Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Rumors

Trade Rumors: Abreu, Brewers, BoSox, Twins, Royals, Dodgers, Brach, Treinen

By | at

As an established veteran on a cellar-dwelling team, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu has come up often as a speculative trade candidate, but the club’s “strongly inclined” to retain him, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The 31-year-old hasn’t exactly boosted his trade value this season, having hit a career-worst .250/.312/.435 (101 wRC+, compared to 139 from 2014-17) and accounted for a replacement-level WAR across 407 plate appearances. Regardless of whether the White Sox keep Abreu, he’s slated to go through arbitration once more over the winter. In the meantime, he’s on a $13MM salary this season.

More trade-related items as the countdown to the July 31 deadline continues…

  • The Brewers’ interest in Royals second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield has been known for a while, and Robert Murray of The Athletic (subscription required) explores the possibility of Milwaukee acquiring him. The Brewers haven’t pursued Merrifield as aggressively as they did during the winter, according to Murray, who hears he’d be rather expensive to pry out of Kansas City. Landing Merrifield would require “three higher-end prospects, at least,” an executive told Murray. Milwaukee happens to have a quality farm system, though it’s unlikely to trade its best prospect – second baseman Keston Hiura – suggests Murray, who goes on to run down farmhands the team could deal for Merrifield. The 29-year-old Merrifield has upped his stock during a terrific season in which he has hit .305/.375/.429 with five home runs and 17 steals through 412 PAs. Adding to his appeal, Merrifield’s on a near-minimum salary this season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 campaign.
  • The Red Sox sent a high-level executive, senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren, to scout the Royals–Twins game on Friday, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. It’s unclear which players Wren focused on, though it’s worth pointing out that Boston has shown reported interest in both Merrifield and Royals teammate Mike Moustakas. And with the Twins likely to sell at the deadline, Buster Olney of ESPN doesn’t rule out the Red Sox pursuing second baseman Brian Dozier.
  • Along with Baltimore’s closer, Zach Britton, the reliever-needy Dodgers are interested in Orioles setup man Brad Brach, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The Dodgers have also scouted the Marlins and Rays and “monitored” Athletics closer Blake Treinen, Shaikin adds, though it seems improbable he’ll go anywhere with the A’s making a major push for a playoff spot. Conversely, as a pending free agent on a rebuilding team, the 32-year-old Brach is a good bet to end up in another uniform in the coming weeks. The problem for Baltimore is that Brach is in the midst of his least effective season in a while, with a 4.34 ERA/3.61 FIP and a 4.34 BB/9 in 37 1/3 innings. On the positive side, Brach has struck out upward of nine hitters per nine and generated swinging strikes at a solid clip (13.2 percent).

Latest On Chris Archer

By | at

JULY 21: There is “significant interest” in Archer, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link), though he doesn’t specify which teams are pursuing him. Regardless, there’s no guarantee a trade will happen, as Rosenthal says the pitcher “would almost certainly need to show” a return to form in his final two pre-deadline starts for a deal to occur.

JULY 20: Rays starter Chris Archer has been one of the most consistently discussed potential trade chips in baseball for several years, yet he has stayed in Tampa Bay even as many rotation mates have been traded away. Now, though, it could finally be time for a deal to go down, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.

Archer, who turns 30 later this season, expressed a desire to “experience winning” in comments to Topkin. Though Archer chose his words carefully and hardly issued anything approaching a trade demand, the right-hander perhaps at least hinted that it might be best for the sides to part ways — depending, at least, upon the Tampa Bay organization’s intentions. As he put it:

“If I’m going to be here. I want the process of not going to the playoffs to be expedited. … I’ve seen the transition. I’m not saying I’m not happy, but I know that we are still transitioning. And the faster we can speed that up and get back to the 2008 through ’13, ’14 days, the better.”

Ratcheting up the contention timeline hardly appears to be the present priority for a Rays front office that has been hard at work moving large contracts and adding future-oriented assets. While the team’s solid play has been quite a pleasant surprise, the postseason seems out of reach in a monumentally stratified American League.

It came as no great surprise, then, when the Rays shipped out Alex Colome and Denard Span earlier in the season. And the club’s focus at the trade deadline figures to be on finding homes for a few pending free agents while also weighing bigger potential swaps. With the Rays having perhaps already placed emergent starter Blake Snell out of reach, the attention seems likely to end up on Archer.

To be sure, Archer has not been at his best this year — or, in truth, for the past two seasons either. Despite still-strong K/BB numbers, continued mid-nineties velocity, and a steady ~12-13% swinging-strike rate, Archer has allowed more than four earned per nine since the start of 2016. And this year, he’s allowing hard contact at a career-worst 41.5% rate.

Along with the less-than-exciting results, the cheapest years of Archer’s early-career extension are now in the past. But he certainly still remains a respected arm who comes with an appealing price tag. The deal promises him $7.5MM next year and includes $9MM and $11MM options that come with $2MM in cumulative buyouts.

With the end of the deal now in sight, and Archer no longer nearly the incredible value as he once was, the stars could be lining up for a move. It doesn’t hurt that, given the shabby state of the market for rental starters, teams in search of higher-end arms will be forced to go after pitchers whose present clubs are not compelled to make a move. That could drive prices up, though at some point there’ll presumably also be enough demand to interest one or more selling organization. Archer is one of several starters in the same general boat, as we covered in our recent ranking of the 75 top deadline trade candidates.

As Topkin notes, at the end of the day the Rays will need to see enough of a return to make it worth their while to part with a player who still holds plenty of upside. Particularly given that Archer only just returned from the DL, his next few outings my help determine whether another organization puts a compelling offer on the table.

Rays Promote Justin Williams

By | at

The Rays have promoted outfielder Justin Williams to the major league club for the first time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. To make room for him on the active roster, they’ve optioned lefty reliever Hoby Milner to Triple-A.

Williams, who’ll turn 23 next month, was the Diamondbacks’ second round pick in the 2013 draft. He came to the Rays as part of the return for sending right-hander Jeremy Hellickson to Arizona, and has posted above-average offensive numbers at every level of the minor leagues since then. At the Triple-A level so far this year, Williams has posted a .276/.323/.392 slash with a 6.7% walk rate and a 21.0% strikeout rate. At the Double-A level last season, he managed to hit .301/.364/.489 across 409 plate appearances.

MLB Pipeline ranks Williams among the club’s top ten prospects, checking in at #8. Though he hit a career-high 14 home runs last season, the publication notes that scouts expect him to develop more pop in his bat due to the fact that he still hits a lot of ground balls; something that could change as he continues to improve his swing. Baseball America describes him as a hitter who makes consistent contact and manages the strike zone well, in part due to improving pitch recognition. BA goes on to say that he turns on inside pitches well but may need to make some adjustments in order to do a better job covering the outside of the plate.

Rays Designate Johnny Field

By | at

The Rays have designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). That opens 40-man space for the team to select the contract of catcher Adam Moore.

Field, 26, debuted this year and posted a .213/.253/.373 slash line with six home runs in 179 MLB plate appearances. Clearly, that’s not going to get it done, though it was only a first attempt at the game’s highest level. Field, who is capable of playing in the corners or up the middle defensively, has a .270/.320/.436 batting line in his 805 career plate appearances at Triple-A.

As for the 34-year-old Moore, this represents a return to the majors after a one-season absence. He had appeared in every one of the prior eight MLB campaigns, yet saw action in less than one hundred total games. Outside of a lengthy run in 2010, in fact, Moore has taken just 74 total plate appearances. H carries a .215/.259/.309 slash in 158 plate appearances this year at Triple-A.

Rays To Select Adam Moore

By | at

The Rays are set to select catcher Adam Moore’s contract from Triple-A Durham, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The club will have to make a corresponding 40-man move to create a spot for Moore, as Topkin notes.

The 34-year-old Moore signed a minor league contract with the Rays in February and has since batted just .215/.259/.309 in 158 plate appearances with Durham, though he has thrown out 33 percent of would-be base stealers. Moore has caught runners at a similar clip (31 percent) throughout his minor league career and, despite this year’s struggles, carries a .733 OPS in 2,352 Triple-A plate appearances with multiple teams. He also comes with some major league experience, having combined for 292 PAs and a .197/.237/.303 line with the Mariners, Royals, Padres and Indians between 2009-16.

During his first action in Tampa Bay, Moore will back up Jesus Sucre in Wilson Ramos’ absence. Ramos was a key contributor to the Rays’ 49-47 start and looked like a prime trade chip as a result. Unfortunately for the Rays, though, he suffered a hamstring injury last weekend and is likely to be on the shelf beyond the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Twins Acquire Jeremy Hazelbaker From Rays

By | at

The Twins have acquired outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker from the Rays organization in exchange for cash, the Twins’ top affiliate in Rochester announced today. Hazelbaker, who is not on the 40-man roster, has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester.

Hazelbaker, 30, opened the season in the D-backs organization but was quickly traded to the Rays in early April. He hasn’t had a very good season to date, hitting just .210/.293/.397 in 239 plate appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham. That said, he’s been swinging the bat better since June 1 and has a solid overall track record in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns, where he’s a lifetime .265/.328/.442 hitter in 1341 PAs.

Minnesota has a good bit of outfield depth on the roster already, and it seems unlikely that Hazelbaker would be called upon to return to the big league level at any point in the near future. To his credit, Hazelbaker does have a solid big league track record, however, despite his poor showing in Triple-A this year. In a small sample of 285 MLB plate appearances, he’s a .258/.327/.500 hitter with 14 homers.

Wilson Ramos Placed On DL, Expected To Be Sidelined Beyond Non-Waiver Trade Deadline

By | at

The Rays placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the disabled list due to a hamstring strain today, as has been expected. However, while some might’ve hoped that Ramos would be able to return to action prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, that won’t be the case, it seems. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Ramos is likely to miss “extended time” and  is expected to be on the disabled list beyond July 31.

Clearly, the injury is a significant blow for the Rays. Ramos, 30, had seemingly made a full recovery from the ACL tear that he suffered in September 2016 — an injury that likely robbed him of a quite lucrative multi-year pact. Instead of landing a four- or five-year deal in free agency that offseason, Ramos settled for a modest two-year deal with Tampa Bay that was loaded with incentives. While he missed about half of the 2017 season, he’d come back as a force in 2018.

Through 315 plate appearances this season, Ramos has posted a terrific .297/.346/.488 slash with 14 home runs and 14 doubles. He’s struggled a bit in terms of preventing the running game (22 percent caught-stealing rate) and has posted roughly average framing marks, per Baseball Prospectus. But while he may not be a premium defender, he’s been an elite bat relative to other catchers throughout the league and is playing the 2018 campaign on a reasonable $10.75MM salary.

With teams like the Nationals and Astros at least exploring the market for catching upgrades, the Rays were a near-certainty to cash in on Ramos and land a new prospect or two to add to their minor league ranks. That now looks unlikely — at least in the month of July. It’s possible that Ramos could return at some point in August, though it’s doubtful that he’d clear waivers. Still, that doesn’t necessarily preclude the possibility of a deal coming together.

The Rays can pass Ramos through revocable waivers so long as he’s spent at least the minimum time required on the disabled list (which will be the case by default) and so long as he is healthy and able to play at his accustomed level. In other words, he’d be eligible to run through waivers around the time he’s able to go on a minor league rehab assignment.

While a division rival would quite likely block the Astros from a chance to acquire Ramos via revocable trade waivers next month, it’s not impossible that a fringe contender in need of catching help could take a chance on Ramos. Specifically (and, to be clear, quite speculatively), if the Twins manage to pull within four to five games in the AL Central and opt not to sell off major assets, they’d be a natural landing spot for Ramos in an August swap. The Mariners, too, could be a fit given Mike Zunino’s struggles to get on base so far.

That’s just a pair of speculative scenarios, of course. Alternatively, other clubs who don’t especially need Ramos may be wary of placing a blocking-style claim on an impending Rays free agent with a fairly notable salary, as the possibility exists that the ever-cost-conscious Rays could simply opt to let him go.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/18/18

By | at

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless otherwise noted:

  • A few right-handed hurlers with some MLB experience have found new homes. Casey Coleman has returned to the Cubs on a minors deal after opening the year in indy ball. He has appeared previously in parts of four MLB seasons and thrown 177 1/3 total frames at the game’s highest level, mostly for the Cubs. Coleman has a lifetime 5.72 ERA in the majors and hasn’t seen time there since 2014. Meanwhile, Mike Broadway will go to the Rays after being released by the Royals. The 31-year-old has struggled in the upper minors of late after making 25 appearances in the bigs with the Giants in 2015 and 2016.
  • Another righty, Jeff Ames, has been announced as the newest member of the Brewers organization. The 27-year-old was a sandwich-round selection in the 2011 draft but has yet to make it to the majors. He had worked to a 5.70 ERA with 12.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 over 23 2/3 Double-A innings this year in the Nationals organization.
  • Eddy lists a variety of players who were cut loose, none more prominent than infielder Alexi Amarista. The 29-year-old, a seven-year MLB veteran, had been with the Phillies but slashed just .238/.285/.288 in his 173 plate appearances at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Amarista has a lifetime 68 OPS+ in 702 games of MLB action, so the lack of offensive production is hardly a surprise. He’s obviously valued primarily for his glovework.
  • Also released were outfielder Rymer Liriano (Angels) and lefty Jairo Labourt (Tigers). Both were in the not-too-distant past considered intriguing enough players to make it into the majors and then bounce around a bit via waiver claims. Liriano had posted a robust .268/.343/.523 slash in his 65 games of action at Triple-A with the Halos organization. But he had not yet been given a shot at the big league level this year and will now go looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. The 24-year-old Labourt, on the other hand, only made it into five rookie ball games with the Chicago organization, recording 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 one-hit innings but also issuing nine free passes and allowing six runs (three earned).

NL East Notes: Realmuto, Nationals, Eovaldi, Anthopoulos

By | at

The Nationals could be willing to “revisit” talks with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman.  The Nats have long been connected to Realmuto, though GM Mike Rizzo seemingly threw cold water on the potential of a trade a few weeks ago by saying that his team wasn’t willing to meet Miami’s very high asking price for the star catcher.  Now, there is some belief that Washington could be open to dealing star outfield prospect Victor Robles, though Heyman notes that this is unconfirmed.  The Nats were firmly against the idea of dealing Robles or Carter Kieboom to the Marlins for Realmuto, which is what brought talks to a halt in the first place.

Robles entered the season as a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball, and after making his MLB debut in 2017, there were whispers that he could emerge (like Juan Soto has) as an everyday option in Washington’s outfield this season.  Instead, however, Robles has missed almost the entire year due to a hyperextended elbow, and has only recently begun a rehab assignment.  He’ll have only a couple of weeks to fully return to action and prove his health prior to the July 31 trade deadline, though one suspects that Robles’ stock is high enough that he would have to appear drastically limited (or suffer another injury) to lose too much value as a trade chip.

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • The Nationals are also one of the many teams interested in Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Washington won’t necessarily have any room in the rotation once assuming Stephen Strasburg returns from the DL when expected, though Eovaldi could conceivably replace Jeremy Hellickson or the struggling Tanner Roark.  The Yankees, Brewers, and Braves have also been linked to Eovaldi, and scouts from at least five other teams have been watching his recent outings.
  • Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed his team’s trade deadline approach with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in the first part of a wide-ranging interview (the second part will be published on Monday).  While the Braves have a deep farm system, the GM aren’t keen on dealing from that prospect depth for players only under contract through 2018.  “We would prefer not to go after rentals unless the acquisition cost just makes so much sense for us,” Anthopoulos said.  “There’s a lot of pain that has gone into putting together this young talent.  We’re not ready to throw that all away just because of one season.  That said, I do think we owe it to the players and the fan base and the organization to make this team better, one way or another.”  Anthopoulos said that the trade market is currently flooded with teams shopping their pending free agents, estimating that “90 percent of the players that are actively available right now are rental players.”
  • The Braves will be able to afford some upgrades at the deadline, as Anthopoulos said that the team set aside some payroll space before the season should some more spending be required midway through the year.  That original total has now increased since team revenues have also risen as a result of the Braves’ success.  “I’ve been given very specific instructions, and I can shop in any aisle. I can at least have a conversation. I can tell you right now in all the discussions and all the players we’ve discussed, there’s no single player that we can’t afford,” Anthopoulos said.  “Where ultimately we’d have an (in-house) discussion is if we’re looking at adding three or four big-league guys at big contracts. That’s when maybe the numbers start to add up and we’d have to evaluate it. But one or two guys right now would not be a problem at all.”

Wilson Ramos Has Hamstring Injury, Expects To Hit DL

By | at

TODAY: Rays manager Kevin Cash didn’t provide Topkin and other reporters with a clear timeline on Ramos’ injury, as the catcher had yet to be fully examined by team doctors.  Still, Cash said “I think it’s fair to say he’s going to miss some time” in the form of a DL stint.

SATURDAY: Rays catcher Wilson Ramos has a hamstring injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports via Twitter. The 30-year-old backstop will sit out the All-Star game, and said he expects he’ll end up on the disabled list.

Obviously, the 49-46 Rays will miss having Ramos for any length of time, as the downtick in production from the All-Star to their backup catcher Jesus Sucre is significant (to put it lightly). The veteran backstop has been worth 1.8 fWAR to date, in large part due to a .297/.346/.486 slash line and a 130 wRC+ that easily ranks highest among MLB catchers.

But as the Rays aren’t considered contenders for a playoff spot in a lopsided American League (and particularly unlikely to catch up to their two juggernaut AL East foes), the more pressing implications come from Ramos’ trade value. It’s possible a hamstring injury could sideline him for a couple of weeks, depending on the grade of the strain. That would take us through the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, by which the Rays had surely hoped to trade Ramos for players who could help them in future seasons, not to mention unloading his remaining salary from their ever-tight payroll.

Even if Ramos misses only the 10-day minimum, he’ll have just a few days to prove his health to contending teams in order to return to full value in the eyes of potential trade partners. It’s at the very least another knock on him in terms of overall durability; he’s already dealt with knee and hamstring injuries throughout the course of his career.

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top