealing with a nerve entrapment issue.

Fairbanks allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning of work today, and that rocky performance will boost his ERA up to 3.57 over 45 1/3 frames.  Sunday’s injury-marred outing aside, Fairbanks has pitched pretty well in his second season as Tampa Bay’s closer, as he has converted 23 of 27 save opportunities.  Fairbanks’ 23.5% strikeout rate is slightly above average and his 8.9% walk rate is on the high side, though a .267 BABIP has helped paper over these middling metrics.

Most of the damage against Fairbanks occurred prior to his first IL stint, as he posted a 1.91 ERA in his first 37 2/3 innings after recovering from the nerve entrapment problems.  The Rays used a bullpen-by-committee approach to save situations when Fairbanks was sidelined that first time, and the team will probably adopt that same tactic again.  Garrett Cleavinger has been Tampa Bay’s most effective reliever overall, though Cash might deploy him in high-leverage situations at any point late in a game, rather than specifically just holding leads in the ninth inning.

Diaz was hit on the elbow in his very first at-bat of the game, forcing Christopher Morel into the lineup as a early replacement.  Given the good news about his initial tests, it could be that Diaz might return after just a day or two off to recover from any swelling, but the Rays will naturally be cautious about one of their key bats.  Diaz’s .273/.329/.396 slash line over 498 PA is well below his production from 2022-23, but he is another player who has started to get it together after a slow start —- Diaz had hit .301/.340/.445 in his previous 253 PA entering today’s action.

These injuries will make the Rays’ uphill climb towards a playoff berth even steeper.  Despite moving a lot of veteran talent at the trade deadline, today’s win moved Tampa Bay back above the .500 mark to 62-61, and the club is 6.5 games back of the last AL wild card spot.

Brandon Lowes Hopes To Stay With Rays Beyond 2024

By | at

  • 2024 is the last guaranteed season of the six-year, $24MM extension Brandon Lowe signed with the Rays prior to Opening Day 2019, but Tampa still has a pair of club options ($10.5MM with a $1MM buyout for 2025, $11.5MM for 2026 with a $500K buyout) covering Lowe’s immediate future.  “Whether they pick up the option or they don’t, I feel like I’m putting myself in a good position to still be on a team next year,” Lowe told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Lowe noted that playing with the Rays “is all I know.  I like it here.  My friends are here.  We have a house here.  It’s comfortable.  I don’t know anything else.  I know this.”  Given how the Rays dealt a number of higher-priced veterans at the deadline, Topkin figures that Lowe’s continued presence on the roster means that the team will exercise the 2025 option and keep Lowe in Tampa Bay for an eighth season.  Lowe is more than doing his part at the plate to sway the Rays’ mind, as he is hitting .248/.330/.488 with 14 homers over 282 PA.

Rays Place Zack Littell On 15-Day Injured List

By | at

11:55AM: Littell described the IL trip as precautionary, and he told Topkin and other reporters that he could miss just the minimum 15 days.

11:07AM: The Rays announced that right-hander Zack Littell has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to fatigue in his throwing shoulder.  The placement is retroactive to August 15.  Left-hander Tyler Alexander has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Littell threw five innings of one-run ball in his last start on August 14, but threw only 68 pitches, perhaps indicating that his shoulder issue might’ve hastened a relatively early exit from the game.  The 68 pitches tied Littell’s second-lowest pitch count of the season, as the veteran has been a reliable and durable presence in the Rays’ rotation, and leads the team in both innings (129 2/3) and starts (24).

These are both career bests for Littell, who had only 172 2/3 innings and 18 starts at the MLB level before Tampa Bay acquired the righty on a waiver claim off Boston’s roster back in May 2023.  At first, Littell worked as a reliever and opener with his new team, but over the last two months of the 2023 campaign, he thrived after being given the first extended starting job of his six big league seasons.

This success gave Littell another spot in Tampa’s rotation this year, and he has continued to pitch well, posting a 3.89 ERA over his 129 2/3 frames.  Littell’s 4.7% walk rate is one of the best in baseball, though the rest of his secondary metrics (such as a 21.1% strikeout rate, 39.6% hard-hit ball rate, or 9.7% barrel rate) are below average.  Home runs have also been an issue for Littell, but overall, his 4.05 ERA isn’t far beyond his bottom-line ERA.

At the price of a $1.85MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility, Littell has been a bargain, and he’ll continue to be a cost-effective rotation piece even after he gets a healthy raise this winter.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed in a subscriber-exclusive piece back in May, Littell has been the latest unheralded pitcher to suddenly gain a new level of success after joining the Rays.

Today’s IL placement interrupts the righty’s overall solid season, and given the calendar, the injury could potentially threaten to end Littell’s 2024 altogether.  Another bout of shoulder fatigue cost him about three weeks last season, and while every situation is different, it could be that this placement is a way to let Littell rest up after almost a full year of an increased workload.  The Rays could use Alexander as a bulk pitcher behind an opener while Littell is on the IL, or the team again dip into the farm system for a replacement arm.

Rays Recall Junior Caminero

By | at

August 13: The Rays made it official today, recalling Caminero and optioning Mead as the corresponding move.

August 12: The Rays plan to recall top infield prospect Junior Caminero from Triple-A Durham before tomorrow’s game against the Astros, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’s his first promotion of the season. Caminero is already on the 40-man roster because the Rays initially called him up last September. They’ll only need to make an active roster transaction tomorrow.

Caminero, who turned 21 last month, appeared in seven games for Tampa Bay late last season. He hit his first big league homer but managed only a .278 on-base percentage. The Rays carried him on their Wild Card roster but didn’t get him into a postseason game. Tampa Bay had jumped Caminero directly from Double-A to the big leagues, so they unsurprisingly optioned him to Durham out of Spring Training this year.

The righty-hitting infielder would likely have gotten a call back to the majors sooner if not for a tough stretch of injury luck. Caminero had a pair of stints on the minor league injured list because of quad issues. He’s been limited to 53 games as a result, though he’s playing well when healthy. Caminero carries a .276/.331/.498 slash with 13 homers across 236 Triple-A plate appearances. That’s not overwhelming production in the overall league context, as Triple-A has become very favorable for hitters, even in the International League.

It’s a lot more impressive when considering that Caminero is still the age of a typical college junior. This is technically his age-20 season. He’s one of two players — along with Jackson Holliday — who have managed 200+ Triple-A plate appearances this year at that age. Jackson Chourio is the only 20-year-old to hit that threshold in the big leagues.

Not coincidentally, those players were arguably the top three prospects in the sport entering the season. Chourio has exhausted his prospect eligibility, but Holliday and Caminero respectively landed second and third on Baseball America’s updated Top 100 list. Evaluators continue to laud his massive power potential and overall offensive upside.

The Rays are in dire need of a lineup boost. They dropped tonight’s contest to the Astros 6-1 and have scored two or fewer runs in nine of their past 14 games. Only the A’s have scored fewer runs in August. Tampa Bay dropped back to .500 and sit 5.5 games back of the last Wild Card spot in the American League with three teams to surpass.

Their status as long shot contenders contributed to the front office’s decision to deal the likes of Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, Zach Eflin, Jason Adam and Aaron Civale before the deadline. The Rays didn’t go full scorched earth — they held Yandy Díaz, Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks most notably — but the Paredes and Arozarena subtractions make it easier to find a lineup spot for Caminero.

Topkin writes that the Rays are likely to play Caminero regularly at either third base or designated hitter. Tampa Bay has divided playing time at the hot corner between José Caballero and Curtis Mead recently. Mead has yet to hit in his young major league career. Caballero is a glove-first player who can move around the diamond. He’s capable of playing anywhere on the infield and Topkin suggests the Rays could get him some outfield work down the stretch.

Caminero picked up 10 days of major league service last year. He could accrue another 48 days of service time this year if he’s in the majors for good. That won’t be enough to impact his path to free agency or arbitration. He has already sufficient time in Triple-A this season to push his path to free agency back until at least the 2030-31 offseason. He will not qualify for arbitration until the 2027-28 winter at the earliest. Caminero could surpass the requisite 45 days on an MLB active roster to exhaust his rookie eligibility heading into next season, though. Doing so would render him ineligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive in 2025, which would take the possibility of Caminero “earning” the Rays a bonus draft pick based on his Rookie of the Year or MVP finish off the table.

That’s a secondary consideration to getting Caminero his first real run against big league pitching. It’s a stretch to count on any young player to immediately carry a lineup, as some early-season struggles from Holliday and Chourio demonstrated. Even if Caminero doesn’t lead Tampa Bay on a furious playoff push, he’s a potential foundational player whom the Rays are hoping establishes himself as their answer at the hot corner in short order.

Josh Lowe Leaves Game Due To Knee Contusion, X-Rays Negative

By | at

  • It was a similar story for Rays outfielder Josh Lowe, as x-rays were also negative on Lowe’s right knee after he fouled a ball off himself in the first inning of tonight’s game.  Lowe was in enough discomfort that he couldn’t take the field for the bottom of the first, but his injury was also deemed a contusion.  A pair of oblique strains have already sent Lowe to the IL twice this season, and he has hit .236/.296/.410 over 213 plate appearances thus far in 2024, playing almost exclusively against right-handed pitchers.

Rays Reinstate Drew Rasmussen

By | at

The Rays announced that right-hander Drew Rasmussen has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Righty Joel Kuhnel was optioned to Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. The club had a couple of vacant 40-man spots after their deadline dealings and their count in that regard now climbs to 39.

Rasmussen, now 29, has been on the IL all season after undergoing internal brace surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in July of last year. It’s not the first time that doctors have done work in that area of his elbow, as he underwent Tommy John surgery twice in college.

Those continual issues with his elbow have played a role in his circuitous journey. The Rays actually drafted him in the first round of the 2017 draft, between his two Tommy John surgeries, but didn’t sign him due to concerns in his physical. After he returned to college and went under the knife a second time, he was signed by the Brewers after that club selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft.

He worked his way up through the farm and then broke into the majors as a reliever with Milwaukee in 2020 and 2021. It was in May of 2021 that the Rays traded Willy Adames and Trevor Richards to the Brewers to get Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen. Though the Rays had walked away from the chance to sign him a few years prior, it seems they kept an eye on him and were encouraged by his progress.

They stretched him out after that deal, giving him ten starts in the latter half of the 2021 campaign. He was then able to fully grab hold of a rotation job in 2022 by making 28 starts with a 2.84 earned run average, 21.4% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 46.6% ground ball rate. He kept things rolling with a 2.62 ERA in eight starts last year before landing on the IL and eventually requiring yet another surgery.

Coming back from so many operations will be a challenge but it seems he and the Rays will take it a bit easy by keeping him in a multi-inning relief role for now. He started a rehab assignment last month and made five minor league appearances, none longer than two innings. Earlier this week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Rasmussen would be coming back in a relief role rather than getting fully stretched out.

Despite recently trading away Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin, the Rays have a strong rotation mix that currently consists of Taj Bradley, Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Zack Littell. They also have Tyler Alexander doing solid work as a bulk guy behind an opener. Ryan Pepiot is on the injured list with a knee issue but could be back shortly.

For now, the club will assess Rasmussen out of the bullpen and decide how to proceed. He is making $1.8625MM this year, his first arbitration season, and can be controlled via arb for two more campaigns after this one. Each of those aforementioned rotation options projects to be a part of next year’s rotation mix, when Shane McClanahan will also return from his own Tommy John surgery layoff.

The Eflin and Civale deals have shown that the club is not afraid to deal established guys and then replace them with their own internal options, as Baz and Springs were also coming back from surgeries as those deals were lined up. Whether they decide to move Rasmussen back to the rotation next year or not, it seems fair to expect trade rumors around their pile of potential starting pitchers this offseason.

MLBTR Podcast: Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Rays Select Kameron Misner, Place Richie Palacios On 10-Day IL

By | at

TODAY: The Rays officially selected Misner and placed Palacios on the 10-day IL yesterday with a right knee sprain.  Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and other reporters that Palacios will miss roughly 4-6 weeks in recovery, and there is enough uncertainly this early in the rehab process that Palacios could potentially miss the rest of the regular season.

The injury is a tough break for Palacios, who has gotten a nice chunk of playing time as a part of the Rays’ regular rotation of position players.  Palacios has a 104 wRC+, from a slash line of .233/.350/.332 and five homers in 301 plate appearances.  The 27-year-old has also stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts, while getting a lot of action at second base and in the two corner outfield positions.

AUGUST 1: The Rays are planning to promote outfielder Kameron Misner from Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll join the active roster in place of Richie Palacios, who is headed for the 10-day injured list after tweaking his knee in yesterday’s loss to Miami. Tampa Bay will need to select Misner’s contract but has three vacancies on the 40-man roster after their slate of deadline trades.

Now 26, Misner was once a highly-regarded draft prospect. The Marlins selected him 35th overall in the 2019 draft coming out of the University of Missouri. He’d briefly reached Double-A in the Miami system by the time they sent him to Tampa Bay in an intra-state trade to land veteran infielder Joey Wendle.

The book on Misner has been the same dating back to his college days. He has big power in a 6’4″ frame. He takes plenty of walks and has a surprising amount of athleticism for a player his size. Scouting reports have always questioned his pure hitting ability, though, with some evaluators putting a 30 (well below-average on the 20-80 scouting scale) on his hit tool.

Misner has spent nearly two full seasons in Durham and continued to perform to those expectations. He’s a career .236/.360/.453 hitter in nearly 1000 Triple-A plate appearances. Misner has 36 home runs, a massive 15.7% walk rate, and has stolen 48 bases in 57 attempts over 224 games. The left-handed hitter has also struck out in more than a third of his trips to the plate, the biggest reason he hadn’t gotten a major league call despite the big on-base and power numbers.

The Rays have used Misner mostly in center field in the minors. He’ll probably get more action in the corners on the MLB roster. That’s especially true with the Rays losing Palacios, who has started 40 games in a corner outfield spot this season. Palacios has made a career-high 88 appearances overall, hitting .233/.350/.332 through 301 trips to the plate. He’s on his third team in as many seasons after the Rays swapped him from the Cardinals for reliever Andrew Kittredge over the winter.

Tampa Bay and St. Louis lined up another reliever for outfielder deal this week, as the Rays shipped Shawn Armstrong to the Cards while taking a flier on former top prospect Dylan Carlson. The switch-hitting Carlson could get the majority of left field reps while Misner adds a power bat to Kevin Cash’s bench.

Doug Creek Passes Away

By | at

Former major leaguer Doug Creek has passed away, according to multiple sources, including The Journal out of Martinsburg, West Virginia. The left-hander died at the age of 55 due to the effects of pancreatic cancer.

Creek was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1969 and went on to attend Georgia Tech. He worked as a starting pitcher for the Yellow Jackets and was drafted by the Cardinals with a seventh-round pick in 1991. In the minor leagues, he continued working out of the rotation until he got near the majors and was then shifted into a relief role.

He was able to make his major league debut with the Cards in 1995, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings that year. Prior to the 1996 season, he was traded to the Giants alongside Rich DeLucia and Allen Watson for Royce Clayton and a player to be named later, who was later named as Chris Wimmer.

Creek made 63 appearances for San Francisco in 1996 but with a 6.52 ERA. In 1997, an attempt was made to get Creek stretched back out, though without success. He had a 6.75 ERA in three major league starts and a 4.93 ERA in Triple-A. He went overseas for the 1998 season, pitching for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He made six starts and one relief appearance with a 5.65 ERA.

He returned to North American ball and then spent the next few years as a journeyman left-hander, pitching for the Cubs, Devil Rays, Mariners, Blue Jays and Tigers. He finished his career with 289 1/3 innings pitched over 279 appearances. He had a 5.32 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 15.1% walk rate. After leaving the baseball field, he headed out to the water. According to his obituary, he became a charter boat captain in Tampa Bay and competed as an angler on the Redfish Circuit.

We at MLBTR join the baseball world in sending our condolences to Creek’s family, friends, former teammates and coaches and all those mourning his passing.

MLBTR Podcast: Trade Deadline Recap

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Were the prospect prices high in this year’s trades? Is this a new normal due to the expanded playoffs creating a seller’s market? (2:15)
  • The three-team trade involving the Dodgers, White Sox, Cardinals, Erick Fedde, Miguel Vargas and others (15:40)
  • The Rays and Cubs, the buy-sell tightrope and the trade involving Isaac Paredes and Christopher Morel (29:30)
  • The Astros acquire Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays for a three-player package and the connection to the the Dodgers acquiring Jack Flaherty from the Tigers but the Yankees reportedly being scared off by his medicals (48:00)
  • The Guardians acquire Alex Cobb from the Giants and acquire Lane Thomas from the Nationals (58:35)
  • The Orioles acquire Trevor Rogers from the Marlins and acquire Zach Eflin from the Rays (1:09:10)
  • Will teams have to be more aggressive in the offseason going forward if the expanded playoffs will make less good players available at the deadline? (1:20:35)
  • The Rockies and Angels held onto a lot of trade candidates (1:23:35)
  • The Marlins leaned in hard to seller status (1:31:40)
  • The Padres built a super bullpen (1:44:50)
  • The Braves acquire Jorge Soler from the Giants (1:47:40)
  • The Royals acquire Lucas Erceg from the Athletics (1:54:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
  • Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets – listen here
  • Brewers’ Pitching Needs, Marlins Rumors And The Nats Prepare To Sell – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top