Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Rumors

Guardians Claim Christian Bethancourt From Rays

By and | at

The Guardians have claimed catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The latter club had placed the backstop on waivers over the weekend. Cleveland has yet to officially announce the move.

This ends Bethancourt’s tenure with the Rays, which began a little before the 2022 trade deadline. Tampa Bay acquired the right-handed hitter in a deal with Oakland, sending a pair of minor leaguers to the A’s. The Panamanian catcher owned a .249/.298/.385 line with the A’s and provided similar production down the stretch in St. Pete, hitting .255/.265/.436 over 45 games.

That was enough to hold his roster spot into 2023. Bethancourt’s low on-base numbers became more of a problem this past season. Over 332 trips to the plate, he hit .225/.254/.381. The one-time top prospect connected on 11 home runs but walked at a 3.9% clip while striking out 27.4% of the time. His strikeout rate was pushing 30% in the second half, contributing to Tampa Bay’s decision to give an increasing share of the reps to René Pinto.

Once the season came to a close, it became apparent Bethancourt would no longer be in the Rays’ plans. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.3MM salary if tendered a contract. While that’s not an outlandish figure, the Rays have a huge arbitration class and intended to look for a catching upgrade. Rather than wait until the non-tender deadline, they placed him on waivers a few weeks early.

Cleveland’s decision to place a claim indicates they’re likely to tender Bethancourt at that price. The Guardians have lefty-hitting Bo Naylor as their #1 option. Cleveland didn’t get much out of Cam Gallagher this year, though, making him a non-tender candidate. Bethancourt could take on the backup role as a righty-swinging complement to Naylor. Statcast pegs him as a below-average framer and blocker but credits him with excellent arm strength, a plus he has had dating back to his prospect days.

Bethancourt has between four and five years of service. He’d therefore be eligible for arbitration again next offseason if he holds his roster spot all year.

Marlins Officially Hire Rays GM Peter Bendix As President Of Baseball Operations

By | at

TODAY: The Marlins have officially announced Bendix’s hire. Principal owner Bruce Sherman spoke glowingly of Bendix in a press release, saying that “Peter is an established industry leader with an extensive skillset and deep experience that will continue the momentum we have made on the Major League level, while also strategic building the foundation for sustained success.”

Nov 5: The Marlins are set to hire Rays general manager Peter Bendix as the club’s next head of baseball operations, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough (links to X).  Rosenthal reported earlier tonight that Bendix was Miami’s “leading candidate” for the job, and Bendix has informed some Rays co-workers that he will be leaving for the Marlins job.

Bendix would become the latest in a long line of Tampa Bay executives hired away by other teams.  Andrew Friedman (Dodgers), Chaim Bloom (Red Sox), Matt Arnold (Brewers), and James Click (Astros) all got rival front office jobs due in part to the Rays’ consistent ability to draft and develop talent, all while fielding competitive teams on small player payrolls.  Other organizational attempts to replicate the Rays’ success has been somewhat mixed, though obviously Friedman and Click both won World Series titles with their teams.

The Rays’ track record is undoubtedly of interest to Marlins owner Bruce Sherman, who reportedly hasn’t been happy with how his team has been developing its younger talent.  These concerns led to Sherman’s plan of installing a new head of baseball operations above general manager Kim Ng, which resulted in Ng declining her end of a mutual option on her contract for the 2024 season.  It isn’t known if Bendix or any other candidates were already being targeted by Sherman prior to Ng’s departure, yet naturally Ng balked at the idea of suddenly being demoted after the Marlins reached the playoffs last season.  Rosenthal reports that Bloom was also on the Marlins’ radar, but the former Red Sox chief baseball officer declined to be a candidate for the Miami job.

This will be Bendix’s first time in full command of a front office, as Erik Neander is Tampa’s president of baseball operations, and former PBO Matt Silverman is now the team president.  Bendix has been a member of the Rays organization since starting as an intern in 2009, and worked his way up the ladder through multiple roles in the research and development department.  The 38-year-old Bendix earned a VP title in 2019 as the team’s director of baseball development, and was promoted to general manager just under two years ago.

Sherman’s purchase of the Marlins franchise in 2017 has led to quite a bit of front office turnover in that limited timeframe.  Michael Hill was kept on as the president of baseball operations, though CEO Derek Jeter was known to be making the bigger-picture baseball decisions as the team was going through a rebuild.  Ng was hired to be the GM when Hill’s contract was up after the 2020 season, but the picture was shaken up again when Jeter himself left prior to the 2022 campaign.

Jeter’s public statement that “the vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead” only led to more questions, and some reports suggested that Jeter wasn’t pleased with Sherman’s apparent desire to spend less on payroll, though that was apparently far from the only issue between the two.  The Marlins have increased spending to some extent under Ng, up to a $92.5MM Opening Day payroll in 2023 that still ranked 23rd of 30 teams.

However, even with the Marlins securing a wild card berth this past season, Sherman still wasn’t satisfied.  The hiring of Bendix now provides a full break from the Jeter era, and in theory makes it seem as if the Marlins will try to emulate Tampa Bay’s strategy of perpetual contention with modest spending.  This doesn’t mean that Sherman couldn’t green-light higher levels of spending than the Rays are accustomed to, yet it also doesn’t seem like the Marlins will exactly be approaching the luxury tax any time soon.

Adopting “the Rays’ plan” is far easier said that done, of course, and the next step will be seeing exactly how the Marlins will operate under Bendix in 2024.  Sandy Alcantara will miss all of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Jorge Soler is a free agent after opting out of his contract, and it can be argued that Miami’s 2023 club might have gotten to the postseason due more to good fortune than to championship pedigree.  The Marlins were outscored by a 723-666 margin, but enjoyed a whopping 33-14 record in one-run games.

As much as Miami fans would be exasperated at seeing another step back or some sort of rebuild, Bendix could be given perhaps at least a season to remake the team in his image, if restocking the farm system is a larger priority for Sherman than another playoff push.  Or, since the Fish already have a good deal of talent in place, Bendix might try to hit the ground running by trying to compete and add some prospect depth at the same time.

From the Rays’ perspective, they’ll have to again fill a hole in their front office.  Assistant GMs Chanda Lawdermilk, Will Cousins, and Carlos Rodriguez stand out as natural candidates to be promoted to the full general manager job as Neander’s new No. 2, though any number of candidates might emerge for a franchise that likes to promote from within.

Rays Place Six Players On Outright Waivers

By and | at

The Rays have placed catcher Christian Bethancourt, left-handers Jalen Beeks and Josh Fleming, right-hander Cole Sulser, infielder Tristan Gray, and outfielder Raimel Tapia on outright waivers, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports.  The wave of transactions clears some space on Tampa’s 40-man roster, and also acts an essentially an early set of non-tender decisions, as five of the six players (all except Gray) were eligible for salary arbitration and project to make a combined $8.4MM in 2024.

That’s not an insignificant sum for a smaller-payroll team like the Rays.  Even if the club has said it’s open to a higher than usual payroll in 2024, some cuts were inevitably coming from Tampa Bay’s large arbitration class, both for financial reasons and for simple roster maintenance reasons. Today’s cuts take the club’s projected payroll for 2024 (per RosterResource) from just under $130MM down to just over $121MM. That figure, of course, is still around $42MM higher than the club’s payroll in 2023.

Bethancourt, 32, was the club’s primary catcher for much of the 2023 campaign. Though he was a capable defensive option behind the plate, Bethancourt posted disappointing numbers on offense with a slash line of just .225/.254/.381 in 332 trips to the plate. That line was good for a wRC+ of 74, which ranks 28th among 31 catchers to make at least 300 plate appearances in 2023. Late in the season, Bethancourt was supplanted as the club’s top option behind the plate by 26-year-old backstop Rene Pinto. Given this, it’s of little surprise that the cost-conscious Rays would look for a cheaper option than Bethancourt to back up Pinto in 2024. Bethancourt’s glove work should still see him garner interest as a potential depth option behind the plate alongside other veteran free agents like Tucker Barnhart and Curt Casali.

Beeks, 30, made his big league debut with the Red Sox back in 2018 but recorded just 6 1/3 innings of work for the club before being shipped to Tampa Bay. Upon joining the Rays in late July, Beeks posted a 4.47 ERA and roughly matching 4.45 FIP in 44 1/3 innings of work. He largely replicated that league average production over a full season in 2019, with a 4.31 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 104 1/3 innings of work. Beeks pitched well in the shortened 2020 campaign with a 3.26 ERA and 1.79 FIP but made just 12 appearances before having his season cut short by Tommy John surgery.

Upon returning to the big leagues in 2022, Beeks enjoyed the best season of his career with a 2.80 ERA and 3.49 FIP across 61 innings of work. Unfortunately, the 2023 campaign proved to be the worst of Beeks’s career; despite his FIP (3.82) staying relatively similar last season, Beeks saw his ERA balloon up to 5.95 in 42 1/3 innings of work this year. Still, as a left-handed relief option who enjoyed considerable success on the mound as recently as last year, the 30-year-old hurler should find plenty of interest from clubs on the open market, though perhaps not at the level of the $1.8MM salary he was projected for in arbitration.

Fleming was a fifth-round pick by the Rays in the 2017 draft and impressed during the shortened 2020 campaign, which was his rookie season. The then-24-year-old southpaw posted a 2.78 ERA in 32 1/3 innings of work that year, though a 4.40 FIP indicated that Fleming may have had some good fortune on his side in those numbers. In 2021, Fleming was given a larger role as he opened the season as a member of the club’s rotation and started off strong with a 3.39 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 13 appearances through the end of June. Unfortunately, the wheels came off for Fleming from there, and his final 13 appearances saw him post an atrocious 8.05 ERA with a 4.49 FIP in 38 innings of work. That tough end to the season carried into Fleming’s performances in the big leagues the past two seasons, where he combined for a 5.40 ERA and 5.16 FIP in 86 2/3 innings of work. That being said, Fleming’s relative youth and past success could make him an interesting depth option for pitching-needy clubs on a minor league pact this offseason.

Though a member of the Rays organization in 2023, Sulser’s only big league appearances with the club came back in 2019, when he made his big league debut for Tampa with seven scoreless appearances. Since then, Sulser bounced between the Orioles, Marlins, and Diamondbacks organizations before returning to the Rays in 2023 after a difficult 5 1/3 inning stint in Arizona that saw him post a 6.75 ERA. Though Sulser didn’t return to the big leagues this year after re-joining the Rays, he did pitch well in 18 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level for the organization, with a 3.86 ERA and a decent 22.4% strikeout rate. The best season of Sulser’s career came in Baltimore back in 2021, when the righty posted a 2.70 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 63 1/3 innings of work. Now on the open market ahead of his age-34 season, Sulser will join a market deep in veteran depth options as he looks for his next team.

Gray, 27, made his MLB debut with the Rays earlier this season. Though his cup of coffee in the major leagues last just five plate appearances, he managed to notch two hits in that limited time, including a home run. Aside from his first foray into big league play, Gray hit decently well at the Triple-A level this year, with a .235/.312/.485 slash line at the level this year. While primarily a shortstop, Gray has experience at every position on the field except for catcher and center field, which when combined with his solid numbers at Triple-A and his impressive (though very brief) first showing in the majors could make him an attractive depth option to clubs on a minor league deal this winter.

Tapia, 29, spent the first six seasons of his big league career with the Rockies, slashing .280/.325/.396 in 439 career games with the club, though those numbers translate to a wRC+ of just 77 thanks to the inflated offensive environment at Coors Field. Prior to the 2022 season, the Rockies and Blue Jays got together on a deal that swapped Tapia to Toronto in exchange for Randal Grichuk, and Tapia found himself performing solidly as a platoon bat and fourth outfielder for the club. In 433 plate appearances with the Blue Jays in 2022, Tapia hit .265/.292/.380 with a wRC+ of 91. That performance wasn’t enough for Tapia to find a big league deal last winter and left him to bounce between three clubs throughout the 2023 season. In 169 plate appearances between Boston, Milwaukee, and Tampa, the 29-year-old took a step back at the plate with a .236/.317/.338 slash line with a wRC+ of just 80. Tapia figures to look for another minor league deal this coming offseason.

Nelson Cruz To Retire

By | at

Nelson Cruz revealed on the Adam Jones Podcast that he is planning to retire from playing after an upcoming stint in the Dominican Winter League.

Nelson Cruz | Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY SportsCruz, now 43, was something of a late bloomer but still went on to have an incredibly long and productive career in the big leagues. He didn’t fully establish himself as an everyday big league player until 2009. That was technically his “age-28 season”, but he turned 29 on July 1, just after the standard June 30 cutoff for such distinctions. He had some limited looks in the big leagues with the Brewers and Rangers from 2005 to 2008 but that 2009 season saw him bust out with 33 home runs and 20 stolen bases for Texas.

He would follow that with 22 and 29 home runs in the next two years, helping the Rangers reach the World Series in each campaign, though they ultimate lost on both occasions. He continued serving as a potent slugger for a time but that was put on pause when he was connected to the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal, receiving a 50-game suspension in August of 2013.

He reached free agency after that campaign and the Rangers gave him a qualifying offer of over $14MM, which he turned down. The draft pick forfeiture tied to that QO and his PED situation led to him lingering on the open market until late February, eventually signing with the Orioles for one year and $8MM, well below the QO he turned down.

He had a monster year for the O’s in 2014, launching 40 home runs and helping that club reach the American League Championship Series. The O’s then gave him a $15.3MM qualifying offer, as players were still allowed to receive multiple QOs at that time. The limit of one per career did not come into place until the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Cruz turned the QO down again but fared far better in this trip to free agency, landing a four-year, $57MM deal with the Mariners.

Though he had been an outfielder earlier in his career, he slid more into a full-time designated hitter role over the course of that deal with Seattle. The club likely didn’t mind as he continued mashing, with 163 home runs in that four-year span. He then continued to produce in a similar fashion after joining the Twins, launching 41 more homers in 2019 then 16 in the shortened 2020 season.

He was still crushing baseballs through the first half of 2021, but his production slid after a midseason trade from the Twins to the Rays. He signed one-year deals with the Nationals and Padres for the past two seasons but his offensive production slid to below par. Since he was into his 40s and limited to DH duties only, it became tougher to roster him and the Padres released him in July.

Cruz retires having played in 2,055 regular season games, hitting 464 home runs in that time. His finishes with a batting line of .274/.343/.513, which translates into a wRC+ of 128, indicating he was 28% better than the league average hitter. He made seven All-Star teams, won four Silver Sluggers, a Roberto Clemente Award and various other honors. He represented the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic on four separate occasions, winning the 2013 tournament. His Baseball Reference page indicates he earned over $140MM in his career. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Cruz for his many accomplishments and wish him the best of luck for whatever awaits him in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Coaching Notes: Mallee, Rays, Giants, Cora

By | at

The Cubs are promoting John Mallee back to the big league staff, as reported by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. It’s currently unclear what role the long-time coach will serve. He was the team’s hitting coach from 2015-17, but that job is currently held down by Dustin Kelly, who helped several players thrive in his first year with the big league squad. 

According to Sharma and Mooney, the Cubs will “incorporate Mallee’s experience and expertise” in a new role, rather than replace anyone currently on the coaching staff. He was the hitting coach at Triple-A Iowa in 2023, and he earned “rave reviews” for his work at the minor league level. Evidently, the Cubs have decided he can have a greater impact with the MLB club, even in a less defined role.

In other coaching news from around the league…

  • In addition to hiring a new first base coach, the Rays could look to hire a couple of additional coaches to replace Jonathan Erlichman, the former process and analytics coach, and Dan DeMent, the former assistant hitting coach (per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Erlichman has taken on a new role with the team, while DeMent has parted ways with the organization after 13 years as a minor league coach and two with the big league club. The Rays have another assistant hitting coach, Brady North, and with Erlichman remaining in the organization, they don’t necessarily need to hire a direct replacement for either Erlichman or DeMent. As Topkin notes, the Rays could look to add a couple of coaches in new roles instead.
  • On Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Franciso Chronicle discussed the Giants’ director of pitching role, which has been vacant since the White Sox hired away Brian Bannister to be their senior pitching advisor. She suggests Bryan Price, a long-time pitching coach and former Reds manager, to fill the role. Price is currently employed as a senior advisor to the coaching staff in San Diego, but it’s not out of the question he could come over to San Francisco alongside Bob Melvin, Matt Williams, and Ryan Christenson. Price spent 14 years as a pitching coach for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Phillies. He announced his retirement as a pitching coach after the 2020 season, but a director of pitching job could represent an intriguing new opportunity for the veteran coach.
  • Joey Cora, the Mets’ third base coach in 2022 and ’23, has drawn interest for several coaching positions around the league, per Andy Martino of SNY. Cora, the elder brother of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, has been coaching since 2004. His contract with the Mets expired at the end of October. In further Mets news, Martino notes that first base coach Wayne Kirby’s contract has also expired. Evidently, the team saw no reason to retain all of their coaches without a new manager in place.

Taylor Walls Undergoes Hip Surgery

By | at

7:53 pm: While the Rays are not prepared to say that Walls will be ready for Opening Day, his manager is “optimistic” he could be back for the start of the 2024 season, per Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times.

“If he’s running before he comes into spring training, that would be a very good sign,” said Kevin Cash. Still, the skipper cautioned that it’s too soon to know for sure: “I think we’ll know more in a month.” 

2:51 pm: The Rays announced this afternoon (as relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that shortstop Taylor Walls underwent a surgical procedure on his right hip today. The procedure aimed to relieve discomfort due to an impingement and repair a tear in the labrum of the hip. Per the Rays, Walls is expected to be ready for baseball activities in February, though his readiness for Opening Day won’t be clear until he returns to baseball activities and a timeline can be established.

It’s an incredibly unfortunate development for the Rays. Walls, 27, emerged as the club’s primary shortstop down the stretch in 2023 following the placement of star shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave while the league investigated allegations against Franco of inappropriate relationships with multiple minors. While Walls hit well early in the season, slashing .244/.349/.481 in his first 152 trips to the plate, he struggled the rest of the way, slashing just .169/.270/.221 with a 27.9% strikeout rate over his final 197 plate appearances.

Despite that downturn in offensive production, Walls still looked to be in line for the lion’s share of time at shortstop entering next year, pending a decision on Franco’s situation. Walls, a finalist of the utility Gold Glove award in the AL, saw his glove work around the infield praised by Defensive Runs Saved (+10 DRS) but panned by Outs Above Average (-6).

The Rays have a few other options at shortstop in the event that the everyday job remains vacant headed into Opening Day. Youngsters Junior Caminero, Osleivis Basabe, and Vidal Brujan are all already on the 40-man roster, though none of the group have found success in the major leagues to this point in their careers. Caminero’s .235/.278/.353 slash line in a brief 36-PA cup of coffee was the best major-league performance among that trio by measure of wRC+. Given that reality, the club may be best served looking for an external shortstop option to provide depth at the position via free agency.

Such an addition may be easier said than done, however. After all, the Rays are already due to stretch the club’s budget in 2024, with RosterResource projecting the club for a $120MM payroll that exceeds their 2023 figure by more than $50MM. The club may have already been poised to shed salary by moving on from the likes of Harold Ramirez, Manuel Margot, and perhaps even Tyler Glasnow, but such a move seems all the more likely if the Rays are forced to commit additional resources to shortstop in 2024. Quality shortstop options are few and far between in free agency this offseason, with the likes of Amed Rosario, Paul DeJong, and Gio Urshela representing some of the best options available.

Rays Notes: Coaching, Glasnow, Catcher

By | at

The Rays coaching staff is set to see some changes this offseason, with three departures having been reported previously. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the club’s head of mental performance Justin Su’a is set to shift to a reduced role next season due to family considerations. Su’a has been with the club since 2018, and it’s unclear how the Rays plan on covering his current responsibilities as he steps back into a smaller role.

Topkin also notes that the Rays are making progress in filling the first base coach vacancy created by the departure of Chris Prieto, with interviews scheduled to begin this week. Triple-A manager Michael Johns, Double-A manager Morgan Ensberg, and coaching/player development assistant director Alejandro Freire are among the internal candidates under consideration for the job, though Topkin adds the team figures to interview external candidates as well. Both Ensberg and Freire played in the majors prior to their coaching careers; Ensberg spent eight seasons in the big leagues as an infielder for the Astros, Yankees, and Padres while Freire had a 25-game stint at first base with the Orioles in 2005.

Beyond the coaching changes, Topkin discusses the club’s upcoming offseason decisions. While the Rays have publicly indicated they could be open to an increased payroll next season, RosterResource projects the team for a payroll of $130MM next season, a $51MM increase over the club’s 2023 payroll. Even if the club were willing to substantially ramp up payroll, the club’s near 40% jump in payroll before any external additions leaves the club likely to explore cost-saving moves this offseason. The club’s most obvious route to trimming payroll would be dealing right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is set to make $25MM next year in his final season before free agency.

That being said, a Glasnow deal would come with plenty of pitfalls, most obvious of which is the concerning state the rotation would be left in for Opening Day 2024. Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale would both figure to be locked into rotation spots entering Spring Training, but things get murkier from there. Shane Baz is expected to return from Tommy John surgery next season, while Zack Littell and Taj Bradley drew starts for the club to mixed results in 2023. Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs could both rejoin the team late in the season after rehabbing surgeries that ended their 2023 campaigns early. With just two clearly proven, healthy starters besides Glasnow entering 2023, it seems that the Rays would need to find a way to add an arm to the rotation if they did part ways with the righty this offseason.

For Topkin’s part, he suggests that the Rays would be better served making a decision on Glasnow as early in the offseason as possible. Topkin notes that any trade of Glasnow (or lack there of) would likely exert significant influence over the club’s overall offseason plan, and the sooner the club makes a decision on Glasnow, the sooner they can begin looking for a free agent starter to replace him in the rotation, or, alternatively, looking for other ways to trim the club’s payroll. Outfielders Manuel Margot and Harold Ramirez (the latter of whom MLBTR recently profiled as a potential trade candidate) both were mentioned as pieces the Rays could potentially part with this offseason, as well as catcher Christian Bethancourt.

Bethancourt, 32, was Tampa’s primary catcher in 2023, though he struggled at the plate with a .225/.254/.381 slash line in 104 games. Late in the season, Bethancourt ceded the everyday job to 26-year-old Rene Pinto, who performed solid as the club’s regular backstop for the final two months of the season. Topkin makes clear that the Rays appear poised to go in a different direction behind the plate, both noting Bethancourt as a potential candidate to depart the team this offseason and highlighting catching help as a key need for the club this offseason as they look for a player to pair with Pinto behind the plate.

One possible solution Topkin floats is a reunion with Alex Jackson, who played 14 games for the club’s Triple-A affiliate this season before going down with injury. Prior to the 2023 campaign, Jackson spent the past four seasons as a depth option for the Braves, Marlins, and Brewers, getting occasional exposure to the big leagues but only getting an extended look in 2021. He’s struggled with the bat at the big league level to this point with a career slash line of .141/.243/.227 in 185 trips to the plate, though at just 27-years-0ld with a career .851 OPS at the Triple-A level it’s at least conceivable he could unlock another level with more consistent major league opportunities. The upcoming free agent class behind the plate features the likes of Gary Sanchez and Victor Caratini as potential regular options.

MLBTR Podcast: Adolis García, the Tyler Glasnow Decision and Bob Melvin

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The Rangers are in the World Series for the first time since 2011 (0:55)
  • Looking back on the journey of Adolis García (5:00)
  • What’s next for the Astros after dropping the ALCS? (7:40)
  • Bob Melvin reportedly moving from the Padres to the Giants (10:15)
  • Is Tyler Glasnow a trade candidate or not? (14:45)
  • The Offseason Outlook of the Dodgers (21:45)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Boston Searches for a Boss, Kim Ng and Surgery for Brandon Woodruff – listen here
  • The Mets’ Front Office, TJ for Alcantara and the D-Backs Extend Their GM – listen here
  • Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies – listen here​

AL Notes: Twins, Glasnow, Cora

By | at

While the Twins are facing an uncertain payroll situation headed into the offseason, Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune indicates that won’t stop the club from picking up options on second baseman Jorge Polanco and outfielder Max Kepler, noting both options are “expected” to be picked up around the league. That being said, Nightengale also notes that both players figure to be in the center of trade discussions this winter if Minnesota looks to utilize their position player depth to acquire more pitching.

That’s a familiar situation to Kepler in particular, who found his name in the rumor mill both last offseason and again at the trade deadline. After posting below-average offensive numbers in both 2021 and 2022, Kepler bounced back in a big way this season with a .260/.332/.484 slash line in 130 games, adding a plus bat to his reputation as a strong defender in the outfield. A free agent after the 2024 campaign if his option is picked up, Kepler would be an attractive one-year addition for outfield-needy teams that the Twins could afford to part with due to the presence of young outfielders like Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach.

Polanco, on the other hand, has team options for both 2024 and 2025 that make him a more significant player to part with. The switch-hitting infielder has been a model of consistency when on the field the past few years, with a wRC+ between 118 and 124 in every full season since 2019. That being said, he’s been plagued by injuries the past two seasons, appearing in just 80 contests for the Twins in 2023 and 104 in 2022.

MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently took a poll of MLBTR readers regarding whether or not the club should deal Polanco, with 56% of respondents voting that he should be dealt. Effective as Polanco has been, that sentiment in understandable given the club’s cluttered infield mix that features Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Edouard Julien and up-and-coming prospects like Brooks Lee and Austin Martin. Nightengale adds that the Twins could use Polanco in a super utility, multi-positional role next season if he’s retained for 2024. While Polanco profiles best as a second baseman, he played 15 games at third base this year and spent time at shortstop early in his career as well.

More from around the American League…

  • Ever since right-hander Tyler Glasnow signed an extension with the Rays that guaranteed him a $25MM payday in 2024, speculation has percolated throughout the baseball world that Tampa would look to move him before the final year of that contract. With RosterResource projecting the Rays for a franchise-record payroll of $130MM next year, moving Glasnow would be a viable strategy for the club if they look to get closer to their 2022 level of $79MM. That said, it’s worth noting that the Rays have indicated they’re open to increasing payroll next year and the club’s biggest area of need is the starting rotation. That need would get bigger without Glasnow, who pitched to a 3.53 ERA and 2.91 FIP across 21 starts this season. For his part, Glasnow wants to stay with the Rays in 2024 and beyond. As relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Glasnow spoke glowingly of the organization and its culture while noting the $150MM offer the club made to Freddie Freeman during the 2021-22 offseason as evidence that the club could retain him beyond 2024, if they so chose.
  • While Red Sox manager Alex Cora took himself out of the running for the club’s opening atop the baseball operations department early in the club’s search for their next GM, at the time it was believed that Cora would play a significant role in the hiring process as Boston looked to replace ousted chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. This morning, however, MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam notes that Cora’s role in the process may not be as substantial as previously believed. McAdam reports that a source has indicated that Cora has had very little involvement in the process to this point, though McAdam does note that the Red Sox’s intentions of involving Cora were focused on ensuring a good working relationship between the manager and his new boss. Given those goals, it’s certainly possible Cora could have greater impact on the process once the team has narrowed the field of candidates down further.

Trade Candidate: Harold Ramirez

By | at

As is frequently the case for the Rays this time of year, the club has a sizable class of arbitration-eligible players to sort through this offseason: with 16 players eligible for arbitration this winter, only the Yankees have more. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects that group of players to cost a combined $46.3MM in 2024 if all 16 of them are retained. That could prove to be an untenable situation for the Rays, as RosterResource estimates the club’s projected 2024 payroll to be $130MM, an increase of more than $50MM over this year’s $79MM budget.

While the club has recently indicated that it would be open to increasing payroll next season, it’s unclear to what level an increase would be. Even a substantial increase in payroll could leave the club looking to shave $20MM or more off of its payroll, to say nothing of any potential external additions the club could look into making as they aim to build on a 99-win season in 2024. Given these realities, it seems likely that the Rays will at least shop around some of the players from their deep pool of arbitration-level talent this offseason.

Of Tampa’s group of arbitration talent, just four players are projected to make more than $3MM next year: infielder Isaac Paredes, who is still just 24 years old and enjoyed a breakout season in 2023; right-hander Aaron Civale, the steady mid-rotation arm the club dealt top first base prospect Kyle Manzardo to acquire this past summer; outfielder Randy Arozarena, a face of the franchise and former Rookie of the Year who made his first All Star appearance in 2023; and Harold Ramirez, a right-handed slugger the club acquired in a minor deal with the Cubs prior to the 2022 season who splits time between DH, first base, and the outfield corners.

Among that group of four, it seems wildly unlikely that the club would deal Civale after winning the bidding for his services just three months ago. Given his youth, positional versatility, and strong 2023 campaign, it seems more likely that the club would rather retain Paredes as a member of the club’s core rather than trade him away just as he enters his prime years.

While Arozarena may be the most expensive of the group by far with a $9MM projected salary in 2024, the 28-year-old outfielder is under team control through the end of the 2026 season and provides consistency to the Rays lineup. He’s made at least 600 trips to the plate, with a wRC+ of 120 or better, 20 home runs or more, and 20 stolen bases or more in each of the past three seasons. That consistency, power and speed makes Arozarena a key piece for the Rays going forward, to say nothing of his status as one of the most recognizable players on the team.

That leaves Ramirez, who has contributed to the Rays in a big way over the past two seasons. In 869 trips to the plate with the club over the past two seasons, Ramirez has slashed an impressive .306/.348/.432 with a 17.4% strikeout rate, good for a wRC+ of 123. Good as that production is, it’s worth noting Ramirez carries a hefty platoon split; while he was roughly league average against right-handers with a .281/.329/.420 slash line in 310 trips to the plate against them this year, he absolutely crushed lefties to the tune of a .387/.411/.555 slash line in 124 trips to the plate. His career splits are roughly similar, with a .719 OPS against righties and an .816 OPS against southpaws.

Valuable as a lefty-mashing corner bat can be, the Rays are fortunate to be well-stocked in terms of DH and corner options. Yandy Diaz has locked down the first base spot with star-level production the past two seasons, while slugger Luke Raley made a strong impression during his first run of significant playing time this year, slashing .249/.333/.490 with 19 home runs in just 406 trips to the plate while covering first base, DH, and all three outfield spots. This also doesn’t consider young infield prospect Jonathan Aranda, who slashed .230/.340/.368 in 103 plate appearances with the big league club this year and could play his way into a bigger role next season.

Additionally, each of those options has more team control remaining than Ramirez. While the 29-year-old will be a free agent following the 2025 season, Diaz is under control through 2026, Raley through 2028, while Aranda has yet to accrue a full season of service time in the big leagues. Given the club’s bountiful options at the position and Ramirez’s relative lack of team control, he could be the perfect trade candidate for a Rays team interested in lowering payroll to make other additions or even simply in leveraging a valuable asset from a clear area of depth.

In terms of potential suitors, there are several teams that could conceivably be interested in Ramirez’s services. The Brewers and Cubs both have uncertain first base situations headed into 2024, with Rowdy Tellez looking like a potential non-tender candidate and Matt Mervis having struggled through his first cup of coffee in the majors earlier this year. The Cubs, of course, are the club the Rays acquired Ramirez from prior to his breakout in the spring of 2022.

Meanwhile, the Padres could look to add a right-handed complement to Matt Carpenter at DH, with Ramirez as a strong option to fill the role the club hoped Nelson Cruz could fill in 2023. The Diamondbacks and Braves could also find themselves in search of a bat like Ramirez this offseason, in the event Tommy Pham and Eddie Rosario depart the club this offseason. In truth, there’s few aspiring contenders that couldn’t make use of a lefty-mashing corner bat with two seasons of team control remaining, giving the Rays plenty of potential paths in the event they do pursue a trade of the 29-year-old.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top