- The Rays will promote righty Jacob Faria to make his big-league debut Wednesday in a start against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The 23-year-old Faria has never been regarded as an upper-echelon prospect (he currently ranks ninth among Rays prospects, according to MLB.com), but he’s in the midst of a strong season at Triple-A Durham, with a 3.07 ERA, 3.4 BB/9 and an outstanding 12.9 K/9 in 58 2/3 innings thus far. MLB.com notes that he works in the low 90s, keeps the ball down and has a promising chanegup, although his breaking stuff is usable but below average. Having Faria start Wednesday will give Rays starters Jake Odorizzi, Alex Cobb and Erasmo Ramirez an extra day of rest.
Rays Rumors
Rangers Nearing Sam Dyson Trade
JUNE 5, 5:45pm: The Twins remain in the mix for Dyson, tweets Wolfson. Daniels indicated that four or five teams have made serious offers to acquire the reliever, per Shan Shariff of 105.3 The Fan (on Twitter).
4:37pm: Daniels told the Ben & Skin show on 105.3 The Fan on Monday that he’s weighing two to three offers for Dyson. The GM added that he hopes to trade Dyson in the next day or two (Twitter link via Jamey Newberg).
JUNE 2: The Rangers anticipate being able to find a trade partner for just-designated reliever Sam Dyson, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The alternative, of course, would be to place Dyson on waivers and wait to see if he clears.
There are at least two teams said to be looking into the possibility of adding Dyson. That’s the case for the Rays, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, though it’s not yet clear just how serious the interest is. And the Twins, too, are at least considering the possibility of bringing Dyson into their struggling pen, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter).
GM Jon Daniels suggested that Texas believes it will work out some kind of swap, given the interest shown already by rival organizations. He also made clear that Dyson does not have any health problems.
Rather, per Daniels, the struggling reliever “just hasn’t been able to get back to what we know he’s capable of.” With the Rangers still trying to hang in the postseason picture, it seems the club simply couldn’t afford to let him work things out at the major league level.
Through 16 2/3 innings on the year, Dyson carries a 10.80 ERA. Even more shockingly, he has managed just 3.8 K/9 to go with 6.5 BB/9. While he’s still pumping mid-nineties sinkers with the grounders (61.4%) to match, something is clearly amiss. Indeed, Dyson’s swinging-strike rate has plummeted to 5.8% after topping out at 12.4% in 2015.
There are some hurdles to a deal, beyond Dyson’s on-field problems. He’s only a Super Two player, increasing the upside for teams considering a move, but he’s already earning $3.52MM this year due to his saves tallies in prior campaigns. Plus, Dyson can’t be optioned — the same reason that Texas was forced to send him into DFA limbo in the first place.
Still, it’s possible to imagine any number of teams having interest in Dyson; after all, he carried a 2.45 ERA through 187 2/3 innings over the prior three seasons. Rebuilding teams could take a chance; clubs that have fallen back a bit could hope to strike gold; and certain contenders might even consider the idea of easing Dyson back in with low-leverage work. Scouting assessments will likely drive the decisionmaking process, but it will be interesting to see what kind of return the Rangers can manage to find in this situation.
Rays Could Dip Into Minor League Rotation Depth This Week
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that he expects the Rays to dip into their minor league depth this week and summon a young arm such as Jacob Faria or Jose De Leon in an effort to rest what looks, at present, to be an overtaxed rotation. Calling up a promising young arm for a spot start on Wednesday would allow the Rays to get an extra day of rest for Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi and Erasmo Ramitez, Topkin notes. Both De Leon and Faria stand out as potential long-term pieces for a Tampa Bay rotation that is set to lose Cobb to free agency following this season and is oft-rumored to be entertaining offers on its more established arms.
Rays Notes: Miller, Duffy, Beckham
- Now that Brad Miller is back from the disabled list, the Rays don’t seem to have an everyday role for a player that hit 30 homers last year, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin writes. Miller has only hit .199/.341/.309 over 167 PA, which isn’t nearly enough thump for the Rays to put up with his subpar defense at second base. Tampa also has several other left-handed bats (Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Colby Rasmus) hitting well and taking up spots at DH, first base and left field.
- Also from Topkin, Rays shortstop Matt Duffy isn’t likely to return until the end of the month or perhaps even the All-Star break as Duffy continues his lengthy recovery from Achilles tendon surgery last September. This will lead to more playing time for Tim Beckham, who Topkin argues has earned regular at-bats in a utility role once Duffy is healthy.
Rays Release Dayron Varona
- The Rays have released outfielder Dayron Varona, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (Twitter link). After a very impressive seven-year stint in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Varona signed a minor league deal with the Rays in May 2015 and struggled in his first stint at Triple-A last season. The 29-year-old Varona had posted a .268/.325/.479 slash line over 77 PA this year, though he spent much of May assigned to Tampa’s short-season A-ball affiliate in Hudson Valley.
Ramos, Boxberger Aiming To Return In Late June
- Wilson Ramos is aiming to make his Rays debut in late June, after completing a 20-day minor league rehab stint, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Ramos has reportedly been making solid progress in his recovery from the ACL and meniscus tears he suffered in the last week of the 2016 season.
- Also from Topkin, Rays reliever Brad Boxberger is also looking to return from the DL late this month. Boxberger will begin a rehab assignment on Sunday that is tentatively scheduled to last for three weeks. The right-hander will require a lengthy ramping-up process after missing much of Spring Training with a lat strain, and then suffering a flexor strain in his throwing shoulder.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Logan Morrison
As with several other players profiled in this series, Logan Morrison of the Rays is worth watching both as a pending free agent and as a potential trade piece. While Tampa Bay is currently one game over .500, a dip in the standings could leave Morrison and others on the block.
Regardless of his trade availability, LoMo is an interesting player to watch from a hot stove perspective. While Yonder Alonso has garnered more attention — we profiled him recently right here — Morrison has been quite impressive in his own right.
On the heels of a middling 2016 season for both team and player, the Rays gave Morrison $2.5MM on a one-year deal over the winter. That decision has been rewarded quite handsomely through two months of the season.
Morrison, 29, has already matched his home run tally (14) from a season ago in just over half the plate appearances. Through 206 trips to the dish, he’s slashing .241/.345/.534 — despite carrying only a .243 batting average on balls in play.
There’s more to like here than just the pop, though Morrison’s .293 isolated slugging mark is plenty impressive. While continuing to swing and miss more frequently than he had before arriving in Tampa Bay (23.3% on the season), that aggression has obviously paid off in the results. Importantly, too, Morrison is drawing walks at an impressive 13.6% clip.
If he can maintain that boost in the walk department while his BABIP creeps back toward the mean, Morrison might keep up his overall productivity with the bat even if he doesn’t maintain his current home run pace. His 23.7% HR/FB rate is nearly double his career average, and seems likely to regress somewhat. That said, there are signs that the jump in power may be real in its own right. Morrison is hitting fly balls much more frequently than ever before (45.7%), carries a hefty average launch angle (17.28 degrees), and has shown huge strides in his hard-hit rate (42.6%).
So, it seems that Morrison may be taking part in the flyball revolution that is spreading around the game. It’ll be interesting, though, to see what that means for his market — in trade this summer, potentially, and in free agency over the winter.
There are, after all, plenty of other defensively limited sluggers who are making similar strides. And the 2017-18 free agent market seems increasingly like to be chock full of power bats. In addition to Alonso, left-handed-hitting first basemen that will be available include Eric Hosmer, Lucas Duda, Mitch Moreland, Adam Lind, and the switch-hitting Carlos Santana. They’ll also be competing with righty corner infielders such as Todd Frazier, Mike Napoli, Mark Reynolds, and Chris Carter — not to mention outfield/DH candidates like J.D. Martinez, Carlos Gonzalez, Jay Bruce, Matt Holliday, and possibly Justin Upton.
That’s quite a lot of thump. As was the case last year, the sheer volume of power bats could work to the disadvantage of all — and, perhaps, to the benefit of those teams that play the market well. Beyond that, there’s still quite a lot left for Morrison to show over the rest of the year. He has been quite good against lefties this year, but has struggled historically. And though he’s drawing average reviews for his glovework in 2017, his deeper history suggests he’s a slightly below-average fielder. And most generally, while Morrison has had productive seasons in the past, he has also had his share of duds and has never maintained this kind of output for an entire campaign. At this stage, though, the arrow is pointed up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Draft Notes: Law, McKay, Pearson, Top Talents
With the MLB draft less now less than two weeks away, a look at some of the latest news and rumors…
- ESPN’s Keith Law has published his latest mock draft (Insider subscription required and strongly recommended) and, like many others, now has the Twins leaning toward Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright with the top pick. Looking a bit further down the board, Law has Louisville lefty/first baseman Brendan McKay slip a bit out of the top three to the Rays at No. 4, and looking further down the board a ways, he has the White Sox taking Vanderbilt outfielder Jeren Kendall, with whom Sox GM Rick Hahn met last week, according to Law. There’s interesting intel on the general types of players (e.g. college bats, high school arms, etc.) that many teams seem to be eyeing sprinkled throughout, making it well worth a look for anyone with an interest in the draft.
- There’s been plenty of debate over whether McKay, a two-way star at Louisville, is best developed as a pitcher or a first baseman. There are compelling arguments for either side, and McKay seems to be a consensus top five pick at this time. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen scouted McKay’s last game and provides some fairly extensive info on McKay’s repertoire as well as his swing, in addition to sharing a nearly 30-minute video of McKay on the mound. Longenhagen notes that he ultimately prefers McKay as a pitcher, though he calls the decision close enough that it’d be wise to allow McKay to hit and pitch early in his pro career. Longenhagen also wrote about McKay and the draft’s other two-way stars recently when unveiling Fangraphs’ sortable draft board — an invaluable free tool for draft followers which even includes some Trackman data that offers max fastball/curveball RPMs for pitchers.
- Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky writes that potential first-rounder Nate Pearson, a junior college righty out of Florida, helped his stock by reaching 101 mph in his most recent bullpen session. Some scouts even had Pearson as high as 102 mph, Belinsky writes.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo put together an “All-Draft Prospect Team” by creating a roster of the draft’s top talent at each position (three, in the case of outfielders, plus one right-hander and one left-hander). Mayo’s piece offers a paragraph or two of scouting info on each of the listed players.
Rays To Promote Jose De Leon
The Rays are bringing up highly touted right-hander Jose De Leon prior to tonight’s game, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. ESPN’s Buster Olney first reported that De Leon “appeared” to be on his way to the Majors (Twitter link). Per Topkin, De Leon won’t immediately be placed into the rotation, as Erasmo Ramirez is still lined up to make tonight’s start even after pitching the final inning of yesterday’s 15-inning game with the Twins.
Acquired from the Dodgers in a straight-up swap for Logan Forsythe this offseason, De Leon has frequented top prospect rankings for the better part of the past three years. He entered the 2017 campaign rated No. 29 on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list and rated 33rd, 38th and 73rd on the respective lists of MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN’s Keith Law. A flexor injury has limited De Leon to just 8 1/3 innings in 2017, but he turned in a brilliant 2.61 ERA with 11.6 K/9 with 2.1 BB/9 in 86 Triple-A innings last year. De Leon also made four starts for the Dodgers in 2016, though he limped to a 6.35 ERA in 17 frames.
It could prove to be a short stay for De Leon this time around, as his promotion appears to be somewhat out of necessity. (Topkin notes that in addition to Ramirez starting one day after recording a save, the Rays also had three relievers throw more than 30 pitches yesterday.) The Rays, after all, don’t have a lot of room in the rotation thanks to strong starts to the season from Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi, Ramirez and Matt Andriese — each of whom carries an ERA of 3.67 or better.
That said, it may not be long before a spot for De Leon materializes. Even with a 27-26 record, the Rays are still often suggested as a candidate to field offers their starting pitchers this summer. That, of course, wouldn’t necessarily be akin to waving a white flag on the 2017 season; rather, the Rays have the pitching depth to be able to deal from their big league rotation in order to acquire controllable help in other areas without necessarily hampering their chances in 2017. In addition to De Leon, the Rays have Jacob Faria and Ryan Yarbrough pitching well in the Triple-A rotation, while lefty Blake Snell has struck out 21 batters in 11 2/3 innings since being optioned earlier this month. Cobb, in particular, is an oft-mentioned trade candidate, given his status as an impending free agent.
Rays Unlikely To Buy Even If They're In Playoff Hunt
- The Rays (26-26, plus-24 run differential) are unlikely to buy at the deadline if they’re still in contention, according to Rosenthal. The low-payroll club instead plans to rely on in-house reinforcements, including soon-to-return injured players in shortstop Matt Duffy, catcher Wilson Ramos and reliever Brad Boxberger. The Rays also expect one or more of their top Triple-A arms to make an impact out of their bullpen down the stretch. Tampa Bay has well-regarded pitching prospects in Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon at the highest level of the minors. Both righties rank among Baseball America’s 40 best prospects.
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