- With James Loney entering perhaps his final day with the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times looks back on the team’s decision to re-sign the first baseman in the 2013-14 offseason. The Rays outbid other suitors like the Pirates and Brewers to re-sign Loney on a three-year, $21MM deal, which still stands as the most expensive free agent deal of Stuart Sternberg’s ownership tenure. Needless to say, the deal has not worked out, as Loney was a sub-replacement level player in 2015 (-1.3 fWAR) and he’s already been told he won’t make Tampa’s Opening Day roster.
Rays Rumors
Rays Select Dana Eveland's Contract
- The Rays have selected the contract of lefty Dana Eveland and optioned righty Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Mikie Mahtook, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). The moves also mean righty Danny Farquhar has made the team. The 32-year-old Eveland pitched only briefly in the Majors last season, but got good results for three different Triple-A teams, posting a 1.95 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings.
Rays Acquire Carlos Corporan From Yankees
The Yankees have announced that they’ve traded catcher Carlos Corporan to the Rays for cash considerations. The 32-year-old Corporan will likely serve as catching depth for the Rays, who have Hank Conger and Curt Casali at the big-league level. The Rays were down a catcher after releasing Rene Rivera last week.
Corporan collected 121 plate appearances for the Rangers in 2015, hitting .178/.244/.299, after which Texas non-tendered him. The Yankees signed him to a minor-league deal over the winter. He’s played parts of six big-league seasons, also suiting up for the Brewers and Astros, and had established himself as a somewhat better hitter than he showed last year — in 780 career plate appearances, he’s batted .218/.280/.342.
Rays Adjust To Incorporate More Offense
- In the Rays’ additions of Hank Conger, Corey Dickerson, Brad Miller, Logan Morrison and Steve Pearce and subtractions of Jake McGee, Nathan Karns, Rene Rivera and James Loney, the Rays might be straying from their pitching-and-defense-first philosophy, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman says the team has merely made a slight adjustment to take advantage of what was available — making itself better by finding better offensive players that are capable enough defensively. Chris Archer, at least, agrees with their new approach. “You have to have balance,” he says. “We learned for the last eight years that just being pitching heavy is probably not the way to do it. You’ve got to have defense. You’ve got to have pitching — the teams that win get high-level pitching, starting and relief. But you’ve got to have offense, too.”
Rays' Philosophy Changing? Decision On Eveland Forthcoming
- A report earlier this week indicated Rays left-hander Dana Eveland had a Friday opt-out. That’s not the case, per Topkin, who says that a decision on Eveland’s future might not come until the weekend (Twitter link). Eveland, who joined the Rays in December on a minor league deal, has made his case for a bullpen spot by going 10 1/3 innings without surrendering an earned run this spring.
Dana Eveland Has Opt-Out Friday
- Rays lefty Dana Eveland has an opt-out Friday, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Eveland is competing for a role in the Rays’ bullpen and has gotten good results in Spring Training, striking out eight batters and walking three in 10 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, none earned. He signed a minor-league deal with the team in September.
Rays Release Dan Johnson
- The Marlins have re-signed utilityman Don Kelly to a minor-league deal, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. The Marlins had released Kelly yesterday, likely to avoid paying him a $100K retention bonus as an Article XX(B) free agent. The longtime Tigers bench piece played sparingly in the Marlins organization in 2015.
- The Rays have released first-baseman-turned-knuckleballer Dan Johnson, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 36-year-old Johnson, who briefly played for the Cardinals last year, had been trying for a sort of second career as a pitcher after years spent as a slugger on the fringes of the big leagues.
Rays Inform James Loney He Won’t Make Opening Day Roster
Rays first baseman James Loney has been informed that he won’t make the team’s Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He has been informed he’ll either be traded or released.
Loney is owed $8MM this year in the final season of the three-year pact he signed to return to Tampa Bay before the 2014 campaign. He was displaced by the team’s addition of several players, including fellow left-handed hitters Logan Morrison and Corey Dickerson, over the winter.
It remains to be seen whether the Rays can find a taker for any of that salary, though the failure to do so thus far suggests it may not be a viable option.
Though he’s a high-average hitter, Loney doesn’t draw a ton of walks and doesn’t have much pop. His production at the plate has tailed off in each successive year he’s been with the Rays, and he hit at a below-average clip (.280/.322/.357) in an injury-limited 2015 season. Loney has traditionally rated well with the glove, though metrics have seen him as very slightly below average in the last two seasons.
Rays To Release Rene Rivera, David Carpenter
The Rays will release catcher Rene Rivera, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Tampa Bay also released reliever David Carpenter, Topkin adds on Twitter.
Rivera was owed $1.7MM under his arbitration contract, and Tampa Bay will remain on the hook for around a quarter of that (45 days of pay) if he’s not claimed. The club will apparently go with Curt Casali and Hank Conger behind the dish.
Rivera, 32, came to the club in the three-team swap that also brought in outfielder Steven Souza. The highly-regarded defender was coming off of a breakout 2014 season with the Padres after receiving only scattered MLB action previously. But Rivera struggled last year, putting up a meager .178/.213/.275 slash in his 319 plate appearances.
The Rangers and Astros have just filled their needs for additional veteran receivers, though surely some other organization will see fit to add Rivera in some capacity. Despite his questionable bat, he remains a useful presence behind the plate.
Carpenter, 30, was competing for a pen spot. The right-hander has had some strong campaigns in years past, but struggled with injuries last year and saw his strikeout tallies plummet. He ended with a 4.01 ERA in 24 2/3 innings, split between the Yankees and Nationals.
Erasmo Ramirez To Start Year In Bullpen
- Erasmo Ramirez will start out in the pen for the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He’ll presumably move back into the rotation when the need for a fifth starter arises, but Tampa Bay is set to use four starters for most of the first five weeks of the year.
