- Rays righty Brad Boxberger isn’t going to be ready for Opening Day, but does hope to be contributing in the majors during the month of April, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. His lat issue will still require at least a week-long layoff before he beings a new throwing program.
- The career of former top Rays prospect Tim Beckham has continued its roller-coaster path, Topkin writes. After a rough end to 2016, Beckham now seems ascendant yet again, with a strong showing in spring and unexpected opportunity at shortstop with Matt Duffy still on ice. Beckham is drawing rave reviews from manager Kevin Cash and veteran players for his commitment and performance, perhaps suggesting there’s still some hope the 27-year-old can turn the corner at the game’s highest level.
Rays Rumors
Rays Release David Carpenter
The Rays have released veteran righty David Carpenter, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. Also cut loose from the organization was fellow right-hander Jeff Walters.
Signed to a minors deal over the winter, the 31-year-old Carpenter was hoping to make it back to the majors for the first time since 2015. He had struggled to gain traction last year, too, while attempting to work back from shoulder issues that derailed his MLB career.
Carpenter worked to a 2.63 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 126 innings over the course of the 2013-14 seasons, making him a high-quality setup option. But he was not the same pitcher in the following campaign, striking out just 5.5 batters per nine in an injury-shortened year.
The righty has actually been pretty good this spring, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 8 2/3 innings. He recorded six strikeouts and didn’t issue a single walk in that span. Clearly, though, the Rays still didn’t see quite enough reason to expect he’d be able to contribute in the majors this year, so Carpenter will presumably go searching for another opportunity.
As for Walters, 29, it once seemed likely he’d contribute to the Mets pen. But he struggled with consistency and turned in a down year in 2016 at Triple-A, where he worked to a 5.89 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 65 2/3 innings. Walters landed in MLB camp with the Rays, but struggled in his 4 2/3 frames of Grapefruit League action.
Rays, Yankees Interested In Nick Ahmed
The Rays and Yankees have joined the Padres in showing some trade interest in Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. The D’Backs had begun listening to offers for the defensive star thanks to a surplus of other middle infield options, with San Diego already linked due to manager Andy Green’s familiarity with Ahmed in his old job as Arizona’s third base coach.
It makes sense that both AL East rivals would be checking in on Ahmed given how Tampa and New York have both suffered injury setbacks at shortstop. The Rays are still uncertain as to when Matt Duffy will be able to begin full baseball activities in the wake of his extended recovery from Achilles tendon in his left heel last September. The Yankees, meanwhile, will be without Didi Gregorius until the end of April as the shortstop recovers from a shoulder strain.
At first glance, the Yankees would seem to have the lesser need for Ahmed since they already have several other middle infield options (Ronald Torreyes, Ruben Tejada, Donovan Solano, Pete Kozma, Tyler Wade or even second baseman Starlin Castro) on hand, plus they have a rough idea about when Gregorius will be back on the field. Tampa Bay’s timeline for Duffy is much more uncertain, and the Rays were already operating under something of a strained middle infield in the wake of trading Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers.
Tim Beckham is slated to take over at short in Duffy’s absence, leaving the Rays short a right-handed platoon option for second baseman Brad Miller, who struggles against lefties. Daniel Robertson and the switch-hitting Nick Franklin are the other viable middle infield options on the 40-man roster, as it is rather unlikely that top prospect Willy Adames will get an early promotion to the big leagues.
Ahmed hasn’t shown much at the plate (a .597 OPS over 842 career plate appearances) in his brief career and he carries some notable injury history in the form of season-ending hip surgery from last August. On the plus side, he is controllable through the 2020 season, and potentially through 2021 spending on how much more service time he accumulates this season — he has already clocked two years and 54 days of service time in his career. Ahmed has also shown himself to be a superb defender at short, with +34 Defensive Runs Saved and a 14.3 UZR/150 over 1920 career innings at the position.
In another item from Piecoro, he also reports that the Diamondbacks are listening to offers on right-hander Enrique Burgos. The 26-year-old has a fastball that averages just shy of 96mph and he owns an impressive 10.8 K/9 over 68 1/3 career innings in the majors, though Burgos has managed only a 5.27 ERA thanks to control issues (an even 5.00 BB/9). Piecoro figures that the D’Backs are trying to move Burgos in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Gregor Blanco, Tom Wilhelmsen, or another player who could win an Opening Day job.
Update On Matt Duffy
- It looks like Rays shortstop Matt Duffy will miss Opening Day, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the club is still trying to determine a timeline for Duffy’s injury rehab. Duffy underwent Achilles tendon surgery on his left heel last September, and has been limited to just strengthening exercises and drills this spring, without any running and no baseball activities. Rays manager Kevin Cash implied that Duffy’s current problems may not be related to his Achilles surgery, which could be a positive in getting him closer to readiness.
- In other AL East news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Blue Jays are close to a contract extension with manager John Gibbons, the Yankees will be without Didi Gregorius for roughly six weeks due to a shoulder injury and the Rays could still possibly trade a pitcher before Opening Day.
Rays Could Trade From Pitching Depth
The Rays could strike a late-spring deal involving one of their pitchers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It’s not immediately clear how likely that scenario is, but it’s interesting that it’s a real consideration at this stage of camp.
Tampa Bay already parted with important staff members at last year’s trade deadline, when it shipped Matt Moore to the Giants, and earlier this winter, when Drew Smyly was dealt to the Mariners. But the organization also ended up adding a MLB pitching candidate over the winter when it swapped second baseman Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers for intriguing prospect Jose De Leon.
Now, it seems, the Rays are again looking to tweak their staff mix. The “strongest candidate” to be moved, per the report, is righty Erasmo Ramirez, who Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times recently suggested as a possible trade candidate. The 26-year-old has turned in 254 innings of 3.76 ERA ball, with 6.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, over his two seasons in Tampa Bay. Though he functioned mostly as a starter in 2015, Ramirez worked almost exclusively from the pen last year.
With just $3.2MM owed to Ramirez and two more years of arbitration control remaining, he’d be an appealing acquisition target to a variety of organizations. Several teams are said to be looking to bolster their rotation depth to account for ailing starters, and Ramirez would represent a sturdy starting option who could transition to a pen role as needed.
That same versatility is of obvious value to the Rays, though the team has a similarly flexible pitcher on hand in Matt Andriese with numerous other arms available on the 40-man roster. Presumably, pitchers other than Ramirez could also be on the move in the right circumstances. Righty Alex Cobb has long been discussed as a possible trade target, though parting with him would likely mean selling low given that he only made it back very late in 2016 after a long Tommy John rehab. Top starters Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi have also been chatted about quite a bit, though both would represent major trade targets for rival organizations.
Brad Boxberger Facing Ongoing Injury Issues
- One player whose injury prognosis isn’t so sunny is Rays reliever Brad Boxberger, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes (all Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash says Boxberger’s lat injury isn’t improving as quickly as the team had anticipated, and that he’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Boxberger struggled with an oblique injury during a poor 2016 season in which he posted a 4.81 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in just 24 1/3 innings. His absence could create an opportunity for recent waiver claim Jumbo Diaz, who’s about to return to the Rays after pitching in the World Baseball Classic, according to Topkin.
Rays Extend Kevin Kiermaier
The Rays announced at a press conference on Monday that they’ve signed center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to a six-year extension that would pay the defensive star a guaranteed $53.5MM. Kiermaier is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
The deal would begin with the 2017 season, meaning it would replace the $2.975MM salary to which Kiermaier agreed when avoiding arbitration as a Super Two player earlier this offseason. The center fielder receives a $1MM signing bonus, a $3MM salary in 2017 and then salaries of $5.5MM in 2018, $8MM in 2019, $10MM in 2020, $11.5MM in 2021, and $12MM in 2022. The Rays have a $13MM club option (with a $2.5MM buyout) on Kiermaier for 2023, though that figure can rise due to performance escalators. With the option and the escalators, he deal would max out at $66.15MM.
The contract, then, buys out all four of Kiermaier’s potential arbitration years in addition to a pair of would-be free agent campaigns. The six-year guaranteed term runs through his age-32 season, while the option year would cover his age-33 season. By taking the deal, Kiermaier is effectively trading in his chance at a massive free-agent deal, though he’s doing so in exchange for a significant up-front guarantee that tops recent comparables in his service class.
Kiermaier, who will turn 27 in April, is regarded as one of the best, if not the best defensive player in all of Major League Baseball, regardless of position. Over the past two seasons, his 44 Defensive Runs Saved are the highest among any Major League player, and he’s also pacing all of baseball with an Ultimate Zone Rating of +42.3 runs. Unsurprisingly, he won a Gold Glove in each of those two years.
In addition to his superlative glovework, Kiermaier has produced at a slightly above-average clip at the plate. He’s reached double-digit home run and stolen base totals in each of the past twos years, topping out at 12 long balls and 21 steals in 2016. Overall, in 1314 plate appearances since making his big league debut, the former 31st-round pick has turned in a .258/.313/.425 batting line that checks in at five percent better than the league-average hitter, per context neutral stats like OPS+ and wRC+.
Kiermaier had come up as a mostly speculative trade candidate at various points in the offseason, but the news of a long-term deal all but eliminates the possibility that he’ll be moved at any time in the near future. While the team’s corner outfield scenario is far less clear — Colby Rasmus, Steven Souza, Corey Dickerson and Nick Franklin all figure to be in the mix — Kiermaier now joins franchise icon Evan Longoria and ace Chris Archer as a cornerstone for years to come. Outside of that talented trio, the Rays don’t have a single player on a guaranteed contract beyond the 2018 campaign, so even with this new deal and a perennially modest payroll, the Rays will be able to supplement the roster with additional pieces to whatever extent ownership allows.
Taking a step back, the extension for Kiermaier proved to be considerably more costly for the Rays than recent extensions for center fielders with two-plus years of big league service. Ender Inciarte, who was also a Super Two player, inked a five-year deal worth $30.525MM this offseason, while Odubel Herrera inked a virtually identical five-year, $30.5MM deal with the Phillies. (Herrera, unlike Inciarte and Kiermaier, was not a Super Two player.) Of course, while Inciarte is a very strong defender himself and Herrera has been a superior bat to this point in his career, neither of those players has matched Kiermaier’s defensive accolades.
To that end, Kiermaier’s deal serves to further exemplify the premium that’s being placed on defense on a league-wide basis. It was five years ago that Cameron Maybin, then considered a premium defender in center field, signed for half this amount, while a more established offensive center fielder, Andrew McCutchen, inked an exceptionally similar pact to the one Kiermaier will land.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was first to report the deal was close, and also reported many of its specifics. ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported that a deal was in place, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was first to report the amount of the guarantee.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Longoria And Odorizzi Talk Early-Career Extensions
- Players face a big decision when presented with the opportunity to sign an early-career extension, as Evan Longoria and Jake Odorizzi of the Rays tell Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Longoria’s first extension with the Rays (a six-year, $17.5MM deal signed just a week into his big league career) drew some criticism at the time, though Longoria saw it as a chance to “have this security for myself and my family and just play and relax.”
- Odorizzi, meanwhile, passed on a discussed extension with the Rays two offseasons ago. Topkin reports that the proposed extension would have been a six-year deal worth close to $30MM in guaranteed money, with over $20MM more available via two additional club option years. Such a deal would’ve covered at least two of Odorizzi’s free agent seasons and potentially kept him under team control through his age-33 season. Odorizzi doesn’t regret turning down the extension, saying “sometimes it boils down to, and I hate to say it, but the dollar amount. We all know the money in this game and the value of players and what your value is. And sometimes it just doesn’t match up. That’s just the circumstances.”
Rays Notes: Cobb, Weeks, Whitley, Boxberger
Some rumblings out of Tampa Bay…
- Alex Cobb is drawing “potential interest” from the Cubs, Dodgers, and other teams as a trade target, The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin writes. The determining factor, as Topkin notes, is how Cobb performs in his first full season back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2015. The righty returned late last season to make five starts (and post an 8.59 ERA in 22 IP), and still drew some offseason trade buzz as teams likely were looking to buy low. The Cubs and Dodgers, of course, both have past connections to Cobb and the Rays in the form of Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman. If Cobb returns to his 2012-14 form and Tampa is out of contention, he’ll be a prime trade chip at the deadline.
- Cobb is entering his last year before free agency, and he tells Topkin that he is being realistic about the possibility that he’ll be dealt since the Rays rarely retain top players hitting the open market. “It’s just the way things unfold here. If you were a betting man, [a trade] probably would be the way to go,” Cobb said. The fact that 2017 could be his last year in a Rays uniform has been weighing on Cobb due to the “life-changing stuff” that has taken place over his 13 years with the franchise. “Then you go into the clubhouse and you see all the faces, people that I’ve seen since I was 18, that really have been your family since then….You think about it, and it’s sad. It’s sad that it’s a possibility I could no longer be around here,” Cobb said.
- Rickie Weeks’ minor league deal with the Rays will pay him $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster, Topkin reports in another item, with $600K more available to the veteran in incentives. In that same piece, Topkin looks through some of the roster decisions facing the Rays during the spring, as the club’s choices are complicated by several out-of-options players. Nick Franklin, for instance, could lose his utility job to Daniel Robertson, or Erasmo Ramirez could be dealt to a team in need of starting depth.
- Chase Whitley, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015, pitched four scoreless innings in Spring Training action on Saturday. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters, including Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times, that while Whitley is slated for a relief job, “we’re not ruling out him starting, either. It depends on how the numbers and how the injuries pan out, but right now, we saw last year what he can do coming out of the bullpen. There’s a lot of value to that.” The pen (specifically a long relief role) is still Whitley’s best bet to make the roster, and a spot could open up should Brad Boxberger start the year on the DL. Boxberger has been sidelined all spring with a bad back, but expects to pitch in a minor league game on Tuesday.
Rays’ Rule 5 Pick Kevin Gadea Out At Least Four Weeks
Right-hander Kevin Gadea, whom the Rays selected out of the Mariners organization in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, will miss “at least” four weeks of action after an MRI revealed tendinitis in his right elbow, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Perhaps of more interest, Topkin adds that the Rays were in the process of returning Gadea to the Mariners organization when the MRI revealed his injury. Now, he’ll open the season with the Rays and accrue some Major League service time on the team’s disabled list.
In that sense, the injury could benefit both Gadea and the Rays. He’ll earn the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for the time he spends on the MLB DL — a significant pay increase over what he’d have earned in the minors — and the Rays, in turn, will have a chance to further evaluate Gadea while he progresses through a minor league rehab assignment. If other injuries arise and/or other relievers fail to perform early in the season, it’s possible that Gadea could emerge as a candidate to help out on the Major League roster. Of course, the Rays may simply offer him back to the Mariners once he’s cleared to return to game action.
It should be noted that Gadea, 22, was a long shot to stick on the Rays’ roster out of camp. Signed out of Nicaragua as a free agent back in 2012, Gadea has yet to ascend even to the Class-A Advanced level, having spent the makority of the 2016 season in the Class-A Midwest League. Gadea handled himself quite well there, logging a brilliant 2.15 earned run average with 72 strikeouts (12.9 K/9) against just 11 walks (2.0 BB/9).
