Rays Rumors

Rays, Jacob Waguespack Agree To Extension

By Darragh McDonald | November 4, 2024 at 2:16pm CDT

The Rays announced that right-hander Jacob Waguespack has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and that the two sides have agreed to an extension, though no details of the new deal were provided. The club also noted that righty Joel Kuhnel cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Waguespack, who turns 31 tomorrow, has less than three years of service time and is therefore not close to the six years necessary to reach free agency. However, he did spent 2022 and 2023 pitching in Japan. Players coming back from overseas often have clauses in their contracts that allow them to become free agents regardless of service time considerations.

Waguespack signed a minor league deal with the Rays in January of 2024 and was selected to the roster early in March. Earlier today, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted on X that the Rays had a $1.3MM club option on Waguespack for 2025. Later, Topkin provided an update in a new tweet that Waguespack will indeed make $1.3MM next year with a $1.5MM club option for 2026.

It’s an interesting show of faith in Waguespack, as he didn’t pitch much this year. He tossed ten innings for the Rays over four appearances but the last of those was on April 12, with the righty being optioned to Triple-A after that. He was recalled in May to be placed on the 60-day injured list due to right rotator cuff inflammation. He was sent on a rehab assignment in June but made just one appearance at that time, starting another rehab assignment in September that lasted six outings.

After such an injury-marred season, there’s not much for the Rays to go on. He posted a 5.01 earned run average in his 23 1/3 minor league innings and a 5.40 ERA in his major league work. Presumably, they still like what they saw of Waguespack’s results in Japan. Over his two years in Nippon Professional Baseball, Waguespack had a 4.02 ERA in 116 1/3 innings. He struck out 29% of batters faced with a 10.8% walk rate. They’ll keep Waguespack around at a modest price point with the club option giving them some future upside if the bet pays off.

Kuhnel, 30 in February, was just claimed off waivers by the Rays in July. He has been bouncing around the league in recent years, having gone from the Reds to the Astros, Blue Jays, Brewers and then Rays via waiver claims, small trades or minor league deals since June of 2023. As a player who has been outrighted in the past, he had the right to elect free agency this time and has exercised that right.

He will now look for his next club, which will most likely come on a minor league deal. He has strong velocity but has turned that into more ground balls than strikeouts thus far. In 93 2/3 big league innings, he has a 5.86 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 52% ground ball rate. He’s now out of options, which will limit his roster flexibility going forward.

Orioles Claim Rene Pinto, Thaddeus Ward

By Anthony Franco | November 4, 2024 at 2:06pm CDT

The Orioles have made a few tweaks at the back of the roster to start the offseason. Baltimore announced a pair of waiver claims: catcher Rene Pinto from the division rival Rays and right-hander Thaddeus Ward from the Nationals. Baltimore also sent veteran reliever Matt Bowman through outright waivers; he elected free agency. Finally, the O’s selected the contract of lefty reliever Luis González. That series of moves leaves them with 37 players on the 40-man roster.

Pinto opened this past season as Tampa Bay’s starting catcher. It didn’t take long before he lost that job. He only made 19 appearances before being optioned to Triple-A Durham. Pinto spent the bulk of the year in the minors and slumped to a .191/.257/.373 line over 230 trips to the plate. His broader minor league track record is quite a bit better. The Venezuelan-born backstop is a .253/.303/.487 hitter in his Triple-A career. He owns a .231/.263/.404 slash in 237 plate appearances against big league pitching. He joins Blake Hunt on the 40-man roster as options to back up Adley Rutschman, though an external acquisition still seems likely.

Ward, 27, pitched in 26 games for the Nats last year. Washington took him out of the Boston system in the Rule 5 draft. Like many Rule 5 picks, he struggled in his debut campaign. The UCF product posted a 6.37 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. Washington kept him on optional assignment to Triple-A for the entire ’24 season. Ward started 28 games but allowed a 5.64 ERA over 119 2/3 frames. He walked an untenable 17% of batters faced.

Bowman bounced around the league via waivers before finishing the year in Baltimore. The sinkerballer posted a 4.40 earned run average through 30 2/3 innings between four teams. He had a strong year in Triple-A and should have no trouble landing another minor league deal this winter.

As for González, he earns a long-awaited selection to a 40-man roster. He turns 33 in January and has yet to pitch in the majors. The Dominican Republic native has pitched in Japan, Mexico and even Italy during his winding career arc. He worked his way to the Orioles on a minor league deal and tossed 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with Triple-A Norfolk this past season. González punched out nearly 29% of batters faced while walking fewer than 5% of opponents.

Those underlying numbers evidently impressed the Baltimore front office. Rather than allow González to hit minor league free agency, they’ll give him a spot on the 40-man for now. If he holds that all winter, there’s a good chance he’ll make his major league debut next year.

Rangers Promote Ross Fenstermaker To GM

By Nick Deeds | November 4, 2024 at 10:55am CDT

Nov 4: The Rangers officially announced that Fenstermaker has been promoted to general manager, and that they’ve hired Figueroa as assistant GM. Additionally, the Rangers officially announced the hiring of Justin Viele as hitting coach, a move that was first reported last week.

Nov 2: Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young was recently promoted to that title after signing an extension with the club back in September. That position had been vacant since Young took over baseball operations midway through the 2022 season after the firing of then-president Jon Daniels. Now, it’s the GM role that stands vacant, and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported this evening that the Rangers may be on the verge of a front office shakeup that could lead to that vacancy being filled.

According to Grant, the club is “zeroed in on” hiring Rays director of baseball operations Cole Figueroa for an assistant GM role. That deal is not yet completed, with Grant saying the hire remains dependent on typical background checks being completed, but if that deal comes together than Grant suggests that the addition could subsequently lead to the Rangers promoting internally to fill the vacant GM role.

Figueroa, 37, was an infielder who briefly played in the majors from 2014 to 2016, collecting 84 plate appearances with the Rays, Yankees, and Pirates during that time. Since his retirement following the 2016 season, Figueroa began working in the Rays organization in baseball operations. He was promoted to assistant director of hitting development in 2018 before taking on his current role with the Rays following the 2021 season. In some ways, Figueroa’s ascent up to front office work is similar to that of Young, who spent 13 years pitching in the majors before moving first to the commissioner’s office and then to the Rangers’ front office as GM.

With Figueroa likely coming on board as an assistant GM, that could make way for a current assistant GM to move up the ladder and become Young’s #2 in the front office. Specifically, Grant suggests that assistant GM and VP of player development and scouting Ross Fenstermaker could be the person tapped for the role. Fenstermaker joined the Rangers as a baseball operations intern in 2010 and made his way up the ladder through the scouting department, serving as a scout and crosschecker for nearly a decade before being promoted to director of pro scouting in 2018 and then promoted once again to senior director of pro and international scouting two years later.

Of course, whether that actually occurs or not remains to be seen, even if the Figueroa hire is completed. Grant notes that the Rangers have left the door open to finding a new GM to give Young a right-hand man but have never committed to doing so, even as front offices around baseball have increasingly began to utilize the GM role as a second-in-command behind the president of baseball operations. Texas isn’t the only club seemingly contemplating the addition of a GM to their front office this winter; the Red Sox could look to promote internally for the role as well, while the Giants recently did the same in hiring Zack Minasian to serve under new president of baseball operations Buster Posey.

Rays Notes: Tropicana Field, 40-Man Roster, Aranda, Morel

By Nick Deeds | November 3, 2024 at 12:01pm CDT

The Rays’ offseason has been dominated so far by uncertainty surrounding Tropicana Field in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. It’s not currently clear when the Rays will be able to return to play at the Trop, if ever. While the Rays try and sort out alternate plans for at least the beginning of the 2025 season, however, local officials have been working on assessing the damage to the stadium and determining whether or not its worth fixing.

The city of St. Petersburg took a step toward potentially fixing up the stadium recently, however, as John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the St. Pete city council agreed last week to spend up to $6MM in order to create a temporary drainage system and waterproof exposed areas of the stadium. Romano adds that this mitigation process figures to take up to eight weeks, though the process (and the related spending) could be halted if the stadium is declared impossible to salvage. The decision to spend comes as an attempt by the city to protect itself from an insurance dispute; Romano suggests that the city’s claim could be disputed if additional rain causes damage during the evaluation process.

Even as the decision to combat potential future damage to the Trop is seemingly being made for insurance reasons, Romano suggests that the move indicates some belief by local officials that the stadium can be salvaged. The Rays are already scheduled to depart the stadium for a new one that will be constructed in time for the 2028 season, a reality that has led to some questions over whether the Trop will be repaired at all or if the Rays will simply find a temporary home for the next three seasons. In any case, the Trop is not expected to be ready in time for Opening Day 2025 and so the Rays will have to find a new home for at least the early part of next season regardless of whether the stadium can be salvaged or not.

In other off-the-field news, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported some good news for the Rays today: embattled shortstop Wander Franco, who last played in August of 2023 due to ongoing legal proceedings regarding allegations against him of inappropriate relationships with minors, will not need to be reinstated from the restricted list this offseason. That means the club will not need to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to the 23-year-old this winter, a contrast from when he was on administrative leave. That should open up additional roster flexibility for the Rays throughout the offseason, although they’ll still need to make room on their 40-man roster for lefty Shane McClanahan, who has been on the 60-day injured list all season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Turning to baseball, Topkin notes that one of the biggest questions facing the club this winter is how best to deploy midseason trade addition Christopher Morel in 2025. Morel, 25, endured the worst season of his young career in 2024 as he slashed just .196/.288/.346 (82 wRC+) in 611 trips to the plate split between the Cubs and Rays. His results after coming to Tampa as part of the return in the Isaac Paredes trade were particularly brutal, as he hit just .191/.258/.289 in his final 190 trips to the plate. Much of that lackluster production with the Rays was due to a power outage; Morel hit just three home runs in 49 games with the club as compared to 18 homers in 103 games with the Cubs earlier in the season.

Overall, Morel’s production was not that of a quality regular last season, particularly due to his lackluster defense. While Morel has the versatility to play anywhere on the field, with reps in the majors at all three outfield spots, second and third base, and even shortstop, he’s been below average with the glove at all of those positions. While he likely profiles best as a DH, Topkin suggests that the club hopes to expand Jonathan Aranda’s role next year after he slashed .234/.308/.430 in 44 games in the big leagues this season. Aranda also profiles best as a DH, and Topkin suggests that the club figures to juggle Aranda, first baseman Yandy Diaz, and second baseman Brandon Lowe between DH and the right side of the infield in 2025.

The Rays tried Morel primarily at second base when he played in a position in 2024, but if Lowe and Aranda figure to get the lion’s share of starts at the keystone and DH Topkin suggests they could give him a look in left field. If Morel is able to revert to the offensive form he showed with the Cubs earlier in his career, whatever defensive shortcomings the youngster would have in an outfield corner would be more than made up for by his bat. In 2023, Morel appeared in 107 games for the Cubs and slashed an excellent .247/.313/.508 (121 wRC+) as their primary DH.

The young slugger has 63 home runs in just 372 games as a big leaguer so far, and despite his lackluster results this year actually posted career-best strikeout (26%) and walk (10%) rates. The Rays would surely love to see Morel combine that improved discipline with the power he showed in previous years, but even reverting to the .229 ISO, 31.6% strikeout rate form he flashed in his first two years with Chicago would constitute a major step in the right direction.

Rays Exercise Club Option On Brandon Lowe

By Darragh McDonald | November 1, 2024 at 4:45pm CDT

The Rays announced that they have exercised their club option on infielder Brandon Lowe. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news on X prior to the official announcement. The club could have given Lowe a $1MM buyout and sent him to free agency but have instead locked in his $10.5MM salary for the upcoming season.

There wasn’t much suspense with this decision. Lowe has hit .245/.330/.482 in his career for a 126 wRC+. That includes a .244/.311/.473 line in 2024 for a 123 wRC+.

He has mostly played second base in his career but has also spent some time at first base and in the outfield corners. He’s not considered especially strong at any of those spots but the versatility is still useful. He has missed plenty of time due to injuries in his career, only once getting into 110 games in a season, but his production has been strong whenever he’s been out there.

Back in March of 2019, when Lowe had just 43 MLB games on his ledger, he and the Rays agreed to a six-year, $24MM contract extension. The Rays are undoubtedly happy with their return on that investment, given Lowe’s performance.

They have triggered the club option to keep Lowe around for 2025 and his contract has another club option for 2026. He can be retained for that season at a rate of $11.5MM with a $500K buyout.

The question now is if the Rays will hold him or trade him. The franchise often trades players as they get more expensive and closer to free agency, which applies to Lowe.

According to RosterResource, the projected 2025 payroll is fairly similar to what they paid in 2024. A few non-tenders of their arbitration-eligible players could give them some breathing space but they are also facing the uncertainty of their stadium situation. With Tropicana Field badly damaged by Hurricane Milton, it’s possible that the club has to spend the upcoming season or seasons as nomads. That could have financial implications in terms of ticket sales, refunds, repairs and so on.

Even if that situation is largely resolved by insurance or other means, the Rays normally keep payroll down by trading players in this situation for younger, cheaper and more controllable alternatives. As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Lowe’s name pops up in trade rumors this winter.

Rob Manfred Discusses Rays’ Stadium Plans, Timeline

By Nick Deeds | October 27, 2024 at 2:13pm CDT

The Rays’ offseason has so far been dominated by the questions swirling around Tropicana Field after it was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton earlier this month. While the damage has not yet been fully assessed, it seems certain that the club won’t be able to start the season in their home ballpark in 2025 and there remains the possibility that local officials decide not to repair the field at all with a replacement for the Trop planned to be constructed in time for Opening Day 2028.

The unusual situation leaves plenty of questions about the Rays’ short- and mid-term future, even as the club knows its long-term home for 2028 and beyond remains in St. Pete. Potential temporary homes such as Durham, North Carolina and Montreal have already been shot down, and while MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a preference for the Rays to remain in their current market, local officials in St. Petersburg have cautioned that they’ll be “financially responsible” as they attempt to find an avenue to keep the Rays in the area for the 2025-28 seasons.

Manfred made additional comments about the Rays’ situation to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich recently that for the first time helped to crystalize a timeline for a plan to be put in place. While previous discussions of the club’s future have simply noted that it would likely take several weeks for damage to the Trop to even be fully assessed, Manfred told Drellich that a plan needs to be in place before the end of the year.

“I think by Christmas they gotta have a pretty good plan in place,” Manfred said, as relayed by Drellich. “and there’s a lot to that.”

While two months isn’t necessarily a long time for the club to map out a new plan for where it will play its games in 2025, even that relatively short time frame could have an impact on the Rays’ offseason as the club attempts to court prospective free agents who won’t even know where they’d be playing and living during the season if they were to sign with Tampa. Of course, the Rays have always been more prolific on the trade market than in free agency, and that once again figures to be the case this winter as they explore ways to upgrade their lineup and rumors percolate that they could deal from their rotation this winter. In the event that the lack of a clear home ballpark impacts the club’s recruitment in free agency, it’s possible they’ll need to focus even more on the trade market than usual this offseason.

Turning back to the stadium questions at hand, Manfred suggested the league would be able to “make it work” in a minor league park by adjusting not only the minor league team’s schedule but also potentially even the Rays’ schedule as necessary. Using a minor league park or Spring Training complex could be a way for the club to remain in their current market even if city decides against repairing the Trop. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes that the Phillies’ and Yankees’ respective spring training complexes in Clearwater and Tampa seem to be the most likely local options for the Rays to utilize as a temporary home.

Of course, using a minor league facility runs the risk of a clash with the MLBPA over any negative impacts the move might have on players. MLBPA head Tony Clark recently discussed the union’s role in the process, noting that they’re limited in terms of their ability to impact the team’s choice of facility but can ensure that the ballpark’s amenities are up to major league standards and ensure the players are not put into “harm’s way” by the move. One example of how the MLBPA’s role works can be found in the similar situation playing out on the west coast due to the Athletics’ temporary relocation to Sacramento, where the club initially planned to utilize artificial turf but will now continue using grass on the field in 2025 following intervention by the union due to concerns that artificial turf would retain too much heat.

AL East Notes: Berti, Leonsis, Orioles, Holliday, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | October 26, 2024 at 9:12am CDT

Jon Berti was the lone member of the Yankees’ ALCS roster that wasn’t included on the club’s roster for the World Series, though beyond tactics, health was the key factor in Berti’s absence. Manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other media that Berti suffered a flexor strain in his right hip while running the bases in Game 4 of the ALCS. Berti entered that game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Anthony Rizzo, came around to score what ended up as the game’s winning run, and then played second base in the bottom half of the frame.

“Unfortunately, time ran out for [Berti] to be ready,” Boone said. “So that’s a blow for us. I feel for him because he was playing a really important role for us, especially in those first two rounds.”

With Rizzo sidelined by two broken fingers until the ALCS, Berti found himself in the unlikely role of New York’s starting first baseman for two ALDS games against the Royals, and again for Game 3 of the ALCS (with Rizzo on the bench against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd). Though Berti has carved out a niche as a super-utility player over his seven Major League seasons, he had never before played first base during his entire pro career before taking on the cold corner for this year’s playoffs. Berti can only watch from the sidelines as his teammates will try to dig themselves out of an 0-1 hole in the Series after yesterday’s heartbreaking walkoff loss.

MLBTR Podcast: The World Series, The White Sox Reportedly For Sale, And Tropicana Field

By Darragh McDonald | October 23, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

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…

The upcoming World Series (0:30)
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf reportedly talking about selling the team (4:35)
The hurricane damage to Tropicana Field and the complicated situation the Rays are in (18:10)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Should the Guardians trade Josh Naylor and what would the return look like? (27:05)
What would a Masyn Winn or Alec Burleson extension look like? Could the Cardinals still hammer out a deal even with the current budget constraints? (35:00)
What do you think the Red Sox will do this winter? (42:05)

Check out our past episodes!

Changes In Minnesota, Cubs’ Prospect Depth, And Possibilities For The O’s – listen here
Previewing FA Starting Pitchers, TV Deals, And Potential Spending Teams – listen here
Buster Posey Takes Over In SF And The Cardinals’ Succession Plan – listen here

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

Quick Hits: Nationals, Merrill, Athletics, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | October 23, 2024 at 11:37pm CDT

As the Padres and Nationals were negotiating the blockbuster Juan Soto trade in advance of the 2022 trade deadline, the Nats were able to obtain such top-tier young talents as CJ Abrams, James Wood, and MacKenzie Gore as part of the six-player trade package. One player Washington didn’t land was Jackson Merrill, though Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Nationals asked about Merrill as part of the trade talks.

Though Merrill was the 27th overall pick of the 2021 draft, his prospect stock didn’t really start to take off until he started to post big numbers for the Padres’ rookie league and A-ball affiliates during the 2022 season. In fact, injuries limited Merrill to only 25 games in 2022 at the time of the Soto trade, so the Nationals weren’t working off a lot of scouting information when they checked into Merrill’s possible availability. Though the Friars gave up a lot to bring Soto to San Diego, it looks like they made a canny move in keeping Merrill, as his tremendous rookie season helped lead the Padres to the NLDS this season. Merrill hit .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs over 593 plate appearances, and (even more remarkably) played strong defense as San Diego’s everyday center fielder despite never before playing center during his pro career.

Some other items from around baseball…

Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park will remain a natural-grass stadium when the Athletics begin play next season, a league spokesperson told the media (including The Athletic’s Evan Drellich). Since the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate will continue sharing the ballpark with the A’s, the initial idea was to install an artificial surface for 2025 and beyond, as a grass field will take quite a bit of wear-and-tear from two full schedules’ worth of games. However, players still preferred even a beaten-up grass surface to turf, as playing on an artificial surface outdoors in California would’ve routinely raised on-field temperatures to well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, even for some night games. “In light of the players’ clear preference for natural grass, and after weighing with the MLBPA the potential risks and benefits of maintaining natural grass versus replacing the playing surface with synthetic turf, all the parties are aligned in moving forward with a natural grass field for Opening Day 2025,” the spokesperson said.
In other stadium news, the Rays’ immediate landing spot isn’t yet clear as the club continues to assess how badly Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton. Amidst speculation that the Rays could at least open the 2025 season in any number of different cities, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made it clear in an interview on the Varsity podcast that the league’s preference is to keep the Rays in the Tampa/St. Pete area. “The easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if we can manage it,” Manfred said, in terms of Tropicana Field, “we’re hopeful…the repairs can be done in a way that allows them to resume playing.” That said, Manfred is aware of the “complication” of how the city could balk at a large repair bill for a stadium that will soon be abandoned entirely, as the Rays’ new ballpark is slated to be ready for Opening Day 2028. (Hat tip to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.)

Rays Re-Sign Michael Flynn To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | October 23, 2024 at 1:45pm CDT

The Rays have re-signed right-hander Michael Flynn to a minor league deal, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams on X. The righty, who is represented by Dynamic Sports Group, receives a spring training invite and will make a salary of $900K in the majors next year if he gets there.

Flynn, 28, has yet to make his major league debut but was recently part of a deadline deal. He joined the Rays a few months ago, coming over in the trade that sent infielder/outfielder Amed Rosario to the Dodgers.

Prior to the 2024 season, Flynn had spent time in the minors with the Pirates and Mariners but had allowed 7.05 earned runs per nine innings in his 97 frames. That was surely a misleading ERA, as he had solid strikeout and walk rates of 25.3% and 8.4% in that time. His 4.36 FIP for that stretch perhaps better represents his work, with his unfortunate .364 BABIP and 55.3% strand rate pushing extra runs across the plate.

He reached free agency after 2023 and signed a minors deal with the Dodgers. He went on to throw 42 1/3 innings in that organization, between Double-A and Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA. He struck out 33.1% of batters faced with a 9% walk rate.

That strikeout rate surely intrigued the Rays and motivated them to take a flier on Flynn in the Rosario deal. Unfortunately, Flynn spent time on the injured list after the trade and was only able to make six appearances in the Rays’ system. But they apparently liked what they saw enough to bring him back for another look in spring training next year.

The Rays opened up their bullpen a bit last summer, sending out relievers Phil Maton, Jason Adam and Shawn Armstrong as part of their sell-off. Pete Fairbanks is a speculative trade candidate for this offseason now that his deal has just one more guaranteed year and a club option. In general, the Rays are one of the clubs most willing to rotate arms through the roster, which could give Flynn a chance to crack the big leagues.

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