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Yankees Acquire Jon Berti From Marlins, Trade Ben Rortvedt To Rays In Three-Team Deal

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The Yankees, Marlins and Rays have come together on a three-team swap just 24 hours before the season is set to commence. Miami is trading infielder Jon Berti to the Yankees, who are sending catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Rays. The Marlins will pick up a pair of outfield prospects in the deal, one from each team: New York’s John Cruz and Tampa Bay’s Shane Sasaki. All three clubs have officially announced the deal.

Berti will give the Yankees an option to open the season at third base, with DJ LeMahieu (bone bruise in foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder strain) slated to hit the injured list, and he can back up nearly any spot on the diamond once LeMahieu returns. He’s fresh off a strong .294/.344/.405 batting line (103 wRC+) with seven homers and 16 stolen bases in a career-high 424 plate appearances with the Fish in 2023.

While Berti doesn’t bring any power to the table — last season’s seven homers were a career-high — he’s been a roughly league-average performer at the plate throughout his career thanks to an above-average walk rate, lower-than-average strikeout rate and plus speed that helps him leg out his share of infield hits (and stretch some would-be singles into doubles). Overall, Berti is a career .258/.337/.368 hitter — about 4% worse than league-average (by measure of wRC+) when weighting for the Marlins’ quite pitcher-friendly home environs.

Berti swiped 41 bags in just 102 games back in 2022, and while he ran less often in 2023, that didn’t have anything to do with a drop-off in speed. Statcast ranked Berti in the 95th percentile of MLB players with an average sprint speed of 29.3 feet per second last season.

Defensively, Berti has played every position other than catcher or first base. He’s spent more time at third base than any other position (1050 innings), but he’s also logged 792 innings at second base, 764 innings at shortstop and 577 frames in the outfield (281 in left, 231 in center and 65 in right). Both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average agree that he’s been a plus defender at each of third base, shortstop and left field.

Given Berti’s experience at the hot corner and the injuries to both LeMahieu and Peraza, there’s a strong chance that the Yankees’ newest acquisition will start tomorrow’s season opener at third base. He’ll likely be the team’s primary third baseman in the short term, and the versatility that both Berti and LeMahieu bring to the table will give manager Aaron Boone plenty of lineup options once the bone bruise in LeMahieu’s foot mends.

From a financial standpoint, Berti’s contract surely held plenty of appeal to a Yankees club that is a third-time luxury payor who’s in the top tier of penalization. They’re taking a 110% tax on any dollars added to the payroll at this point. Berti is earning $3.6MM in 2024 — the second season of what became a two-year, $5.725MM deal when the Marlins exercised a club option on him for this year. The 2022-26 CBA stipulates that only the remainder of a traded player’s contract is counted for luxury tax purposes, however, so the Yankees will pay the tax on this year’s $3.6MM salary rather than the contract’s $2.86MM AAV. That means Berti will come with $3.96MM worth of taxes, bringing his total expenditure to $7.56MM.

The Rays will get the only other player with big league experience in this three-team swap, though Rortvedt is rather limited in that regard. Formerly a second-round pick of the Twins, Rortvedt is a defensive-minded backstop who landed in the Bronx by way of the 2022 trade that sent him and Josh Donaldson to the Yankees in exchange for Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez.

Rortvedt only appeared in 32 games with the Yankees over his two-year stint with the club, thanks to a series of injuries. An oblique strain limited him during spring training in 2022, and Rortvedt underwent knee surgery that May after beginning the season in the minors. Last spring, he underwent surgery to address an aneurysm in his shoulder that had been contributing to pain and numbness in his hand.

In all, Rortvedt only has 177 big league plate appearances between the Twins and Yankees, and he’s posted a dismal .146/.234/.255 batting line in that time. He hit well in 124 Triple-A plate appearances last year (.286/.395/.505), but Rortvedt is surely being acquired by the Rays because of their belief in his defensive chops.

The Rays tend to prioritize defense over offense at the catching position, and over the years Rortvedt has turned himself into a plus defender behind the dish. Baseball America named him the best defensive catcher in the Twins’ system from 2018-20, and the 26-year-old boasts an outstanding 34% caught-stealing rate in his career — including a 39% mark in his limited MLB action. Baseball Prospectus credits him with plus framing marks throughout his time in the minors, and he’s graded well there in the big leagues as well.

Because of all his time on the injured list, Rortvedt has more than two years of big league service time in spite of his minimal playing time. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on Tampa Bay’s roster this season. That means he’s all but certain to open the season splitting time with Rene Pinto behind the dish. Non-roster invitee Alex Jackson, who’d previously been the favorite for the backup job, will instead head to Triple-A Durham. If Rortvedt lasts the whole year, he’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time in the 2024-25 offseason. The Rays can control him through the 2027 season via that process.

Turning the Marlins’ return for Berti, they’ll acquire a pair of outfield prospects — a position that’s regularly been a weakness for them in recent years. Sasaki, 23, was limited by injury to 68 games last season and hasn’t played above High-A. He went unselected in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft. Baseball America still tabbed him 21st in the Rays’ system, touting his 65-grade speed (on the 20-80 scale) and ability to play plus defense in center field or left. He’s a hit-over-power prospect who turned in a strong .301/.375/.465 batting line with seven homers and a dozen steals in 293 plate appearances at High-A last year.

Given his success in High-A last year, Sasaki seems likely to open the 2024 season in Double-A with his new organization. With a strong showing early in the year, a bump to Triple-A or perhaps even to the big leagues could be well within reach. Miami has been looking for a long-term center fielder for years now. Sasaki’s lack of power means he’ll need to continue to draw walks and hit for average in order to profile as a regular, but he at least gives Miami someone with a reasonable chance to become that everyday center fielder they’ve sought — albeit with a perhaps greater chance he settles in as more of a fourth outfielder.

As for Cruz, he’s a much further-off value add to the Marlins organization. The 18-year-old ranked 25th among Yankees prospects at Baseball America and 28th at MLB.com. He’s yet to advance to full-season ball, having spent the 2022 campaign in the Dominican Summer League and the 2023 season with the Yankees Rookie-level complex league affiliate. He’s hit well at both stops, posting a combined .260/.394/.465 batting line with 15 home runs, 19 steals, a huge 16.4% walk rate and a 24.9% strikeout rate.

Scouting reports credit the 6’3″ Cruz with above-average power and speed but raise some questions about swing mechanics and pitch selection at the plate. He’s played primarily center field to this point but could wind up moving to a corner as he continues to fill out his frame. He’s a yearslong project but one with a fair bit of ceiling — as well as a good bit of risk.

Ultimately, it’s a needs-based trade for all teams involved (rather than the more standard swap of a veteran for the best prospects available, regardless of position). The Yankees acquired an affordable and versatile infielder who checks multiple needs: everyday third base option in the short term and backup shortstop option in the long term. The Rays added some needed catching depth and defense without increasing an already franchise-record payroll. The Marlins, who didn’t have regular at-bats for Berti after signing Tim Anderson and acquiring Jake Burger, Nick Gordon and Vidal Brujan via trade over the past several months, moved him and his salary in exchange for a pair of outfield prospects who provide organizational depth and upside at a position of need. Sasaki’s relative proximity to the majors at least creates the possibility that all three clubs will see some MLB benefit from the trade before season’s end.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported that Berti had been traded to the Yankees. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Cruz’s inclusion in the deal. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com broke the news that it was a three-team deal with the Rays and that Sasaki was headed to the Marlins as well.

Rays To Acquire Niko Goodrum, Select Him To 40-Man Roster

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The Rays are acquiring utilityman Niko Goodrum from the Twins and will add him to their 40-man roster, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays’ interest in Goodrum was first reported yesterday afternoon.

Goodrum had an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Minnesota. He triggered that clause, which requires the Twins to gauge interest around the league and see whether another club would be willing to add Goodrum to the 40-man roster. Tampa Bay, in need of infield depth due to injuries, felt it had space and will presumably send cash back to the Twins to acquire Goodrum’s rights and add him to the 40-man roster. Goodrum has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it’s not a sure thing he’ll go directly onto the Rays’ major league roster.

Goodrum, a veteran switch-hitter who can play just about any position on the diamond, fits the Rays’ typical mold of versatility. His acquisition was surely spurred by injuries to Taylor Walls (recovering from hip surgery) and Jonathan Aranda (who fractured a finger fielding a grounder this week) — to say nothing of the ongoing legal situation surrounding shortstop Wander Franco, whose MLB future is in doubt.

The 32-year-old Goodrum has played in parts of six big league seasons between the Tigers, Astros and Twins — who originally made him a second-round pick back in 2010. Goodrum returned to Minnesota on a minor league pact this winter but didn’t make the Opening Day roster after stumbling to to a .129/.270/.161 slash in 37 spring plate appearances. That ugly performance didn’t deter the Rays, who are surely looking at Goodrum’s versatility, defensive chops and broader track record in making this acquisition.

From 2018-19, Goodrum was a regular with the Tigers. He posted a solid .247/.318/.427 slash in that time while playing solid defense at multiple positions, and for a time he was even Detroit’s primary shortstop. Over those two years, Goodrum tallied 964 plate appearances and swatted 28 homers while swiping 24 bases. His bat tailed off in the three subsequent seasons before a resurgent 2023 showing between the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate (.280/.448/.440) and the Korea Baseball Organization’s Lotte Giants (.295/.373/.387).

Goodrum seems likely to claim a bench spot in Tampa Bay. The Rays had previously looked to be whittling down the competition for their final two spots, but Topkin reported earlier this week that they were mulling some outside acquisitions for a backup infielder and backup catcher. Goodrum, it seems, was part of those deliberations and will now add some optionable depth who can be controlled through the 2025 season via arbitration if he makes a good impression on his new club.

Marlins To Acquire Burch Smith, Select Him To 40-Man Roster

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Right-hander Burch Smith has exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor league contract with the Rays and will sign a major league contract with the Marlins, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Upward mobility clauses allow players on minor league deals to gauge interest from other teams on a set date. If there’s interest from another club in adding said player to the 40-man roster, his current club must either add him to its own 40-man roster or allow him to join that new team. In this instance, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Smith is being traded to the Marlins in exchange for what are surely nominal cash considerations.

It seems the Rays weren’t willing to add to Smith to their own 40-man at this time, so he’ll instead join the Miami organization. The Fish already have an open spot on their 40-man roster at the moment after placing righty Huascar Brazoban on the restricted list yesterday while he works through a visa issue. Smith does have a minor league option remaining, so while he’ll go on Miami’s 40-man, it’s not a given that he’ll begin the season in the majors. He’ll earn at a $1MM rate in the big leagues with the Marlins and can pick up another $250K of incentives, per Sherman.

Smith, 34 next month, has more than four years of MLB service time and has also spent time pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and in the Korea Baseball Organization. He last appeared in the majors in 2021, when he tossed 43 1/3 innings for the A’s but scuffled to a 5.40 ERA. The right-hander has at times shown flashes of potential in the big leagues but has yet to establish himself as a consistent contributor despite stints with the Padres, Royals, Brewers, Giants and A’s. He carries a 6.03 ERA in 191 MLB frames.

Lack of MLB success notwithstanding, Smith has drawn interest from clubs throughout his career due to strong minor league numbers and encouraging traits on several of his pitches. Even though his career 21.3% strikeout rate is a bit shy of league-average, he’s previously posted above-average swinging-strike rates that could be viewed as a portent for more punchouts. Smith yielded five runs in 5 1/3 spring frames with Tampa Bay, but he notched a huge 17.6% swinging-strike rate in camp, which perhaps piqued Miami’s interest.

Though Smith has never thrown an MLB pitch for the Rays, this spring marked his second stint with the club. He went from the Padres to the Rays back 2014 as part of the three-team blockbuster that more famously sent Wil Myers to San Diego and Trea Turner to Washington. The Rays lost him in the Rule 5 Draft the following year, but current Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix was part of Tampa Bay’s front office at the time the Rays originally acquired Smith.

Smith will give the Marlins some optionable depth to step into Brazoban’s recently vacated spot on the 40-man roster. Miami also has righty JT Chargois and nearly an entire rotation’s worth of quality starting pitchers — Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera — on the injured list to begin the season.

Rays Interested In Niko Goodrum

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The Twins announced today that infielder/outfielder Niko Goodrum has been reassigned to minor league camp, indicating he won’t be on the club’s Opening Day roster. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Goodrum has triggered an assignment clause and that the Rays have interest in him.

Goodrum signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December. An assignment clause, also known as an upward mobility clause, requires the signing team to offer the player to the other 29 clubs. If any of those clubs expresses interest, the signing club has to decide between adding the player to their roster or trading them to the interested club. If none of the clubs are interested, then the player would stay with the original signing club.

The Rays are known to love versatility and Goodrum can certainly provide that. He is a switch-hitter and can move all around the field, having played each of the seven positions outside of the battery. He’s also stolen 46 bases in 59 attempts in his career. But it’s been a while since Goodrum looked to be a viable hitter in the big leagues, which makes the interest from the Rays somewhat surprising.

Goodrum hit .247/.318/.427 for the Tigers over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, good enough for a wRC+ of 98. That means he was still slightly below average, but that was solid production for a guy who can bounce all around, doing multiple things. However, his offense has been nowhere near as good since. He hit .203/.282/.350 over 2020 and 2021, 74 wRC+, then produced a dismal line of .116/.156/.163 in 2022.

He settled for a minor league deal with the Red Sox last year and had a solid .280/.448/.440 line in 65 games for their Triple-A club. He opted out of that deal in the summer and signed with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, slashing .295/.373/.387 in 50 games for them without hitting a home run, buoyed by a .389 batting average on balls in play. In Spring Training with the Twins, he has a line of .103/.257/.138  in 35 plate appearances.

The Rays have lost a few position players lately, thinning their depth. They knew long ago that Taylor Walls wouldn’t be an option due to his offseason hip surgery but spring injuries will also lead to Josh Lowe, Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca starting the season on the IL.

The projected lineup is heavily right-handed, with Brandon Lowe and Richie Palacios the only lefties who seem likely to get regular playing time. Goodrum is a switch-hitter but he’s actually been better from the right side in his career. He has a line of .303/.369/.447 against southpaws for a 121 wRC+ but a .199/.274/.369 line against righties, which leads to a wRC+ of just 72.

That makes him less than an ideal fit for a club that already has plenty of right-handed bats but perhaps the Rays are nonetheless interested in adding him as a versatile bench piece to move around as needed. Though he hasn’t had a great showing this spring, he did draw walks in 17.1% of his plate appearances. That generally aligns with the 23.1% walk rate he had in Triple-A last year and the 11.4% walk rate he had in the KBO.

Tyler Alexander To Begin Season In Rays’ Rotation; Team Still Considering Bench Additions

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Left-hander Tyler Alexander has won the final spot in the Rays’ rotation, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll actually pitch the fourth game of the season, with Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale and Zack Littell expected to line up for the first three and Ryan Pepiot apparently taking the fifth game. Topkin adds that Alexander could pitch behind an opener, but for all intents and purposes, he’s the final rotation member, beating out righties Jacob Waguespack and Chris Devenski. Waguespack and Devenski will be in the Rays’ bullpen. Also of note, Topkin reports that the Rays still haven’t decided on their backup catcher and final bench spot and could consider external options for either.

Alexander, 29, came to the Rays by way of a Nov. 10 waiver claim after the Tigers designated him for assignment. He entered camp expected to stretch out to three innings in order to serve as a long reliever — same as Devenski — but the pectoral strain suffered by young righty Taj Bradley opened up a rotation job that Alexander has now seized.

Starting is a familiar role for the left-hander, as Alexander has started 43 games in his MLB career — all coming with the Tigers. He started 32 games from 2021-22, at times functioning as an opener but also stretching out to a full starter’s workload. He’s completed six innings on seven different occasions in his career and has three starts of seven-plus innings. In all, Alexander has pitched 199 innings as a starter. He’s recorded a 4.70 ERA, 17.4% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in that time, as compared to a 3.92 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate in 142 1/3 frames out of the bullpen.

Alexander has pitched well this spring. He’s tossed nine innings in official games and yielded just two runs on a dozen hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Alexander worked six innings and climbed to 89 pitches in a minor league game Sunday, per Topkin — numbers that aren’t reflected in his “official” spring statistics.

The Rays’ rotation is fluid enough right now that an early assignment in the rotation shouldn’t at all be viewed as a season-long spot on the staff. Alexander has a pair of minor league options remaining, and the Rays will be getting various pitchers back from injury as the year progresses. In addition to Bradley, whose timetable is still TBD, the Rays will also welcome back right-hander Shane Baz (2022 Tommy John surgery), left-hander Jeffrey Springs (April 2023 Tommy John surgery) and Drew Rasmussen (July 2023 internal brace surgery) at various points this season.

That said, injuries elsewhere in the rotation are an inevitability. Eflin has dealt with chronic knee injuries dating back to his amateur days. Civale has never reached even 125 innings in an MLB season due to frequent IL trips. Littell only just converted back to the rotation last summer, and Pepiot opened the 2023 season on the 60-day IL with the Dodgers due to a Grade 2 oblique strain. He pitched only 64 2/3 innings between the majors and minors combined. There should be innings to go around, if Alexander proves he’s up for the challenge.

The Rays can control Alexander through the 2025 season via arbitration. A successful season making starts would bode well for his arbitration outlook in a way that a season spent primarily in a swingman/mop-up role would not. He’s earning $1.95MM this year, so even if he steps up as a legitimate MLB starter, he won’t break the bank next winter.

As for the remaining bench spots, Topkin’s report on that front is plenty notable. The Rays already reassigned Francisco Mejia to minor league camp, leaving non-roster invitee Alex Jackson as the favorite to take the backup job behind Rene Pinto. That’s been the plan for much of the offseason, but Jackson also owns a woeful 48% strikeout rate in 192 MLB plate appearances and entered Monday’s Grapefruit League game hitting just .194/.235/.226 with a 32.4% strikeout rate in 34 plate appearances. To his credit, he went 2-for-2 and swatted his first spring homer, but Jackson has no MLB track record of which to speak and also hasn’t been particularly productive in Triple-A.

As for the final infield spot, Topkin lists 26-year-old Austin Shenton as a candidate. He’s yet to make his MLB debut but posted a massive .304/.423/.584 line with 29 homers and 45 doubles between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He’s had a poor showing this spring, however, hitting just .205/.225/.256 with a 32.5% strikeout rate in 40 trips to the plate (including today’s 0-for-4 with three strikeouts). The Rays are without infielders Taylor Walls and Jonathan Aranda to begin the season, as both are on the injured list.

There’s no shortage of veteran options and/or trade candidates the Rays could consider at either position. The Royals released veteran backstop Sandy Leon over the weekend, and out-of-options Giants catcher Joey Bart has been a speculative trade candidate for much of the spring. Infielders hitting the market late this spring include Eduardo Escobar, Elvis Andrus and old friend Matt Duffy.

Latest On Rays’ Roster Plans

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6:15pm: Topkin adds that each of Uwasawa, Brantly, and Smith have upward mobility clauses in their contracts rather than traditional opt outs, meaning that each can request to be made available to the other 29 clubs, at which point if a club agrees to give a given player an active roster spot the Rays will have the choice between adding the player to their 40-man roster or trading him to the interested team. Per Topkin, Brantly, Uwasawa and Smith have all told the Rays that they wish to use their assignment clauses.

10:57am: The Rays reassigned right-handers Naoyuki Uwasawa, Burch Smith, and Joe Record, catchers Francisco Mejia and Rob Brantly, and outfielder Jake Mangum to their minor league camp on Friday.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that while none of the six players would be making the Opening Day roster, the Rays were hoping the entire group would remain as minor league depth.

Uwasawa, Smith, and Brantly have some say in their futures, as each of the trio can opt out of their minor league contracts if they aren’t included on the big league roster.  Erasmo Ramirez is another veteran in camp on a minors deal, yet Topkin reports that Ramirez will report to Triple-A and pass on exercising his opt-out clause.

Uwasawa is perhaps the most interesting name in the group, as the 30-year-old is making the jump to MLB after nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  The righty signed a split contract with the Rays that will pay him $2.5MM in the majors and $225K for his time in the minors, as well as a $25K signing bonus and $1MM worth of incentive clauses that would start to kick in if Uwasawa pitched at least 70 big league innings this season.

Though Uwasawa was offered guaranteed contracts by other MLB teams, he chose Tampa Bay “because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me,” as the right-hander said in a statement at the time of his signing.  It isn’t yet clear if Uwasawa will now stay with the Rays, as he told Topkin (X link) that he would be speaking with his agent to weigh options, including opting out if another team is willing to give him a clearer shot at pitching in the bigs.

Uwasawa didn’t help his case for a roster spot by posting a 13.03 ERA over four appearances and 9 2/3 innings in Spring Training, though he looked a lot sharper in his most recent Grapefruit League outing — he held the Orioles to one run on four hits and a walk over four innings on March 15.  As both Topkin and Cash noted, some adjustment time was inevitable for Uwasawa in his first exposure to the North American style of baseball.

With Brantly and Mejia now cut, it essentially finalizes Alex Jackson’s expected role as the Rays’ backup catcher behind Rene Pinto.  The catching position has long been both a revolving door and a question mark for the Rays, and Topkin feels another backstop might still be added if the Rays like another name who might become available as rival teams also shed players from their spring rosters.

Phillies Acquire Zac Houston From Rays

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The Phillies have acquired right-hander Zac Houston from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (X link).  Topkin describes the trade as a side effect of the Rays’ crowded Triple-A pitching staff, as Houston was apparently squeezed out by the team’s desire to give more innings to younger pitchers.

The 29-year-old Houston is a career minor leaguer, beginning his pro career as an 11th-round pick of the Tigers in the 2016 draft.  (Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had already parted ways with the Tigers almost a year before Houston’s draft date.). Working almost exclusively as a reliever, Houston has a 3.18 ERA over 305 2/3 career innings in the minors, though he has only a 4.81 ERA over 101 frames of Triple-A action.

Houston has a whopping 35.46% strikeout rate, but an equally large 12.86% walk rate across his minor league career.  The righty’s control problems have existed since the start of his pro career, and his walk problems have ticked upwards as Houston has moved up the minor league ladder.  The obvious strikeout ability makes him an interesting project for the Phillies’ pitching development staff, as Houston could be a very useful bullpen weapon if he can pair his knack for missing bats with even average control.

Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays typically make at least one significant trade that sends out a veteran player to reduce spending and acquire controllable talent. Tampa Bay did that again in a major deal with the Dodgers, but it was otherwise a relatively quiet winter at the Trop.

Major League Signings

2024 spending: $8.75MM
Total spending: $9.1MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Shane McClanahan to two-year, $7.2MM deal to avoid arbitration (remains eligible for arbitration through 2027)

Notable Losses

It’s a near annual tradition that the Rays face two big questions going into each offseason. How will they keep their spending in check, and will they lose anyone from a key leadership position on the coaching staff or in the front office?

This winter, the seemingly inevitable front office departure came first. General manager Peter Bendix, who had worked as Erik Neander’s top lieutenant in baseball operations, left the organization to serve as president of baseball ops for the Marlins. The Rays didn’t immediately name a new #2 executive, instead divvying up Bendix’s former responsibilities among assistant GMs Will Cousins, Chanda Lawdermilk, Carlos Rodriguez and Kevin Ibach (the latter of whom was promoted to that role in January).

While the Rays lost Bendix, they’ve solidified their main leadership duo of Neander and manager Kevin Cash. Each signed contract extensions in February that run at least beyond the 2028 season. Terry Francona’s retirement means Cash is now the longest-tenured manager in MLB as he enters his tenth year at the helm. Neander has been at or near the top of baseball operations for even longer, as he’d taken on a lead role in the front office around Andrew Friedman’s departure in October 2014.

Neander and his staff entered the winter with a slate of payroll commitments that seemed lofty by organizational standards. They had just shy of $77MM in guaranteed contracts and an arbitration class projected for upwards of $45MM. A few obvious cuts (e.g. Raimel Tapia, Jalen Beeks, Josh Fleming, Cole Sulser and Christian Bethancourt) reduced the arbitration outlay, but it seemed as if the Rays would again need to turn to the trade market to cut spending. Tampa Bay had opened the 2023 season with around $73MM in player commitments. Even with that number going up, ownership was never going to be comfortable matching the payroll projection from the beginning of the offseason.

Tyler Glasnow was set for a $25MM salary that would’ve been the largest in franchise history, thus making him the most apparent trade candidate. Yet, that was complicated by Glasnow’s strong relationship with Rays’ higher-ups and, more meaningfully, an uncharacteristically thin rotation mix. Tampa Bay lost Shane McClanahan and Jeffrey Springs to Tommy John surgeries last season. Drew Rasmussen underwent a flexor repair and will miss a good portion of 2024.

Aside from Glasnow, the Rays were down to Zach Eflin and ’23 deadline pickup Aaron Civale as their only healthy, proven big league starters. Taj Bradley is a recent top prospect but struggled to a 5.59 ERA over 23 appearances as a rookie. Zack Littell had shown signs of becoming the Rays’ next successful reliever-to-starter conversion, yet that only really kicked into gear in the final two months of last season. Shane Baz would face workload restrictions in his first season back from a 2022 Tommy John procedure. Eflin and Civale, while currently healthy, have had injury concerns in the past.

That presumably made a Glasnow trade difficult even for a front office accustomed to making those kinds of tough decisions. Ultimately, it proved the clearest way for Tampa Bay to get their payroll closer to a typical level while bringing back two controllable MLB players. The Rays and Dodgers agreed to a deal sending Glasnow and veteran outfielder Manuel Margot (who was set for a $10MM salary in the final year of his contract) to L.A. for righty Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca.

Neither Pepiot nor DeLuca have reached arbitration. Pepiot is under club control for five seasons, while the Rays control DeLuca for six years. Tampa Bay kicked in $2MM on Margot’s salary and agreed to pay the $2MM buyout on his 2025 mutual option. The deal saved them around $33MM this year. Glasnow agreed to a four-year extension with the Dodgers as a condition of the trade. (Los Angeles later flipped Margot to the Twins in February.)

Pepiot won’t match Glasnow’s ace-level ceiling, but he’ll step directly into the rotation. The Butler product owns a 2.76 ERA over 17 MLB appearances. He’s regarded as a potential mid-rotation arm thanks to a mid-90s fastball and excellent changeup. Pepiot may well have established himself as a key piece of the Dodger rotation last year had he not suffered a significant oblique strain at the end of Spring Training. That kept him under 65 innings between the majors and Triple-A in 2023. The Rays may need to keep an eye on Pepiot’s workload, but he slots in behind Eflin and Civale in the starting staff.

DeLuca, meanwhile, is a replacement for Margot. They’re each right-handed hitting outfielders with good contact skills and the ability to play all three outfield positions. DeLuca only has 24 games of major league experience but is coming off a .294/.390/.566 line in the upper minors. He was on track for a fourth outfield spot before breaking his hand this spring, so he’ll likely be on the injured list until the early part of the summer.

Glasnow and Margot turned out to be the highest-profile players whom the Rays would move. There were a few rumors about other stars who are into their arbitration years, namely Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes.  There’s nothing to indicate the Rays ever got close to trading either.

It’s a bit surprising they didn’t deal righty-hitting DH/corner bat Harold Ramírez, who is making just under $4MM and is down to two seasons of club control. Ramírez, a good but not elite hitter with defensive limitations, is the kind of player whom the Rays typically shop as their arbitration prices climb. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported in January that Tampa Bay had floated him on the trade market, but they apparently didn’t find an offer to their liking. Barring a surprise move in the next five days, he’ll open the season as their top option at DH.

While they didn’t trade Ramírez, the Rays did flip one player from their corner outfield mix. Tampa Bay sent Luke Raley to the Mariners in a one-for-one swap to bring in versatile infielder José Caballero. Raley has yet to reach arbitration so this deal didn’t have anything to do with the payroll, but Tampa Bay added some roster balance in swapping offense for a more valuable defensive player.

Caballero appeared in 104 games for Seattle as a rookie. While he hit a modest .221/.343/.320 over 280 plate appearances, he stole 26 bases and rated as a plus defender at second base. Seattle didn’t have much shortstop time to offer him thanks to the presence of J.P. Crawford. The Rays have already declared Caballero their expected starter at short, forming a middle infield tandem with Brandon Lowe. Defensive stalwart Taylor Walls will begin the year on the IL as he works back from last fall’s hip surgery.

(The Rays still haven’t provided any update on Wander Franco. MLB and the team are awaiting results of a criminal investigation in the Dominican Republic after multiple minors accused Franco of sexual abuse. He remains on the roster but will very likely be placed back on administrative leave once the regular season begins.)

On the same day as the Caballero trade, the Rays partially back-filled the outfield depth lost by dealing Raley when the team Bay acquired lefty-hitting Richie Palacios from the Cardinals for reliever Andrew Kittredge. Palacios was available in a DFA trade as recently as last June but turned some heads with a .258/.307/.516 showing in 32 games for St. Louis late last year. His major league track record is limited, but Palacios has posted an excellent strikeout and walk profile in the upper minors. He has hit well this spring and could break camp, although a remaining minor league option affords the front office roster flexibility. Neither Caballero nor Palacios has reached a full year of service time. They’re both controllable for at least six seasons.

The rest of Tampa Bay’s trades were relatively minor, as they moved on from a pair of former top prospects who haven’t clicked. The Rays shipped Vidal Bruján alongside reliever Calvin Faucher to the Marlins for a trio of minor leaguers in November. They made a similar move just yesterday, sending speedster Greg Jones to the Rockies for non-roster southpaw Joe Rock. Tampa Bay also dealt Blake Hunt and Michael Mercado (to the Mariners and Phillies, respectively) after determining they weren’t going to add them to the 40-man roster to prevent them from reaching minor league free agency.

While most of the Rays’ roster maneuvering always comes via trade, they did make a trio of low-cost free agent pickups. The Rays brought back swingman Chris Devenski on a $1.1MM deal with a club option early in the offseason. That was their only major league free agent acquisition until February, when they jumped on a pair of players whose prices came in south of expectations.

Reliever Phil Maton inked a one-year, $6.5MM pact that includes a team option for 2025. He generates plenty of whiffs and soft contact behind a high-spin curveball that enables his 89 MPH fastball to play beyond its velocity as his “secondary” pitch. Maton doesn’t have the traditional power arsenal that gets relievers paid in free agency, yet he’s coming off a career-low 3.00 ERA and has run above-average strikeout rates in four straight years. The Rays’ preference for building a bullpen comprising pitchers with varying arm angles and repertoires has been well-chronicled in recent seasons. More often than not, it works.

While it was a little surprising that Maton couldn’t secure a two-year pact, the Rays’ other February free agent signing was very unexpected. Amed Rosario isn’t coming off a good season, but few would’ve anticipated he’d settle for a $1.5MM guarantee. He’d been a durable and roughly league average performer for Cleveland in 2021-22 before his defensive grades tumbled last year.

Rosario reportedly turned down a $4MM offer from the Yankees because the Rays presented a clearer path to everyday reps at shortstop. That might be the case throughout the season given Caballero’s inexperience, although Cash stated after the Rosario signing that the latter would begin the year in a multi-positional role off the bench.

That rounds out the MLB position player mix for now, although there’s at least one move coming before Opening Day. After placing Bethancourt on waivers, the Rays dropped to one catcher on the 40-man roster. They’ve stuck with that arrangement throughout the offseason. René Pinto is their clear #1 option after hitting six homers in 39 games. The Rays will obviously need to make another move to add a backup.

For now, it seems that minor league signee Alex Jackson, who has played all of five MLB games in the last two seasons, is the favorite to grab that job. That’s despite a .143/.194/.179 batting line this spring. Jackson’s longstanding strikeout troubles at least open the door for old friend Francisco Mejía, who returned on a non-roster pact after being released from a minor league deal with the Angels. There’s clear room for an upgrade from outside the organization. The Rays should evaluate the catching market as veterans opt out of minor league deals over the next few days. Former top prospect Joey Bart has long stood as a speculative trade possibility, as he’s out of options and has been kicked down the depth chart with the Giants.

Caballero, Lowe and Rosario should see the bulk of the work in the middle infield. Paredes is back at third base, while Yandy Díaz is in line for the majority of the first base reps. Curtis Mead could play a bat-first role throughout the infield. That would’ve also been the case for Jonathan Aranda, but he broke his finger this week and is headed to the IL. Top third base prospect Junior Caminero looms in the upper minors but will begin the season in Triple-A.

Arozarena is back as one of the game’s best left fielders. Jose Siri will get the bulk of the playing time in center field. Josh Lowe should be the starter in right field when healthy, but he’s also going to begin the year on the shelf rehabbing an oblique issue. That could open right field reps for Ramírez or Palacios. The DeLuca injury could create a bench spot for Jake Mangum, who has impressed this spring. A college standout at Mississippi State, the 28-year-old Mangum was the third piece in the return from the Marlins for Bruján and Faucher. He’s a potential fifth outfielder.

There’s a fair bit of position player talent, as is customary for an organization that annually runs a strong prospect pipeline. The aforementioned lack of rotation depth is probably the biggest question mark. A pectoral strain is sending Bradley to the IL. There’s an opening for the #5 starter behind Eflin, Civale, Pepiot and Littell. The Rays are stretching Devenski and waiver claim Tyler Alexander out as multi-inning options who could contribute as abbreviated starters. They brought back Jake Odorizzi and added former NPB righty Naoyuki Uwasawa on minor league deals.

Any of Devenski, Alexander or even Odorizzi could also find themselves in the bullpen. Minor league signee Jacob Waguespack has already earned a 40-man roster spot, putting him in a good spot to secure a middle relief role. They’ll need a few other arms to bridge the gap between the rotation and the likes of Maton, Pete Fairbanks and Jason Adam in the late innings.

Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects the Rays to enter the season with a $98.4MM player payroll. That’s both easily a franchise high and firmly in the bottom third of the league. They face their ever-present challenge of going against bigger spenders in the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox, as well as a Baltimore team awash in young talent that chased the Rays down to win the AL East a year ago. The division is always an uphill battle, but the Rays typically find ways to overcome it.

How would you grade the Rays' offseason?
C 44.76% (542 votes)
B 28.32% (343 votes)
D 16.10% (195 votes)
F 6.28% (76 votes)
A 4.54% (55 votes)
Total Votes: 1,211

Rays Trade Greg Jones To Rockies

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The Rockies announced the acquisition of infielder/outfielder Greg Jones from the Rays in exchange for minor league left-hander Joe Rock this morning. Colorado designated outfielder Sam Hilliard for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Jones, 26, was the Rays’ first-round pick back in 2019 — the 22nd overall selection that year. He climbed as high as sixth on the team’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America, heading into the 2022 season, but he’s seen his stock dip since that time. Jones hit just .238/.318/.392 in Double-A that season and followed with a 2023 campaign that saw him bat .244/.318/.432 between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s touted as an 80-grade runner (on the 20-80 scale) and excellent athlete with a plus arm but has defensive concerns at shortstop. Tampa Bay began getting him work in the outfield last year in order to bolster his versatility.

The switch-hitting Jones still has two minor league option years remaining but increasingly looked like he’d been pushed down the organizational depth chart — both in the infield and in the outfield. With the Rockies, he’ll have a clearer path to playing time, particularly in the outfield, where elite-fielding Brenton Doyle is ticketed for regular center field work but will need to improve upon last year’s woeful debut showing at the plate. In theory, an outfield alignment with both Doyle and Jones would give the Rox two elite runners who could cover considerable ground in Coors Field’s expansive outfield grass.

Jones could also give the Rockies some long-term cover in the infield. Touted prospect Ezequiel Tovar is slated to get a continued audition as the everyday shortstop this season but has yet to prove he can hit in the big leagues. At second base, Brendan Rodgers is looking to bounce back from a rough showing in his return from a shoulder injury. He’s only controlled for two more seasons, though, so it’s feasible that Rodgers could emerge as a trade candidate this summer if he’s able to recapture something closer to his 2021-22 form. That’d open further opportunities for Jones.

For the time being, Jones will have an outside chance at cracking the Rockies’ roster. Manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (X link) that he couldn’t rule out an Opening Day nod for his team’s newest acquisition but also acknowledged that the window to take a look at the speedster is quite short.

In exchange for their 2019 first-rounder, the Rays will receive the Rockies’ 2021 Competitive Balance Round B pick. Rock, 23, was the No. 68 overall pick that summer and climbed as high as the Triple-A level last year — just for a couple innings late in the season.

Heading into the 2024 season, Rock ranked 26th among Colorado farmhands at Baseball America. He spent the bulk of the 2023 season in Double-A Hartford, where he logged 90 innings with a 4.50 ERA, an impressive 27.3% strikeout rate, a solid 8.1% walk rate and a 44.4% grounder rate that’s a couple ticks better than average. Rock was plagued by a .343 BABIP and proved slightly homer-prone (1.30 HR/9), but it was a generally encouraging season for the Ohio product, who’ll give the Rays some upper-level pitching depth and could make his way to the majors at some point in 2024.

MLB.com’s already-updated prospect rankings slot Rock into the No. 19 in Tampa Bay’s system. Scouting reports from BA, MLB and FanGraphs all give Rock the chance for three average or better pitches — two-seamer, slider, changeup — but note that his arsenal is undercut by below-average command. That hasn’t been apparent yet through Rock’s minor league walk rates, but there’s an important distinction between “control” (consistently throwing strikes) and “command” (precisely locating the ball within the zone).

If Rock has more of the former than the latter, that could be exploited by more advanced hitters who take advantage of mistakes within the zone. Then again, the Rays have a reputation for maximizing pitcher performance, so it’s always possible he’ll find another gear following a change of environs and exceed the modest back-of-the-rotation projection he draws on most scouting reports.

For the Rays, adding an upper-minors, close-to-MLB-ready arm like Rock is plenty sensible. Tampa Bay just lost Taj Bradley for a yet-to-be-determined stretch as the promising young righty deals with a pectoral strain. They’ll also be without Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs and Shane McClanahan to begin the season — and likely for the entire season in McClanahan’s case. Rasmussen had an internal brace procedure last July. Springs had Tommy John surgery last May. McClanahan had Tommy John in August. Touted young right-hander Shane Baz is also still working his way back from late-2022 Tommy John surgery.

Tampa Bay signed old friend Jake Odorizzi to a minor league deal earlier this month after the Bradley injury. He could be the favorite to take the fifth spot in the rotation early in the season, but he signed late enough that he might not be ready for an Opening Day roster spot. As it stands, the Rays have four pitchers locked into rotation spots: Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littell and Ryan Pepiot. At least early in the season, swingmen Tyler Alexander and Chris Devenski could make some spot starts. Both were stretching out to three innings in camp even before Bradley’s injury.

Hilliard only just returned to the Rockies earlier this month after the Orioles placed him on waivers. Baltimore had claimed him from Atlanta earlier in the offseason. He appeared in 40 games and hit .236/.295/.431 through 78 plate appearances with the Braves, fanning in an eye-popping 42.3% of his plate appearances. A heel injury wound up costing him the bulk of the 2023 season.

From 2019-22, Hilliard appeared in 214 games as a Rockie, playing all three outfield spots and batting a combined .212/.294/.423 with 29 homers, 15 steals, a 10% walk rate and an ugly 32.7% strikeout rate over a total of 639 plate appearances. Strikeouts have long been an issue for Hilliard, who touts an impressive .265/.346/.570 slash and 62 homers in just 942 Triple-A plate appearances but has punched out at an unsightly 28.5% clip at that level. The Rockies will have a week to trade Hilliard, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report the Rockies and Rays were swapping Rock for Jones.

Rays’ Jonathan Aranda To Undergo Surgery On Broken Finger

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Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda suffered a broken ring finger while fielding a grounder yesterday and will undergo surgery to place a pin in his finger, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s expected to miss at least four to six weeks recovering. He’ll open the season on the major league injured list.

It’s an unfortunate setback for the 25-year-old Aranda, who’s torn through minor league pitching at every stop but hasn’t yet had an opportunity to carve out a regular role at the MLB level in a crowded Rays infield. He’d been slated for a largely regular role to begin the year, splitting time between designated hitter and perhaps at first base. He’ll now head to the injured list instead.

Aranda has logged 190 big league plate appearances, but they’ve come in short stints and with sparse playing time. He’s batted just .212/.311/.345 with four homers, an 11.1% walk rate and 28.4% strikeout rate in that time. That output pales in comparison to the production Aranda has turned in as a regular in the minors. He slashed .325/.410/.540 at the Double-A level before crushing Triple-A opponents at a .328/.421/.565 clip in 899 plate appearances over the past two seasons. He’s slugged 43 homers, walked at a 12.1% clip and fanned at a 20.8% clip in that 199-game sample of Triple-A action.

Aranda’s injury will likely open the door for more at-bats for righty-swinging Harold Ramirez and/or fellow right-handed-hitting Curtis Mead. The former has been a plus hitter in two seasons with the Rays, slashing .306/.348/.432 (123 wRC+) in 869 trips to the plate from 2022-23. There was considerable talk of a potential Ramirez trade over the winter, and while nothing can be fully ruled out prior to the season for a Rays club that’s ever-active on the trade market, Ramirez seems quite likely headed for a third straight year with Tampa Bay.

Mead, meanwhile, made his big league debut in 2023 and hit .253/.326/.349 in 92 plate appearances of his own. The 23-year-old Aussie has ranked as one of the game’s top overall prospects for the past couple seasons and carries a stout .296/.385/.520 slash with 13 homers, 29 doubles, a pair of triples, a 12.2% walk rate and an 18% strikeout rate in 377 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s a bat-first prospect who’s spent time at third base, second base and first base, with his bat-to-ball skills and plus raw power standing as his carrying tools. Since both Mead and Ramirez are bat-first players, slotting either into a semi-regular DH role could have some appeal for the Rays — at least until Aranda returns. That could set the stage for a potential DH platoon, while Mead could also platoon with lefty-swinging second baseman Brandon Lowe in the infield as well.

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