Rays Rumors

Rays Negotiating New Television Contract

By Steve Adams | February 26, 2018 at 12:31pm CDT

The Rays are discussing a new long-term television contract with FOX Sports Net that would run through the 2033 season, John Ourand and Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal report. According to Ourand and Kaplan, the contract still has some “hurdles the two sides have to overcome” but could come with an annual payout “around” $82MM per year.

It’s important to note that that’s an average payout and wouldn’t kick in immediately; as is typically the case with newly structured television contracts, annual revenue increases are gradual in nature. Ourand and Kaplan note that the Rays are receiving “close to” $35MM from FOX Sports Sun in 2018, which is the final year of their current contract. The contract presently being negotiated would up that sum to somewhere in the neighborhood of $50MM in 2019, per the report. Yearly revenues would then escalate over the remaining 14 years of the contract.

Obviously, a substantial increase in television revenue for any team is of note. But it’s particularly worth monitoring with regard to the Rays, who were recently under an ownership directive to cut payroll and drew the ire of fans and their own player. Cost-cutting moves that sent Jake Odorizzi to the Twins and Corey Dickerson to the Pirates didn’t bring much in the way of long-term value to the organization.

The Rays also traded longtime face of the franchise Evan Longoria to the Giants in a move that saved them at least $60MM, though in doing so they added a largely MLB-ready infield replacement in the form of Christian Arroyo and also avoided losing leverage with Longoria, who is set to earn 10-and-5 rights (i.e. full no-trade protection) shortly after Opening Day 2018. Steven Souza, too, was traded to the D-backs last week, though that swap brought the Rays more prospect value, and the team quickly signed Carlos Gomez for a sum that was actually slightly greater than Souza’s salary to fill the void.

That the Rays mandated even a moderate level of payroll-slashing with a $50MM BAMTech payout (received by all 30 teams) coming their way this offseason as well as an expected increase of ~$15MM in television revenue next winter won’t do anything to cushion the blow for those who were disheartened by the team’s slate of offseason moves. But television rights, at present, are a decidedly lesser source of revenue for the Rays than much of the league. Paired with some recent promising, albeit preliminary developments in the team’s quest to build a new stadium in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Rays fans have some reason for cautious optimism when it comes to the team’s long-term payroll outlook. (Or, at least, they have more cause for optimism than they have in quite some time.)

A 15-year deal covering the 2019-33 seasons at an average annual value of roughly $82MM would place the total value of the new television contract at more than $1.2 billion. Certainly, given that the two sides haven’t yet pushed negotiations across the finish line and reportedly still face some “hurdles,” it’s worth keeping in mind that those numbers are not set in stone. Negotiations should continue in March, Ourand and Kaplan report, adding that one complicating factor is 21st Century Fox’s sale of its regional sports network group to Disney — a transaction believed to be valued at a whopping $52.4 billion.

AL East Notes: Bautista, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | February 24, 2018 at 6:29pm CDT

Although the Rays have picked up a pair of right-handed hitters in Carlos Gomez and C.J. Cron since last weekend, they could add another outfield-capable righty-swinger, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. One free agent who might draw their attention is Jose Bautista, who’s “keenly interested in playing for the Rays, presumably knowing it would be for a low salary,” Topkin writes. The 37-year-old Tampa Bay resident has long been a rival of the Rays, having played with the Blue Jays from 2009-17. While Bautista was a terror for opposing pitchers for the majority of that run, he’s now coming off his worst year in nearly a decade, which helps explain why he remains on the market. Bautista took 686 trips to the plate in 2017 and batted a subpar .203/.308/.366, albeit with 23 home runs.

More on Tampa Bay and two of its AL East rivals:

The Rays have recently parted with several notable veterans, including Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson and Jake Odorizzi, but their front office insists they’re not tanking and never have, as Topkin details in a separate piece. Rather, according to general manager Erik Neander: “This is a season, as things stand now, where on paper we’re somewhere in that middle territory yet again. But what’s been building underneath is getting awfully close to colliding with what’s a middle-of-the-pack team. And when those things come together, you’ve got a chance for something special.” And even though the Rays finished under .500 in each season from 2014-17, Neander believes there was serious progress behind the scenes. “As our teams have been kind of treading water, there’s been that wave that’s really building, really coming together, probably even better than I think we expect it,” Neander said. “It’s about there.”
In-house issues prevented the Orioles from signing free agent infielders Ryan Flaherty and Ryan Goins during the offseason, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Flaherty was with the Orioles from 2012-17 and wanted to re-sign with the club, even showing a willingness to take less money than he did to join the Phillies. Philadelphia made Flaherty an offer with a three-week deadline to accept it, but he wanted to hear from the Orioles before taking it. The O’s then submitted a counteroffer, though it “didn’t get club-wide approval in time to meet the Phillies’ deadline,” Encina writes. As a result, he said yes to the Phillies’ minor league proposal. Given that Flaherty has a late-March opt-out in his deal, it’s possible he’ll hit the market again and rejoin the Orioles before the season, Encina notes. Like Flaherty, Goins also settled for a minor league pact (with the Royals). However, he actually was set to sign a major league contract with the Orioles beforehand, according to Encina. Orioles ownership didn’t approve it in time, though, leading the former Toronto utilityman to head to Kansas City.
Red Sox reliever Robby Scott has changed representation and is now a client of Meister Sports Management, Rob Bradford of WEEI tweets. The 28-year-old, who’s currently vying to open the season as Boston’s top left-handed bullpen option, tossed 35 innings of 3.79 ERA ball and notched 7.82 K/9, 3.28 BB/9 and a 42.6 percent groundball rate in 2017. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 campaign.

AL East Notes: Hernandez, Swihart, Dickerson, Orioles

By Steve Adams | February 23, 2018 at 12:08pm CDT

The Red Sox told reporters today that infielder Marco Hernandez will miss the remainder of Spring Training after incurring a setback in his rehab from last year’s shoulder surgery (via MassLive.com’s Jen McCaffrey). Hernandez, who initially went under the knife late last May, went back to Boston for a second procedure this week after doctors determined that he needed to have the pins that were inserted into his shoulder during that initial operation removed. Manager Alex Cora said that Hernandez’s shoulder was feeling abnormally weak and sore following his spring workouts, which prompted the followup exam. There’s no timetable on his return at present.

Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston argues that while the Red Sox could benefit from a year of carrying the out-of-options Blake Swihart as a utility player, they may not ever get a higher return for him in a trade than they would this spring. Other clubs still view Swihart as a viable catching option, he notes, whereas a year of scarce opportunities behind the plate thanks to the presence of Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon could change that. The Sox seem to have three players for two bench spots — Brock Holt, Deven Marrero and Swihart, with the latter each being out of minor league options. On the flip side of the coin, one could also argue that a full year of production at the big league level, even in a part-time role. It also seems feasible that Sandy Leon could see his role diminish if his 2017 struggles at the plate carry over into the 2018 season.
Rays GM Erik Neander admitted to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the decision to designate Corey Dickerson for assignment was “very difficult and something he didn’t deserve in that way.” However, the presence of so many corner options on the market were dragging out the Rays’ efforts to trade him, and the DFA served as a means of putting a clock on the process for interested trade parties, which ultimately accelerated the process. “With the market and how many guys were out there, we felt that the best way to try to accomplish something was to put a timer on it and expedite the process,” said Neander.
The Orioles are dealing with some early injuries in camp, writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Most notable is that of Jonathan Schoop, who was scratched from today’s lineup due to bursitis in his left elbow and is listed as day-to-day. The injury isn’t characterized as serious, but Kubatko notes that it underscores the team’s need to have a strong utility infielder on hand. With that in mind, Kubatko notes that Baltimore still plans to monitor the waiver wire and could continue to be active in picking up infield options in that manner. Kubatko also writes that righty Miguel Castro is suffering from patellar tendinitis in both knees and possibly some back soreness. He won’t make his first scheduled start of the spring. Castro is among the many internal candidates to fill in the fifth spot in the Baltimore rotation.

Pirates Acquire Corey Dickerson From Rays

By Steve Adams | February 22, 2018 at 1:17pm CDT

1:17pm: The Pirates are sending the Rays $1MM as part of the trade, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link). In essence, then, they’ll spend an additional $1.45MM to turn Hudson into Dickerson, while the Rays will add a reliever to their ’pen, a prospect to the lower levels of their farm system, and trim $1.45MM from their 2018 payroll.

12:24pm: The Pirates announced that they’ve acquired outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Rays in exchange for reliever Daniel Hudson, minor league infielder Tristan Gray and cash.

Tampa Bay recently designated Dickerson, 28, for assignment in a move that came as a surprise to many. Dickerson posted solid overall numbers in 2017, hitting .282/.325/.490 with 27 homers in 629 trips to the plate. Dickerson, though, faded badly after a strong start to the season.

Though Dickerson hit .326/.369/.570 with 17 homers through the season’s first three months, that production was supported by a .374 BABIP that he didn’t seem especially likely to maintain. That number came back down to earth from July through season’s end as Dickerson’s strikeout rate rose to nearly 29 percent, and he batted just .232/.273/.397 with 10 homers and an 82-to-16 K/BB ratio in the final three months of the season.

That said, Dickerson still has an overall track record as a quality bat, as evidenced by a lifetime .280/.325/.504 slash and 119 OPS+. He’ll earn $5.95MM in 2018 and is controllable for one more year via arbitration before he can reach free agency.

The Pirates desperately needed some outfield help following this offseason’s trade of former face of the franchise Andrew McCutchen, and Dickerson should slot into the organization as the team’s new everyday left fielder. Defensive metrics aren’t exactly bullish on his glovework in the outfield, though he’s graded out as generally average or slightly above-average in left field over the past two seasons after drawing poor marks early in his career with the Rockies. He’ll be joined in the outfield by Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco, each of whom is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 season.

[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]

Though Dickerson isn’t likely to recreate the massive performance he rode to his first career All-Star appearance in the first half last season, he should nonetheless serve as an offensive upgrade over the Pirates’ internal options in left field. Adam Frazier and Jordan Luplow were two of the main candidates for that gig on the 40-man roster, while veterans Michael Saunders and Daniel Nava are in camp as non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Certainly, the Dickerson pickup places a significant roadblock to either veteran making the roster, and it’s fair to wonder if they’ll ultimately be allowed to seek other opportunities.

In Hudson, the Rays will pick up a hard-throwing veteran reliever looking for a rebound season of his own. Hudson’s contract calls for him to earn $5.5MM this season, so the two contracts nearly cancel each other out. However, the Pirates are also sending cash to the Rays in the deal, so it appears that Tampa Bay will come out ahead, financially speaking, in the swap.

Hudson, 31 early next month, posted a 4.38 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, 1.02 HR/9 and a 43.3 percent ground-ball rate while averaging 95.6 mph on his fastball through 61 2/3 innings last year. A converted starter that has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in his career, Hudson has a 4.59 ERA in the ’pen over the past three-plus seasons since making the switch, but secondary metrics have been considerably more optimistic based on his strikeout rates and, outside of last season, his control. In 192 1/3 frames as a reliever, Hudson has a 3.84 FIP and 3.78 SIERA.

Tampa Bay executives Erik Neander and Chaim Bloom recently downplayed the possibility of the Rays trading closer Alex Colome before the season begins, so it seems that Hudson will pair with recently re-signed Sergio Romo to give the Rays another experienced arm in their setup corps.

The addition of that pair of veteran arms will allow the Rays to lean less heavily on what had looked to be a largely inexperienced group of relievers outside of Colome and southpaw Dan Jennings. Andrew Kittredge, Chaz Roe, Austin Pruitt, Ryne Stanek, Jose Alvarado and Chih-Wei Hu wiill be among the names vying for the remaining bullpen spots with the Rays this spring now that Hudson is on board.

[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

Gray, meanwhile, was Pittsburgh’s 13th-round pick in last year’s draft and posted a .269/.329/.486 slash with seven homers and five steals in 53 games for the Pirates’ short-season Class-A affiliate last year. The second baseman was an honorable mention on Fangraphs’ list of the Pirates’ Top 25 prospects, with Eric Longenhagen pointing to a long track record of production as an amateur but also labeling his overall offensive profile as “middling.”

All told, it’s a fairly underwhelming return for Dickerson, though that’s largely indicative of the manner in which bat-first corner outfielders have been devalued in the current economic climate of baseball. The Rays surely tried to trade Dickerson for much of the winter but seemingly found no takers before designating him for assignment, and even in this swap it seems that Tampa Bay had to agree to take on some salary to work out a deal. Jay Bruce managed to score a three-year, $39MM pact with a similar, albeit superior overall profile at the plate, but both the trade and free-agent markets for good-not-great corner outfielders have been rather tepid over the past couple of seasons.

It seems plausible that the Rays simply felt they could utilize a full season of Mallex Smith in a corner outfield spot without losing much in the way of overall value, and elected to turn Dickerson into an alternative Major League asset. The surprising trade of Steven Souza that followed Dickerson’s DFA, as the Rays’ front office told it recently, was more or less a function of an unexpected and aggressive pursuit of Souza by the Diamondbacks, who promised a prospect package the Rays felt they could not afford to turn away. The Rays were then able to capitalize on a weak free-agent market and bring in Carlos Gomez at a bargain rate — a move that further reflects the dwindling value of above-average offensive outfielders that aren’t premium defensive assets.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rays’ Top Prospect Brent Honeywell Diagnosed With Forearm Strain, Undergoing Further Tests

By Steve Adams | February 22, 2018 at 11:43am CDT

Rays top pitching prospect Brent Honeywell exited today’s workout with an arm injury that is of “potential major concern” to the team, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (all Twitter links). Per Topkin, Honeywell threw eight to 10 pitches before cursing loudly and walking off the mound with a trainer. Manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin that the early diagnosis is a forearm strain, and Honeywell is set to undergo further evaluations.

Honeywell, 22, is considered among the game’s elite minor leaguers, ranking among baseball’s top 20 or so overall prospects on virtually every major publication. The former No. 72 overall draft pick enjoyed a terrific season in Triple-A against older competition in 2017, tossing 123 2/3 innings with 11.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 3.64 ERA, a 2.84 FIP and a 2.77 xFIP.

While most consider Honeywell to be ready for Major League action, or at least very close to MLB readiness, Tampa Bay wasn’t expected to break camp with Honeywell in the rotation. Rather, he figured to open the season in Triple-A — both to finish off his development and also to buy the Rays an additional year of club control by delaying his service clock, as many teams tend to do with their top young talent. The forearm issue could well delay his start to the season and, of course, could be a portent to a more severe injury.

Tampa Bay recently thinned out its rotation mix by trading Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, though they quickly replenished the lost depth by picking up Anthony Banda — another largely MLB-ready young starter — in the Steven Souza trade with the D-backs and Yankees. Any lengthy absence for Honeywell would deprive the organization of its highest-upside minor league arm, but the Rays do possess a considerably deep stock of big-league-ready starters, even if many of them are lacking in Major League experience.

[Related: Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

The Rays are set to open the season with Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Jake Faria and Nathan Eovaldi in a four-man rotation, Topkin recently reported, with Matt Andriese beginning the year as a multi-inning reliever and eventually sliding into the fifth spot in the rotation. Looming in the upper minors are Banda, Jose De Leon, Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos, each of whom has had a full season of Triple-A work under his belt at this point. Both Yarbrough and Chirinos enjoyed particularly strong years in the rotation for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate last year, and each of that group is already on the 40-man roster. Righties Jose Mujica and Hunter Wood have less experience and success in the upper levels, but each is on the 40-man roster and could plausibly see MLB time in 2018.

Rays Unlikely To Further Tear Down Roster

By Steve Adams | February 20, 2018 at 11:28pm CDT

The recent string of subtractions by the Rays — Jake Odorizzi, Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza have all been moved in the past five days — has fans of other clubs hoping for a full rebuild and, thus, trades of Chris Archer, Alex Colome and/or Kevin Kiermaier. However, Tampa Bay GM Erik Neander and senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom both strongly suggested that such moves are unlikely tonight in separate interviews. (Neander spoke with with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, while Bloom’s chat with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM can be heard on Twitter.)

Tonight’s trade of Souza was a tough one for Rays faithful to absorb, given the amount of payroll that previous moves involving Evan Longoria, Odorizzi and Dickerson had already saved and given Souza’s modest $3.55MM salary. However, Bloom suggested that the trade of Souza had far less to do with cutting payroll than it did with the fact that the D-backs aggressively pursued Souza as a fallback after losing J.D. Martinez to the Red Sox. (Tampa Bay received MLB-ready left-hander Anthony Banda, second base prospect Nick Solak and a pair of players to be named later who, according to ESPN’s Keith Law, are “more than just throw-ins,” though their identities are not yet known.)

“We feel this move, just the way the Diamondbacks came after Steven, that it was something that we couldn’t walk past,” said Bloom before going on to suggest that the Rays may now add some pieces. “And knowing that it does take a chunk out of our lineup, we still feel good about the talent we have on hand. … We want to spend the rest of the spring looking for ways we can support this group, knowing that we’re going to be young, we’re going to be interesting and we want to give this group as much of a chance as possible to succeed.”

Neander had similar sentiments, calling the Souza trade a “pure baseball decision” based on a package “we felt we couldn’t pass up.” Bloom, in his interview, repeatedly speaks about supporting the group of core pieces already on the roster (e.g. Archer, Kiermaier) as well as the emerging wave of talent that is on the cusp of the Majors. (While Bloom doesn’t specify names, the Rays could very well see right-hander Brent Honeywell join a largely homegrown rotation this season and also have position players such as Willy Adames and Jake Bauers on the cusp of the Majors.) To that end, he flatly denied any plans of moving further core pieces.

“As far as Archer and Colome, that’s not our plan,” said Bloom when asked by Bowden about that pair specifically. “…We recognize, again, that we’re in a little bit of a transition phase as we focus on building up that young core, but we don’t want to ignore that we have a pretty dynamic group.” Neander’s message was the same.

“I would say extremely unlikely,” said the GM when asked about further tearing down the club (via Topkin). “Our focus at this point is we’d like to add a little bit. We’re not looking to pull this thing back.”

Neander went on to state that there’s “work to do” when it comes to finding a replacement from Souza, which seems likely to come from outside the organization. As Topkin points out, the Rays currently project to have an all-left-handed-hitting outfield of Denard Span, Kiermaier and Mallex Smith. Generally speaking, the team has a fairly obvious need for right-handed offense after trading Longoria and Souza and, thus far, adding only C.J. Cron as a right-handed bat this offseason.

As always, there are multiple avenues for the Rays to explore when determining how to address that need. The free-agent market isn’t exactly teeming with options, though Carlos Gomez remains available and is still capable of holding down a regular role in the outfield. A roll of the dice on a veteran like Jose Bautista may not excite many fans, though it’d come at a minimal cost given his recent struggles. The trade market would present further options, with Milwaukee’s Domingo Santana standing out as a particularly logical name to pursue given Milwaukee’s outfield surplus and desire for controllable starters. (To be clear, all of those names are merely speculative to this point.)

More broadly, while neither Neander nor Bloom proclaimed themselves definitive contenders for the division, both expressed a belief that the Rays, with some (presumably modestly priced) additions around the periphery of the roster can be a largely competitive unit in 2018. Bloom acknowledged that the Rays aren’t yet among the “upper-echelon” teams in the American League but voiced a desire to get there and optimism about being able to do so with a number of the young pieces that’re already in the organization.

“With respect to the quality of our pitching and the quality of our defense, we’re going to be competitive,” Neander added.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tulo, Rays, Drury

By Steve Adams | February 20, 2018 at 9:11pm CDT

With J.D. Martinez heading to Boston, the Red Sox are facing somewhat of a roster crunch, writes Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. It is not, however, at first base as many have suggested. Manager Alex Cora suggested Tuesday that he views Hanley Ramirez as his No. 3 hitter and primary first baseman, even though the team re-upped Mitch Moreland on a two-year deal this winter. As Drellich points out, though, each of Moreland, Ramirez and Martinez have dealt with injury issues in recent years, so Moreland still figures to get his share of at-bats.

Rather, Drellich observes, the bigger crunch will be on the bench. Sandy Leon is the favorite to serve as the backup catcher, and one of Moreland or Ramirez will be on the bench most days. The Sox have two out-of-options players in Deven Marrero and Blake Swihart that are current bench options, but they also have Brock Holt who agreed to a $2.2MM arbitration salary earlier this winter. That deal, like the vast majority of arb deals, is non-guaranteed, but Holt’s versatility has been valuable for the Sox in recent seasons and he seems unlikely to be cut loose. Holt does have minor league options remaining, though obviously paying him to play in Triple-A is suboptimal as well.

A bit more on the Sox and their division…

The Red Sox are unlikely to trade Jackie Bradley after signing J.D. Martinez this week, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. That’s not much of a surprise, as Bradley’s name hasn’t come up on the rumor circuit much in recent months, and the trio of Bradley, Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts should be among the best defensive outfield units in all of baseball.
The Blue Jays are still seeking upgrades after last week’s signing of lefty Jaime Garcia to round out the rotation, and GM Ross Atkins suggested to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that there’s a strong likelihood that they’ll make a move before Opening Day (Twitter links). Atkins somewhat candidly said he felt there’s about a 90 percent chance the Jays have another addition in store, citing a reliever as the likeliest pickup. Notably, Atkins added that improving at backup catcher, where light-hitting Luke Maile projects as the reserve behind Russell Martin, “is less likely at this point.”
Troy Tulowitzki is making progress from last year’s ankle injury, which included torn ligaments in his foot as well as a compression factor, writes Nicholson-Smith in a full column. However, he has yet to begin running this spring. Tulowitzki’s goal is to be ready for Opening Day, though the 33-year-old veteran said he’s not putting any timelines on his recovery and won’t risk a setback by pushing himself too far. He fielded grounders thrown to him by the coaching staff today, though the drills “weren’t designed to test his range too much” just yet, per Nicholson-Smith. Even if Tulo isn’t ready for Opening Day, the Blue Jays are much better prepared from a depth vantage point up the middle, where they’ll have offseason trade acquisitions Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz backing up Tulowitzki and Devon Travis.
Following the trade of Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, the Rays plan to use a four-man rotation of Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Faria and Blake Snell for the first six weeks of the season or so, manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The increased amount of off-days in the schedule this year due to the season’s earlier start will allow the club to use fifth starter Matt Andriese as a multi-inning reliever. The Rays, unsurprisingly, plan to keep top prospects like Brent Honeywell in the minors to begin the season, which will allow them to gain extra control and avoid Super Two status for arbitration purposes.
The most likely scenario for the Yankees and newly acquired Brandon Drury is that Drury opens the season as the team’s starting third baseman, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That’d allow the Yankees to go with either Ronald Torreyes or veteran Danny Espinosa at second base and avoid rushing prospects Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres early in the season. Interestingly, despite the fact that Torres missed half the 2017 season with Tommy John surgery (in his non-throwing arm), the Yankees view Torres as closer to the Majors, per Sherman. Andujar is nearly two years older than Torres and has twice the Triple-A experience, though neither has even appeared in 60 games at the top minor league level yet.

Yankees Acquire Brandon Drury, D-Backs Acquire Steven Souza In Three-Team Trade With Rays

By Steve Adams | February 20, 2018 at 6:30pm CDT

The Rays, Yankees and D-backs have agreed to a significant three-team trade that will send outfielder Steven Souza from Tampa Bay to Arizona, infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury from Arizona to New York and prospects to Tampa Bay. The Rays will receive left-hander Anthony Banda and two players to be named later from the D-backs as well as minor league second baseman Nick Solak from the Yankees. Additionally, the Yankees will send right-hander Taylor Widener to the Diamondbacks. The teams have announced the trade.

The acquisition of Souza will be the second notable outfield pickup for the D-backs in as many days, as the Snakes added Jarrod Dyson on a two-year deal yesterday just minutes after losing out on J.D. Martinez, who signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox. Souza is a solid consolation price to that failed pursuit, as he’ll give the D-backs a right-handed bat with lesser power but superior defense to Martinez — and it’s certainly notable that he’s coming off a 30-homer season himself.

Souza, set to turn 29 in late April, hit .239/.351/.459 with 21 doubles, a pair of triples and 16 stolen bases in addition to his 30 home runs last season. While he can’t make up for the loss of Martinez’s bat on his own, he’s long shown plenty of pop at the plate and last season walked at a career-best 13.6 percent clip as well. He is, of course, not without red flags. Even if he’s able to sustain the uptick in walks, Souza figures to continue to hit for a questionable batting average so long as he continues to struggle with his overall contact skills. Souza whiffed at a 29 percent rate in 2017, and that actually represented an improvement over 2016’s alarming 34 percent strikeout rate.

That said, he comes to the D-backs with three years of club control remaining, meaning he’ll be a fairly long-term option for them in an outfield mix that also includes Dyson, impending free agent A.J. Pollock, David Peralta and Yasmany Tomas (though the D-backs would surely love to escape the remainder of Tomas’ onerous financial commitment).

Arizona will also add a former 12th-round pick, Widener, that turned in a strong season in Class-A Advanced last season when he tossed 119 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball with a 129-to-50 K/BB ratio over the life of 27 starts. He’s had some durability issues in the past, with Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com noting last summer that he had ulnar transposition surgery in 2015 and dealt with back and knee injuries in college. There’s starter potential for Widener, but he’ll need to prove capable of handling a regular workload in the rotation.

[Updated Depth Charts: Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks]

The 25-year-old Drury, meanwhile, will give the Yankees the infield depth they’ve been seeking as they currently make evaluations of Miguel Andujar at third base and Gleyber Torres at second base. After trading Chase Headley and Starlin Castro this offseason, the Yanks lacked certainty at both of those positions, but Drury presents a more experienced option than any of their infield prospect that has seen plenty of Major League action at both slots. If Andujar and/or Torres prove ready to handle a full workload in 2018, then Drury can shift into a super-utility role and provide depth at a number of spots around the diamond.

Drury is fresh off a solid, if unspectacular .267/.317/.447 slash with 13 homers through 480 plate appearances this past season. Since establishing himself as a regular in the D-backs’ infield/corner outfield rotation in 2016, Drury has batted .275/.323/.453 with 29 home runs. He’s controllable for another four seasons and should factor into the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup, though which position he plays will likely be determined over the course of Spring Training.

Drury, a rumored target for the Yankees dating back to December, comes to the Yankees with more than 1000 innings of MLB experience at second base and more than 300 innings at third base; that division of labor was flipped during his minor league career, as he logged more than 3000 innings at the hot corner in the minors and just 620 at second base prior to reaching the Majors.

He drew above-average marks from Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating for his work in 947 innings at second base this past season, though both metrics feel his limited big league work at third base has been below average. Drury also has 700 innings of corner outfield work under his belt (where he’s drawn below-average marks as well) and has even played six innings at shortstop in the Majors.

The acquisition of Drury likely puts an end to the oft-speculated possibility of a Mike Moustakas signing for the Yankees. And, because he’s not eligible for arbitration until next winter, Drury allows the Yankees to maintain plenty of financial flexibility, leaving room for in-season moves, which was reported to be a priority for GM Brian Cashman.

As for the Rays, the trade sends the latest of several signals that the team is looking to retool its current group and scale back payroll. Souza avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.55MM deal earlier this winter, and he’ll now join Corey Dickerson ($5.95MM) and Jake Odorizzi ($6.3MM) as arbitration-eligible players whom the Rays have shipped out in recent days. The subtractions of Odorizzi and Souza leave the Rays with a projected payroll of just $78.77MM, and that’ll further drop once it’s determined how much (if any) of Dickerson’s salary they’ll need to pay in 2018. The Rays would owe Dickerson 30 days of his non-guaranteed arbitration salary for the 2018 season if he clears waivers and is released — roughly $975K — so this trio of moves should dip their payroll into the $73MM range.

Cost savings notwithstanding, the Rays also look to have bolstered their farm system in a meaningful way with today’s trade. Baseball America rated Banda second among D-backs farmhands (albeit in a weak minor league system), while the publication considered Solak to be the 10th-best second base prospect in the game.

The 24-year-old Banda entered the 2017 season as BA’s No. 88 overall prospect, but he struggled through a down year in 2017, pitching to a 5.39 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 42 percent ground-ball rate in 122 innings in the extremely hitter-friendly confines of Triple-A Reno. The former 10th-rounder also made his MLB debut in 2017, allowing 17 runs in 25 2/3 innings with a 25-to-10 K/BB ratio. Even with that rough run in Triple-A and the Majors, Banda still has a potential future as a mid-rotation starter, per BA, whose scouting report also noted that he also showed the skills to be a quality late-inning reliever.

Solak, meanwhile, batted .297/.384/.452 with 12 homers and 14 steals through 130 games / 538 plate appearances split between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in his first full season in 2017. He also displayed strong K/BB ratios, striking out at an 18.5 percent pace to go along with a quality 11.7 percent walk rate.

It remains to be seen whether the trades of Souza, Odorizzi and Dickerson will serve as the catalyst for a full-scale fire sale in St. Petersburg, where the Rays still have highly appealing assets such as Chris Archer and Alex Colome. Technically speaking, the Rays have MLB-ready assets that can plausibly step into the fold in the place of Odorizzi, given the presence of pitching prospects like Brent Honeywell, Jose De Leon, Banda and Ryan Yarbrough, among others. Mallex Smith, meanwhile, is an option to step into the outfield in place of Souza or Dickerson, while veteran Denard Span can handle another outfield spot.

But, it’s also true that the Rays face an uphill battle in a competitive AL East — especially following the subtraction of two of their better hitters from 2017 and a rotation mainstay in Odorizzi. Viewed through that lens, there’s good sense for the Rays to continue to at least explore trade possibilities for the likes of Archer and Colome as they look to bolster their farm, improve their draft/international pools for the 2019 season and establish a new wave of controllable, pre-arbitration assets that can help their lower-revenue organization form a core in the next competitive cycle.

That type of thinking has drawn the ire of agents and the Major League Baseball Players Association this offseason, given the diminished number of teams that are even entertaining the thought of signing veteran free agents. But, it’s also factual that the system, as currently constructed in the latest CBA, favors aggressive tear-downs more than it does trying to walk the line between rebuilding and contending — a reality that could conceivably push the Rays into further action on the trade market.

FanRag’s Robert Murray got the ball rolling on the story by reporting that Solak was headed to the Rays for an unknown return (via Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted that Drury had been traded to the Yankees. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic broke the three-team nature of the swap, including that Souza was going to the D-backs (Twitter link). Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Banda was coming to the Rays in the deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported Widener’s inclusion in the deal (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert added that there were a pair of PTBNLs going to the Rays in the swap as well (via Twitter).

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Moose, Royals, Rays, Dickerson, O’s, Mauer, Ellsbury

By Connor Byrne | February 18, 2018 at 9:51am CDT

The Eric Hosmer era is over in Kansas City, and free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas could become the next Royals cornerstone to head elsewhere. Although general manager Dayton Moore said earlier this month that Moustakas hasn’t prioritized re-signing with the Royals this offseason, it’s still possible he’ll re-up with KC, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link). Now that the Royals are out of the running for Hosmer, they have the funds to bring back Moustakas, Heyman notes. There hasn’t been a strong market for the 29-year-old Moustakas’ services this offseason, but if the qualifying offer recipient does leave the Royals, they would net a compensatory pick in this year’s draft. They’re already in line to receive two, thanks to the departures of Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain.

More out of the American League:

The Rays would’ve been the biggest story in baseball last night if not for the Hosmer news, having designated outfielder Corey Dickerson for assignment in an eye-opening move, acquired first baseman C.J. Cron from the Angels and traded righty Jake Odorizzi to the Twins. It wasn’t at all surprising that the Rays dealt Odorizzi, who had been in trade rumors for months, but it was unexpected that they only received a borderline top 30 Twins prospect (Single-A shortstop Jermaine Palacios) in return. General manager Erik Neander addressed that, telling Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that the Rays “probably have him valued quite a bit higher than some of the public publications.” Ultimately, with the Rays set to begin full-squad workouts on Monday, parting with Odorizzi and Dickerson was something they had to do, according to Neander. “You just don’t want a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our group,” he said. “It was time to move forward.” Even if the Rays end up cutting Dickerson and getting nothing back, they’ll justify it as essentially trading two years of control over him for three of Cron and saving money in the process, per Topkin. After parting with Odorizzi and Dickerson, the club could use its added “financial flexibility” to “reinvest” in free agency, Neander said Sunday (Twitter link via Topkin).
A Dickerson trade was not imminent as of last night, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported (Twitter link), but a deal could come together with the AL East rival Orioles, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun suggests. The Orioles, who have been on the lookout for a lefty-hitting outfielder for months, “will undoubtedly inquire about Dickerson,” Encina writes. Dickerson has impressed Orioles manager Buck Showalter in the past, relays Encina, who adds that being in the same division hasn’t stopped the Rays and O’s from swinging deals at previous points (Baltimore acquired infielder Tim Beckham from Tampa Bay last season, for instance).
Set to wrap up his eight-year, $184MM contract this season, Twins icon Joe Mauer tells Phil Miller of the Star Tribune he and the team haven’t engaged in any extension talks. But Mauer plans to continue his career in 2019 “if I can still contribute,” and the first baseman is hopeful he’ll still be in a Twins uniform then. “This is where I want to be. This is where my family is, where my daughters are growing up,” said the St. Paul native. “I have no intention of going anywhere else. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.” The former superstar catcher enjoyed a strong year at the plate in 2017 with a .305/.384/.417 line in 597 PAs.
Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was somewhat popular in the rumor mill during the winter, but he informed Jack Curry of the YES Network and other reporters Sunday that the team never approached him about waiving his no-trade clause (Twitter link). It would’ve been (and would still be) a tall order for the Yankees to move Ellsbury, who hasn’t delivered as hoped during his four-year Bronx tenure and still has another $68MM left on his contract. He’ll spend the spring trying to reclaim his old job as New York’s starting center fielder, a role Aaron Hicks usurped in 2017.

Twins Acquire Jake Odorizzi

By Mark Polishuk | February 17, 2018 at 8:51pm CDT

The Twins have acquired right-hander Jake Odorizzi from the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link). Shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios is going back to the Rays in return, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports. Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported earlier tonight that the two clubs had agreed to some sort of a trade. In a corresponding move, Michael Pineda has been placed on the 60-day DL to create space for Odorizzi on the Twins’ roster.

Odorizzi has been widely mentioned in trade rumors this winter, with such teams as the Orioles, Brewers, Yankees, Angels, Phillies, and Nationals also noted as having some interest in his services. It’s probably fair to assume that just about every team in baseball with a need for starting pitching checked in on Odorizzi given his solid track record and his two remaining years of control. Odorizzi recently defeated the Rays in an arbitration hearing and will earn $6.3MM in 2018, making him a particularly affordable asset for a smaller-market team like Minnesota. The Rays and Twins had been talking pitching deals for much of the winter, with Minnesota focusing on both Odorizzi and Chris Archer, who carried a significantly higher asking price due to his team-friendly contract and four years of control.

[Updated Twins and Rays depth charts on Roster Resource]

Minnesota has been connected to virtually every available pitcher in the sport on both the trade and free agent fronts this winter, and in Odorizzi, the Twins have landed an arm that could be on the mound for them come Opening Day. Rotation help was a key need for a Twins team that had a lot of youth and question marks beyond Ervin Santana, and even his frontline status took a hit with the news that Santana will miss some time at the start of the season due to finger surgery. Odorizzi and Jose Berrios will now sit atop the Twins’ rotation until Santana returns, with Adalberto Mejia and Kyle Gibson lined up for jobs, Tyler Duffey and Anibal Sanchez battling for a fifth starter’s role and Phil Hughes also expected to return at some point during the season after recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty within that pitching mix, and it isn’t out the question that the Twins make another pitching acquisition (a signing or another notable trade) to further supplement the rotation. Conversely, the club could just make another depth signing or two, such as another veteran like Sanchez on a minor league contract.

More pitching reinforcements could be an option for Minnesota because it can’t be ignored that Odorizzi’s performance took a big step backwards in 2017. He was limited to 143 1/3 IP due to two separate DL stints for hamstring and back problems, and he posted a 4.14 ERA, 2.08 K/BB rate, and 7.97 K/9. While these numbers seem solid, ERA predictors (5.43 FIP, 5.10 xFIP, 4.90 SIERA) had a much more pessimistic view of Odorizzi’s performance, as a .227 BABIP likely helped keep his actual ERA in check. While he delivered a career-best 11.2% swinging-strike rate, Odorizzi also delivered the worst hard-hit ball (36.8%), home run rate (15.5%) and BB/9 (3.83) numbers of his four full MLB seasons. Baseball Reference actually judged Odorizzi as below-replacement level (-0.1 bWAR) last season, while Fangraphs rated him barely higher with 0.1 fWAR.

Since Odorizzi has been the subject of trade speculation for well over a year now, Tampa Bay could well face criticism that they waited too long to move the righty, especially given the fact that Palacios is a fairly lightly-regarded prospect within Minnesota’s farm system. ESPN’s Keith Law ranked the infielder 24th on his list of Twins prospects, with MLB.com rating Palacios 27th amongst Minnesota farmhands. The 21-year-old Venezuela native was signed in 2013 and he has a .290/.345/.426 slash line over 1303 pro plate appearances, 263 of those PA coming at high-A ball last season. MLB.com’s scouting report described him as “an offensive-minded middle infielder whose bat is a little bit ahead of his glove….He has some potential at the plate to hit for average and good extra-base pop.” Palacios’s defense got solid reviews, though the assumption was that he would eventually have to change positions due to the number of other good shortstops ahead of him in the Twins’ system; the same could be true for him in Tampa given Willy Adames’ rep as the Rays’ shortstop of the future.

Between the Odorizzi deal and designating Corey Dickerson for assignment earlier tonight, the Rays have now moved roughly $11.2MM off their books, and that number could jump to $12.25MM if another team claims Dickerson or makes a trade for his services. With their projected payroll still in franchise-high territory even after those moves and the Evan Longoria trade, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the likes of Denard Span, Alex Colome, Brad Miller, Adeiny Hechavarria, and the newly-acquired C.J. Cron all shopped before Opening Day.

Even without Odorizzi, however, the Rays still boast a pretty strong pitching staff — Archer, Blake Snell, Jake Faria, Matt Andriese, and Nathan Eovaldi are the projected starting five, with top prospect Brent Honeywell waiting for a call-up at Triple-A. Some more work is likely necessary for the lineup and bullpen, however, and it will be challenging to both save dollars and add enough talent to remain competitive in a tough AL East.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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