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Indians Acquire Andrew Velazquez From Rays

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The Indians have announced a swap with the Rays in which they’ll acquire utility infielder Andrew Velazquez. An unstated amount of international spending capacity will head to Tampa Bay in return.

To create 40-man roster space, the Indians have designated righty Chih-Wei Hu for assignment. The 25-year-old has been hit hard this year at Triple-A, allowing 16 home runs in 48 2/3 innings.

Soon to turn 25, Velazquez is an exceptionally versatile player. In limited MLB action, he has already been trusted to play shortstop, second, third, and all three outfield positions.

Velazquez has shown some stolen-base ability and a bit of pop in the upper minors, though he’s not exactly a premium offensive prospect. He has swung through quite a few pitches in his early exposure to MLB pitching and has gone down on strikes 154 times in 602 career Triple-A plate appearances, over which he carries a .261/.320/.418 slash.

Korea’s NC Dinos Sign Christian Friedrich, Jake Smolinski

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6:10pm: Smolinski has been granted his release by the Rays, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.

10:00am: Korea’s NC Dinos are engineering some mid-season changes to their slate of foreign players. The club has wrapped up a deal with the indy ball New Britain Bees to purchase the contract of lefty Christian Friedrich, as first reported by the ALPB News Twitter account (link).

It seems the Dinos have eyes on another former major leaguer as well. Outfielder Jake Smolinski, who has been playing with the Rays’ top affiliate, is nearing a deal with the KBO club, according to baseball writer Sung Min Kim (Twitter link).

Teams in the Korea Baseball Organization are limited to three foreign players, among other regulations on spending. Accordingly, the Dinos will need to part ways with some existing players to facilitate these moves. Former big leaguers Christian Bethancourt and Eddie Butler will evidently be released to make way.

Friedrich, 31, has thrown nearly three hundred MLB innings, but the former top-100 prospect hasn’t cracked the bigs since 2016. He sat out all of last season but had shown well in the Atlantic League, posting 63 frames of 3.00 ERA ball with one strikeout per inning and 2.1 BB/9.

As for the 30-year-old Smolinski, he faced a tough path up to the majors in Tampa Bay. But the five-year MLB veteran has been hitting well this season at Triple-A, where he carries a .270/.360/.504 slash with a dozen home runs in 286 plate appearances.

Rays Rumors: Smith, Deadline, McKay, Montreal Plan

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The Rays’ recent slump has seen them go 7-13, including a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, thus dropping them down the standings in the AL East rather precipitously. Tampa Bay had a half-game lead over New York as recently as June 10, but the Rays suddenly face a seven-game deficit in the division. As such, the team has had to “back off its trade pursuits,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Tampa Bay still holds a Wild Card position in the AL, so it’s not as if the team will operate as a seller this month, but teams are often less aggressive at the deadline when they believe they’re playing for a one-game playoff as opposed to a guaranteed berth in the division series. Giants closer Will Smith had been a “primary target” for the Rays, Rosenthal adds, but it’s not clear if they’ll aggressively pursue him now.

Tampa Bay faces a critical stretch of games over the next few weeks, as they’ll play the eight times Yankees and the hapless Orioles seven times in their next 15 games. That’ll provide ample opportunity to either climb back into the division race but could also create a near-insurmountable gap if New York once again dominates the series. The outcome of the Rays’ next stretch of games will likely go a long way in dictating how strongly they’ll pursue bullpen upgrades in trade talks with the Giants and other sellers.

More on the Rays…

  • Top prospect Brendan McKay opened his Major League career with five perfect innings this weekend, which was (obviously) enough to earn him another start at the big league level. MLB.com’s Juan Toribio writes that the Rays will make a decision after that game whether to keep McKay in the Majors or send him back to Triple-A Durham. It’s possible that Tampa Bay could option McKay to get a fresh arm for the final couple of games leading into the All-Star break, even if the plan is to recall him shortly after the break and plug him right back into the rotation. The former No. 4 overall pick doesn’t look like he has much left to prove in the minors after posting a combined 1.22 ERA in 66 1/3 innings of Double-A and Triple-A work, but his workload figures to be closely monitored; McKay has thrown 72 1/3 innings in 2019 after tossing just 78 1/3 innings in all of 2018.
  • The Rays’ proposed timeshare between St. Petersburg and Montreal was met with a heavy dose of skepticism and negative fan reaction, but Rays leadership remains committed to the idea, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and president Brian Auld feel that split-city arrangements will eventually become more commonplace in professional sports. President Matthew Silverman also spoke of how the still-theoretical alignment would impact the team’s payroll, believing it could push the Rays to a middle-of-the-pack organization in that regard. “If this comes to fruition, we’re going to have more resources, and more resources means a higher payroll, and a higher payroll is good for all players within baseball,” said Silverman. There are still innumerable hurdles to be cleared, but as Topkin examines at length, the proposal appears to be more a plan that genuinely intrigues Rays leadership than a ploy to increase leverage in preexisting stadium talks.

Could Brendan McKay Hit For The Rays?

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  • Two-way star Brendan McKay made his debut on the mound for the Rays on Saturday, though it isn’t yet known if McKay will also get any plate appearances at the Major League level, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio writes.  “We’ve expressed that I don’t think the at-bats are going to come as consistent for him over the next week or so, but if there’s an opportunity to get him in there where we feel it fits with his workload, then we’ll do that,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.  McKay is set to start again on Friday, though in the interim, he’ll be both going through his usual pre-start routine and also getting some swings in, both during batting practice and in the Tropicana Field.  While McKay’s pitching was more developed than his hitting in the minor leagues, McKay did hit .265/.400/.551 over the small sample size of 60 plate appearances at Triple-A this season.

Tyler Glasnow Expects To Return In 2019

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Burgeoning Rays ace Tyler Glasnow has been on the shelf since May 10 with right forearm tightness, an injury that will keep him out for at least several more weeks after a recent setback. But Glasnow issued an encouraging update Sunday, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The 25-year-old revealed his UCL “looks really good” and said that he expects to pitch again this season. He’ll still remain in shutdown mode over the next two weeks, though.

Tampa Bay lost to AL East rival New York in Glasnow’s most recent start, though the Rays still boasted a 23-14 record and a half-game lead over the Yankees at that point. The tables have turned during Glasnow’s lengthy absence, as the Rays have gone a middling 24-22 and now trail the Yankees by seven games. They still hold a one-game lead on the AL’s No. 1 wild-card position, however.

It’s obvious Glasnow’s injury isn’t the lone reason for Tampa Bay’s team-wide decline, but it clearly hasn’t helped. The 6-foot-8 hurler opened the season in dazzling fashion, with a 1.86 ERA/2.27 FIP, 10.24 K/9 against 1.68 BB/9, and a 51.7 percent groundball rate across 48 1/3 innings.

With reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell having taken sizable steps back this year, Glasnow’s injury has been all the more damaging to the club. Charlie Morton has been outstanding, and Yonny Chirinos has also done well in an expanded role, but the Rays have been limited to those two and Snell as traditional starters. The Rays could explore the market for starters before the July 31 trade deadline as a result, though they did just promote high-end prospect Brendan McKay. The 23-year-old gave Tampa Bay a much-needed six innings of one-hit ball in a win over Texas on Saturday.

Diego Castillo Could Return Before All-Star Break

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  • The Rays aren’t ruling out a return before the All-Star break for injured reliever Diego Castillo, manager Kevin Cash said Saturday (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The club placed Castillo on the IL last Sunday with right shoulder inflammation. That came on the heels of a few rough appearances for the flamethrowing Castillo, whose ERA was 2.05 as recently as June 11 but now sits at 3.93.

Rays Designate Casey Sadler For Assignment

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Right-handed reliever Casey Sadler has been designated for assignment, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter).

With two-way star Brendan McKay set to join the big league club for the first time today, the Rays had a roster move to make in order to accommodate the selection of McKay’s contract. McKay gets the start today against the Rangers at home.

Sadler’s DFA comes as a bit of a surprise, as he’s been an effective long reliever for the Rays. Of course, the Rays are flush with relievers, and given their dynamic bullpen management, turn left in Tampa and you’re bound to run into a reliever of Sadler’s ilk.

Still, Sadler appeared in 9 games for the Rays this season, soaking up 19 1/3 innings with a sterling 1.86 ERA. Other metrics are less gaudy, however, as he’s managed just 5.1 K/9 versus 2.3 BB/9 and a 4.32 FIP, 4.68 xFIP.

Sadler, 28, was drafted by the Pirates, for whom he appeared for brief stints in 2014, 2015, and 2018, accumulating 19 2/3 innings across those three seasons. Sadler doesn’t have swing-and-miss stuff, but as a guy who pitches to contact, he has a long track record of making it work in the minors, including this season when he has a 2.76 ERA for Triple-A. Should Sadler go unclaimed, the Rays would likely be happy to reassign him back to Durham, but it would not be a surprise at all to see another team take a chance on Sadler given his performance in Tampa.

Rays Designate Nick Ciuffo For Assignment

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The Rays announced Friday that they’ve designated catcher Nick Ciuffo for assignment. His 40-man spot will go to top prospect Brendan McKay, whose previously reported promotion to the Majors is now official. Tampa Bay also reinstated lefty Jose Alvarado from the restricted list and recalled Casey Sadler from Triple-A Durham. Lefty Jalen Beeks and infielder Mike Brosseau were optioned to Durham in a pair of corresponding moves.

The 24-year-old Ciuffo was a first-round pick back in 2013 but has yet to live up to the potential that came along with that draft billing. His DFA will come with somewhat atypical circumstances, as Ciuffo is on the injured list in the minor leagues after undergoing thumb surgery that was expected to sideline him for eight to ten weeks. There’s still another four to six weeks to go on that projected recovery time. Because Ciuffo is on the IL, he can’t be outrighted, which means the Rays will likely release him and then hope to re-sign him to a new minor league contract. That’s a fairly common outcome in the rare instances that an injured minor league player is designated for assignment.

In 134 plate appearances with Durham this year, Ciuffo batted .228/.276/.350. He’s posted a .529 OPS in a tiny sample of 50 big league plate appearances and is a career .250/.292/.369 hitter in 370 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level.

Alvarado, also 24, was on the restricted list after stepping away from the club for family reasons. He’s arguably Tampa Bay’s best reliever, having posted a 2.85 ERA (2.50 FIP) with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 117 innings since making his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 2017.

The 25-year-old Beeks has been excellent for the Rays in 2019, serving primarily as a followup pitcher to frequent opener Ryne Stanek. In 61 1/3 innings, Beeks has a 2.79 ERA (3.48 FIP) with 7.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Despite that strong performance, Beeks is a casualty of yesterday’s 18-inning marathon win over the Twins. Beeks pitched 3 1/3 innings yesterday and wouldn’t have been available for a couple of days. The Rays, in need of fresh arms, sent him down for some additional depth, but it’s likely that Beeks will be back once the 10-day minimum length of his optional assignment has been met.

Rays To Promote Brendan McKay

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The Rays will promote left-hander Brendan McKay to start Saturday’s game against the Rangers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).  McKay isn’t on the Rays’ 40-man roster, so another transaction beyond a 25-man roster spot will have to be opened before Saturday.

McKay entered the season as one of the consensus top minor leaguers in the game, though pundits gave him something of a wide range of evaluations.  ESPN’s Keith Law and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen each ranked McKay as the 14th-best prospect in the sport, while MLB.com (29th), Baseball Prospectus (42nd) and Baseball America (49th) weren’t quite as bullish.

Part of the discrepancy could stem from McKay’s unique status as a two-way player.  An outstanding pitcher and first baseman at the University of Louisville, the Rays drafted “Two-Way McKay” fourth overall in the 2017 draft and allowed him to continue at both positions in his pro career.

Thus far, McKay has shown a lot more promise on the mound, with a sterling 1.85 ERA, 6.24 K/BB rate, and 11.6 K/9 over 165 innings pitched, compared to a .216/.348/.356 slash line and 14 homers over 541 plate appearances (though he has hit quite well against Triple-A pitching).  It’s worth noting that McKay’s progress was somewhat slowed by two different oblique injuries in 2018, once sustained as a pitcher and one as a hitter — “highlighting the inherent risk of developing a two-way player,” as MLB.com’s scouting report notes.

Perhaps as a nod to this injury risk, the Rays have seemingly looked to turn McKay (if he remains a two-way player at all) into a more direct copy of Shohei Ohtani, in terms of how the Angels deploy Ohtani when he isn’t on the mound.  McKay has been used exclusively as a DH when appearing in a lineup this season, rather than any more time at first base.

It isn’t yet known if the Rays will give McKay any DH at-bats in the big leagues, though Tampa Bay has cycled so many players through the designated hitter spot this season (as a way of keeping everyone fresh) that it stands to reason McKay could also get a look.  Austin Meadows has received the bulk of Tampa’s DH time this season, and with both Meadows and McKay are left-handed hitters, it doesn’t make for an ideal match.  That said, the Rays are flexible with their lineups and positions as any team in baseball, so Avisail Garcia or Tommy Pham could get a breather against the occasional right-hander to allow for McKay to get some exposure to MLB pitching.

More immediately, however, McKay will be used to address the Rays’ pitching needs.  With Tyler Glasnow facing an even longer IL stint after suffering a setback in his recovery from a forearm injury, the Rays are down to Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, and Yonny Chirinos as regular starters, with openers and bulk starters handling the other regular turns through the rotation.  It could be that Tampa doesn’t want to overwhelm McKay in his first taste of the majors, and will keep him as just a pitcher for now.  Getting some quality innings from McKay would be a big boost for the Rays, as the team could then more directly focus on adding relief pitching at the deadline rather than having to think about acquiring a starter as well.

Rays Expected To Pursue Multiple Bullpen Upgrades

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The Rays are expected to pursue multiple bullpen upgrades on this year’s trade market, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports in his latest inbox column. Toribio lists some speculative targets, including Shane Greene, Ken Giles and Kirby Yates. It’s also possible, Toribio notes, that Tampa Bay will look to add a right-handed bat to its bench mix.

Rays relievers entered play Wednesday ranked third in the Majors in ERA (3.60) and FIP (3.94), and they rank 11th in xFIP (4.36). They’re also in the bottom five of MLB in terms of K/9, though, and they’ve benefited from the game’s lowest HR/9 mark (0.98) and second-lowest homer-to-flyball ratio (11.5 percent).

The Rays have gotten strong results from lefty Jalen Beeks while working as a bulk reliever behind the Rays’ frequently utilized openers, which has somewhat skewed those league-wide rankings. Late-inning relievers Jose Alvarado, Diego Castillo and Emilio Pagan have all pitched well, but the Tampa Bay bullpen has been somewhat top-heavy toward the end of the game. They’ve been all the more thin with Alvarado away due to family reasons and Castillo on the IL due to a shoulder issue.

Rostering a deep bullpen is of particular importance for the Rays, given their nontraditional approach to constructing a pitching staff. At the moment, they’re only deploying three traditional starters in Charlie Morton, Yonny Chirinos and struggling reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Tyler Glasnow would give them another option in that regard once healthy, but he recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a forearm injury and will be shut down for another three weeks. That atypical pitching formation leads the Rays to utilize multiple “bullpen” games per week, with Ryne Stanek serving as the most frequent opener and Beeks operating as the leading bulk reliever.

As for the potential addition of a right-handed bat, the Rays have Yandy Diaz, Christian Arroyo, Matt Duffy and Daniel Robertson all on the injured list, with Robertson set to miss up to six weeks following knee surgery and Duffy sidelined indefinitely. They recently turned to 25-year-old Mike Brosseau for his MLB debut as a righty bench bat, with backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud and light-hitting outfielder Guillermo Heredia rounding out an all-right-handed, three-man bench that can’t be reasonably expected to provide much offense.

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