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Phillies Acquire Jordan Qsar From Rays

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The Phillies have acquired outfielder Jordan Qsar from the Rays, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Phillies are sending cash considerations the other way, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

Qsar, 27, will jump to just the second organization of his career, as he’s spent it all with the Rays until now. That club selected him in the 25th round of the 2018 draft. Since then, Qsar has moved his way up the minor league ladder, showing some power and on-base ability, but also huge strikeout numbers.

Last year, Qsar split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, getting into 102 games between those two levels. In his 411 plate appearances, he hit 17 home runs and walked at a 10.7% clip but also got punched out at a 38.2% rate. His combined batting line was .227/.321/.452, leading to a wRC+ of 101, indicating he was a hair above average. He also swiped 11 bags on the season.

Qsar got a non-roster invite to spring with the Rays but has struggled mightily. In 31 plate appearances, he’s struck out 14 times, a 45.2% rate. His batting line is .192/.323/.192, which includes five walks, a 16.1% rate. Spring performance aside, the Phils evidently still like the power and on-base potential Qsar brings and have brought him aboard.

The Phillies are likely to have an outfield of Brandon Marsh in center, flanked by Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos in the corners. With Bryce Harper out of action until midseason due to Tommy John surgery, the designated hitter spot is open, with Schwarber and Castellanos perhaps seeing some time there. Jake Cave and Dalton Guthrie could be in the mix for a fourth outfielder role, with the 40-man roster also featuring Simon Muzziotti, Jhailyn Ortiz and Johan Rojas. Qsar will give the club some non-roster depth alongside that group, having played all three spots in his career.

Rays Acquire Victor Castaneda As PTBNL From Javy Guerra Trade

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The Rays have acquired right-hander Victor Castaneda from the Brewers as the player to be named later from the November trade that sent fellow righty Javy Guerra to the Brewers, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Castaneda, 24, was an international amateur signed by the Brewers out of Mexico in 2017. He’s worked his way up the minor league ladder since then, serving primarily as a starter. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, tossing 120 2/3 innings with a 4.10 ERA. He struck out 22.5% of batters faced in that time while walking 9.9%. Based on his strong work in the minors, Castaneda was considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Brewers’ system in the past two years by both Baseball America and FanGraphs.

If the Rays continue to deploy Castaneda as a starter, he’ll provide some depth to a rotation that’s dealing with a few injuries. Shane Baz underwent Tommy John surgery late last year and might miss the entire season, while Tyler Glasnow has a strained oblique that will force him to miss the start of the campaign. The rotation is still in good shape overall with Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Zach Eflin and Jeffrey Springs taking four spots. They also have Luis Patiño, Yonny Chirinos, Josh Fleming and Taj Bradley on the 40-man roster as options to fill in. Castaneda isn’t currently on the 40-man and would need to earn a spot in order to make an impact.

Rays Select Trevor Kelley, Place Andrew Kittredge On 60-Day IL

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The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Kelley, who signed a minor league deal over the winter and has been in camp as a non-roster invitee. A spot on the 40-man roster has been opened by placing fellow right-hander Andrew Kittredge on the 60-day injured list.

Tampa Bay originally made this move earlier in camp, but the league stepped in and voided the deal, as non-roster invitees are technically not eligible to be selected to the 40-man roster until March 15. Now that the transaction is permissible under that technicality, it can be processed as originally planned.

The 30-year-old Kelley has seen big league time in parts of three seasons with the Red Sox, Phillies and Brewers dating back to 2019. Most of that time in the big leagues has been a struggle, including the 2022 season, when he logged a career-high 23 2/3 innings for the Brewers but also served up a 6.08 ERA. Kelley posted a below-average 21.5% strikeout rate and a solid 8.4% walk rate with Milwaukee, but home runs were an issue last year. That’s been a recurring theme for Kelley, who has averaged a whopping 2.8 long balls per nine innings pitched (11 homers in 35 1/3 big league frames).

While Kelley’s big league numbers aren’t much to look at, that’s a relatively small sample and he’s thrived at the Triple-A level. In 164 1/3 innings there, he sports a 1.81 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. He has a minor league option remaining as well, so the Rays don’t need to expose him to waivers if they wish to send him down at any point. That’ll give their bullpen some flexibility this season, and Kelley’s sidearm delivery can give opponents an additional look out of the bullpen.

Kelley surely felt some pressure after the original transaction was voided, as a spring injury or poor performance over the first few weeks of camp might have changed the team’s thinking. He’s given the Rays no reason to doubt their faith in him, however, pitching 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball with just three hits and two walks against six punchouts thus far.

Because he has a minor league option left, Kelley isn’t a lock to break camp in the big league bullpen, but even if he heads to Triple-A Durham to begin the season, his presence on the 40-man roster will make him one of the team’s top options should they need to dip into the minors. If he does establish himself in their bullpen, he’ll be a long-term option. Kelley is four days shy of a full year of MLB service time, meaning he’s still controllable for a full six seasons.

As for Kittredge, he was one of the Rays’ top relievers, pitching to a 2.17 ERA in 99 2/3 innings dating back to 2020. However, the 32-year-old was limited to just 20 innings this past season, as a June IL placement due to discomfort in his right elbow ultimately proved a precursor to Tommy John surgery. It’s possible he’ll make it back to the big leagues at some point in the season’s second half, but there’s no way Kittredge was going to be ready within the season’s first couple months, so moving him to the 60-day IL amounts to little more than a formality. If the Rays need another 40-man roster spot, they can do the same with right-hander Shane Baz, who’s also on the mend from Tommy John surgery.

Diamond Sports Planning To File For Bankruptcy; MLB Planning To Stream Games For Free Temporarily

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Diamond Sports Group, the corporation that owns 14 Bally Sports regional sports networks, is expected to file for bankruptcy March 17, according to a report from Josh Kosman of The New York Post. The timeline will be awkward for Major League Baseball since the 2023 season opens on March 30, but the league plans to step in and broadcast the games themselves.

It had been reported for some time that Diamond is in financial trouble and they forewent interest payments worth roughly $140MM to creditors last month. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said at that time that the league was monitoring the situation, hoping that Diamond would make its payments but also drawing up contingency plans. It was subsequently reported that the league had hired multiple former RSN executives for a newly-created Local Media department, seemingly to get in position to take over broadcasting duties where necessary.

The problem stems from continued cord-cutting as fewer customers are paying for cable bundles these days, opting instead to use streaming services. That leads to decreased revenue from ad sales and cable contracts, creating situations where RSNs are paying teams more for rights fees than they are able to make back from those revenue streams. Per Kosman’s report, there are at least four teams where Diamond plans to reject the contracts via the bankruptcy proceedings. The teams in question are the Reds, Diamondbacks, Guardians and Padres, with the San Diego deal currently $20MM in the red on an annual basis.

The report goes on to state that MLB’s plan is to take over the local TV broadcasts of those teams, as well as streaming them for free in those local markets as they negotiate lower deals with cable companies. It’s not yet clear if fans in blacked-out markets would be able to access those streams in the short-term. If deals are reached, the league plans to offer over-the-top service for around $15 per month. As Kosman notes, that’s lower than some other streaming deals, with the Red Sox charging $29.99 per month. The league also already tried to acquire the rights to all 14 teams currently controlled by Diamond but were turned down. Those clubs are the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins.

A similar situation has arisen with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns AT&T SportsNet and is a minority owner of Root Sports. It was reported last month that Warner was planning to get out of the RSN business, which would have implications for the Rockies, Astros and Pirates, though not the Mariners. Warner only owns 40% of Root Sports Seattle with the Mariners owning the other 60%. Kosman’s report indicates the league plans to take over those broadcasts eventually as well, though not by Opening Day.

This is a fluid situation and many of the details are still being worked out, but it’s possible there is a sea change approaching in how Major League Baseball delivers its broadcasts to its fans. Most out-of-market games are available to paying subscribers via MLB TV, though these RSN deals have always taken precedent, leading to blackouts that prevent fans from watching their local club on the platform. Many fans have been critical of the way these blackouts are applied, with some subscribers saying that their home is covered by various overlapping blackout areas. The people of Iowa, for instance, have often complained that they can’t watch games featuring the Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Twins, Royals or Brewers. That’s an extreme example but highlights the sorts of issues with the current system. Manfred has expressed a desire to move to a new system that would allow customers to purchase broadcasts regardless of where they are, though it’s unclear how long it would take to get such a model in place.

Whenever that new system is in place, it will also have implications for the finances for teams. These RSN deals have long been a significant source of club revenue that seems to now be drying up. Streaming will present new revenues sources, of course, and already has. The league has previously agreed to lucrative deals with streaming platforms like Apple and NBC and may strike other deals in the future.

For now, it seems the immediate concern is making sure that the broadcasts for the 2023 season are maintained. Kosman reports that the league plans to retain current local announcers for any broadcasts that it takes over and it doesn’t seem as though there are any current concerns of games being missed. Assuming the league is successful in all of these plans, it’s possible that fans won’t notice much difference in their baseball consumption here this year, but the field may be wide open for changes down the line.

View The Transcript Of Today’s Chat With Rays Reliever Ryan Thompson

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A fan of Byung-Hyun Kim growing up, righty and Oregon native Ryan Thompson realized he was more comfortable throwing sidearm, leading to success at Cascade High School but not much interest from colleges or MLB teams.  Several years later, he was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2014 draft by the Astros after starring at North Carolina’s Campbell University.

By the summer of 2017, Thompson was a 27-year-old sidearm reliever struggling with a brief taste of the Triple-A level.  It turned out Thompson needed Tommy John surgery that year.

Thompson later commented in an interview with Brett Friedlander of the North State Journal, “I found out I had a lot of complacencies I was neglecting. When your mind is so focused on baseball and competing and getting guys out, you don’t really have that time to think about who you are and where you’re going in your relationships, your diet and all these other things. So I had a full year to not think about baseball. I became a better human being. I lost 30 pounds and when I came back, that was the year that made my career. If I didn’t have that surgery, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”

Thompson missed the entire 2018 season recovering from the procedure, but then the Rays swooped in to nab him in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft.  He got back on the mound in May of 2019, pitching at the Double-A level.

In 2020, the Rays brought Thompson to spring training and the subsequent July summer camp.  He made the team’s Opening Day roster, debuting with two scoreless innings against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays.  In a later interview with his alma mater’s magazine, Thompson said, “I always thought when I got the call to the big leagues, I’d break down into tears. But when I got the call, it was just relief. I’d given up the past 10 years of my life for this. I was living in my mom’s basement at 28 for this. And now I made it, and I wasn’t going to lose it.”

A few weeks later Thompson served as an opener against the Yankees, also putting up two scoreless frames.  The 28-year-old rookie wound up getting into nine postseason games for the Rays in 2020.  Thompson again served as the opener against the Yankees in ALDS Game 4, and even tossed three scoreless innings in the World Series against the Dodgers.

Thompson was racking up holds in the 2021 season until hitting the IL in June with shoulder inflammation.  By September, Thompson required thoracic outlet surgery.  He recovered successfully from that procedure, pitching well in 2022 until he was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right elbow in September.  Thus far he’s made one spring training appearance in 2023.

In his young big league career, Thompson has made 108 regular season appearances, with another nine in the ’20 postseason.  He’s punched out sluggers such as Mike Trout and Pete Alonso.  So far, Thompson sports a 3.50 ERA, a 52.5% groundball rate, a 6.5 BB%, four saves, and 25 holds.  His scoreless work in the 2020 World Series includes a strikeout of Mookie Betts.

In February, Ryan caught our eye with an interesting Twitter thread about his experience going to an arbitration hearing against the Rays, which he lost.  Thompson broke down the comparables, stats used, and arguments made by each side in a way I haven’t seen before, and it’s well worth a read.  You can follow Ryan on Twitter @R_Thompson15.

Ryan kindly agreed to chat today with MLBTR readers after the conclusion of today’s spring training game against the Tigers.  Click here to view the transcript!

Latest On Tyler Glasnow

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  • Rays manager Kevin Cash provided reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times) an update on Tyler Glasnow, saying that the right-hander is still in the “treatment” phase of his recovery from a Grade 2 oblique strain.  Glasnow hasn’t thrown a ball in almost two weeks, which tracks with the 6-to-8 week timeline initially attached to his recovery process.

Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays are known for their roster turnover and this offseason was no exception as they made many trades. However, most of the moves were around the edges of their roster, meaning they will go into 2023 with a fairly similar squad to the one that just won 86 games and made the playoffs for a fourth straight year. It’s possible they could have better results this season simply by having better health outcomes, though they also made one significant free agent splash to upgrade the squad.

Major League Signings

2022 spending: $11MM
Total spending: $40MM

Option Decisions

Trades And Claims

Extensions

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The injury bug hit the Rays pretty hard in 2022, as only four pitchers on the staff topped 80 innings pitched and only four position players got into more than 115 games. Tyler Glasnow, Shane Baz, Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe and others missed significant time. But the club leaned on its trademark depth and still managed to squeeze into the postseason for a fourth straight year.

As the offseason began, the first item on the agenda was a roster crunch, a common issue for a club that stockpiles depth and runs tight budgets. They had to make some tough decisions due to a 19-player arbitration class and a number of players who needed to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. Those tough decisions led to the departure of a few long-tenured Rays.

Defensive specialist Kevin Kiermaier had his option turned down after a 2022 season ended by hip surgery. Ryan Yarbrough was non-tendered after another season of passable but fairly uninspiring results. Nick Anderson was placed on waivers after two straight seasons mostly lost to injury, later clearing and signing with Atlanta. Ji-Man Choi could have been retained for one more season via arbitration but was instead flipped to the Pirates. J.P. Feyereisen still had four years of club control but was traded to the Dodgers as he is expected to miss most of the upcoming season due to shoulder surgery. Along with a few other swaps, the Rays ended up making eight trades in a span of about a month, from mid-November to mid-December. Those moves helped clear out some salary and some roster space, along with the free agent departures of Corey Kluber, Mike Zunino and David Peralta.

It feels strange to look at all of that roster churn and characterize it as stability, but the club didn’t really subtract a core performer, at least from last year’s club. Some other offseasons have seen the Rays part with notable players like Tommy Pham, Austin Meadows or Blake Snell, but this year’s departures weren’t quite as prominent. Players like Kiermaier, Zunino, Feyereisen and Anderson missed significant time last year and weren’t really factors very often, if at all. Kiermaier has been a key cog on the team for the past decade, though he’s often been limited by injuries, including being held to just 63 contests last year. It’s a similar story for Zunino, who has been the club’s primary catcher for the past four years but only got into 36 games last season.

Arguably, the club’s biggest loss from last year is Kluber, as he made 31 starts with a 4.34 ERA. That’s not exactly within range of his previous Cy Young form, but that still had value to a club that dealt with so many injury absences.

It’s possible that the club recognized this, as their most significant offseason splash was to replace Kluber in the rotation. Zach Eflin was signed to a three-year, $40MM deal. When compared to some of the other free agent deals signed around the league, it might not seem that significant. However, that was the only major league deal that the Rays gave out this winter, and the $40MM guarantee is the largest they’ve given to a free agent in the history of the franchise.

Eflin, 29 in April, has spent his entire big league career thus far with the Phillies, serving as a solid mid-rotation option. Over the past five years, he’s tossed 531 2/3 innings with a 4.16 ERA. It’s possible that he could find another gear, as he’s kept his FIP, SIERA and xERA under 4.00 in each of the past three seasons. The Rays have shown a penchant for helping players maximize their potential and maybe they’ve found a solid candidate here, showing their faith with that huge commitment, relative to their standards.

But it’s not without risks as Eflin has continually battled knee issues and only once topped 130 innings in a major league season, which was back in 2019. In 2017, a then 22-year-old Eflin admitted to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that he’d already been dealing with knee pain for 10-12 years. He felt good after surgery at that time but had to go under the knife again in 2021 and also missed a couple months with knee issues last year. That doesn’t exactly paint a picture of Eflin being a solid bet for the largest free agent investment the club’s ever made, but there were fairly similar concerns around Kluber a year ago. Perhaps the Rays have a plan in mind for how to keep Eflin healthy and effective all year long.

The club was also connected in rumors to other players this offseason, including big names like Jacob deGrom, Brandon Nimmo and Sean Murphy. Ultimately, none of those came to fruition, leaving the main storylines in Tampa as the Eflin signing and the batch of trades. Most of the players that came back in those deals are still young and a ways off from contributing. That means the 2023 club will be fairly reliant on better health from the incumbent players, in addition to the club’s annual tradition of funneling minor leaguers onto the major league roster.

Eflin will jump into a rotation that will be without Baz for much or perhaps all of the season, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in September of last year. Glasnow, who missed almost all of 2022 from his own Tommy John recovery, was hoping for a fully healthy season here in 2023. He’s currently dealing with an oblique strain that will keep him out for the next six to eight weeks, but he should be able to take a spot once he gets past that. With Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs still in the mix, the rotation seems to be in decent shape. While Glasnow is out, they might have to do some of their bullpen games or opener days, but they also have depth options in Luis Patiño, Yonny Chirinos and Josh Fleming. Prospect Taj Bradley could launch himself into the mix at some point as well, having reached Triple-A last year.

On the position player side, much of the same crew from last year will be back, despite the aforementioned roster shuffling. With Choi gone, first base could perhaps be manned by Yandy Díaz, freeing up the hot corner for Isaac Paredes, though Díaz could still see some time at third going forward. First base could also be manned by Harold Ramírez at times, with he and Diaz perhaps taking turns as the designated hitter. In the middle infield, the club will be hoping for better health from both Franco and Lowe, who were limited by injuries to 83 and 65 games last year, respectively.

In the outfield, the post-Kiermaier era will start with Jose Siri taking over in center. He didn’t hit much last year but was great in the field and on the base paths. He’s got a solid floor and could be a great contributor if he can cut down on the strikeouts. That’s a big “if” though, since he’s gone down on strikes in 33.4% of his plate appearances thus far, with fairly similar rates in Triple-A and Double-A. Since he turns 28 in July, it remains to be seen how much more rope the Rays will give him to correct that issue.

Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot are still around and should be flanking Siri out on the turf. Both the infield and the outfield will be bolstered by depth options who could force their way into more playing time as the season goes along. Taylor Walls, Jonathan Aranda, Luke Raley, Curtis Mead, Vidal Bruján and Josh Lowe are all on the 40-man roster and can all play multiple positions. Depending on health and performance, they all could get slotted in somewhere at some point. Mead seems to be particularly highly valued by the club, as they have reportedly been discussing an extension despite the fact that he’s yet to make his major league debut. Brujan used to be in that position, as he was once considered one of the top prospects in the league but has slashed a dismal .150/.207/.231 in his first 188 MLB plate appearances.

The club had at least some desire to upgrade behind the plate since they were interested in Murphy, but they didn’t ultimately make a move. This is one area of the roster where the club feels a bit vulnerable, with Christian Bethancourt, Francisco Mejía and René Pinto the three backstops on the roster. Bethancourt had a solid season in 2022, but that was his first major league action since 2017, as he had been in the minors and the KBO in the interim. Mejia was solid in 2021 but disappointed last year, both at the plate and behind it. Pinto has just 25 games in the majors but struck out in 42.2% of his plate appearances in that time.

In the bullpen, despite losing Feyereisen, Raley and others, they still have an enviable collection of intriguing arms. It includes Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Garrett Cleavinger and more. Given the club’s ability to produce quality relievers seemingly at will, a few surprising names could jump into this mix later in the summer.

Turning to the long-term picture, the Rays added some cost certainty by agreeing to extensions with three players. Springs, Fairbanks and Diaz all put pen to paper this winter, locking in some future earnings. In exchange for that financial security, each of them pushed back their respective trips to free agency. Including the club options that the Rays now have on all three players, Fairbanks relinquished one free agent season, Diaz two, and Springs three. Those extensions theoretically give the club a bit more continuity in the years to come, but that might not necessarily be the case. An extension doesn’t mean a trade is off the table. Snell was extended going into 2019 but was traded to the Padres less than two years later.

Another piece of the long-term picture that needs to come into focus is the stadium. Both the club and the league have been open about the fact that an upgrade is needed over Tropicana Field. The team’s lease on the Trop goes through 2027, which puts some pressure to get solutions in place. The latest updates are that the mayor of St. Petersburg has given his support to the proposed redevelopment plan. The next step is that city council needs to approve a term sheet, which is currently being negotiated. Once it’s determined what funding commitments will come from the city, Pinellas County and the Rays, it’s possible the term sheet could be agreed upon by this summer. Making progress on this front will have implications not just for the Rays but for the league as well, as commissioner Rob Manfred has repeatedly stated that expanding beyond the current 30 major league teams won’t happen until both the Rays and A’s find solutions for their respective stadium situations.

How would you grade the Rays’ offseason? (Link to poll)

In conjunction with the Rays offseason review, we hosted a Rays-focused chat on March 9. You can click here to read the transcript.

AL East Notes: Armstrong, Jones, Turner

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Rays righty Shawn Armstrong won’t be ready for the start of the season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Armstrong, who’s dealing with a neck injury, is “highly unlikely to be ready” for Opening Day, manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin. The team is still working to ascertain a more specific diagnosis.

Armstrong, 32, bounced between four teams from 2019-22 but twice found his way to the Rays and, in 2022, finally had the breakout showing of which several clubs clearly believed him to be capable. In 55 innings with Tampa Bay, he posted a solid 3.60 ERA with even more encouraging strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 26%, 6% and 49.7% — all of which are better than the league average. Armstrong’s heater sat at a career-best 95.6 mph with Tampa Bay in 2022, and his 12.3% swinging-strike rate, and 38% opponents’ chase rate both suggest he could have more strikeouts in the tank.

Armstrong was a lock to make the club, both based on last year’s performance and his lack of minor league options, so he’ll be placed on the Major League injured list at some point. Candidates to replace him in the big league bullpen to begin the season include righties Calvin Faucher and Rule 5 selection Kevin Kelly, both of whom are on the 40-man roster. Kelly would have to hold his spot on the MLB roster or be offered back to the Guardians upon clearing waivers. The Rays are expected to select the contract of non-roster righty Trevor Kelley later this month, and other non-roster veterans who’ll be vying for the open spot include Heath Hembree, Kyle Crick and Ryan Burr — among many others.

Some other notes from the division…

  • The Rays are going to begin taking a look at shortstop prospect Greg Jones out in the outfield, tweets Topkin. The 2019 first-rounder has played exclusively at short in his minor league career to date, but the Rays place an emphasis on defensive versatility in all their players and the team has Wander Franco entrenched at shortstop. Jones, who was selected to the 40-man roster over the winter, ranked as the No. 91 prospect in baseball prior to the 2022 season, per MLB.com, but his stock dipped a bit with last year’s .238/.318/.392 showing in 358 Double-A plate appearances. Jones appeared in 79 games, but that was actually a career-high, as he’s been plagued by both shoulder and leg injuries in his young career. FanGraphs credits Jones with 80-grade speed, and Baseball America lauds his athleticism, writing that some scouts believe he can be a plus defender in center field. Adding some outfield work to his skill set will only create further opportunities for the 25-year-old switch-hitter to work his way onto the big league roster.
  • The Red Sox got a scare earlier this week when infielder Justin Turner was hit in the face with a pitch. Though the scene was quite scary to look at, with a trainer holding a towel to Turner’s bloody face, it appears for now as though Turner has avoided any kind of nightmare scenario. Turner’s wife later reported that the slugger required 16 stitches but didn’t fracture anything. Manager Alex Cora provided an update today, relayed by Mike Monaco of NESN, saying that Turner will probably get those stitches removed in two weeks. With just over three weeks until Opening Day, there could be some time there for Turner to make it back on the field, but Cora says it’s too early to think about that. It’s possible Turner might still miss a bit of time, but given how gruesome the scene was to watch, a small absence would likely be considered a good outcome.

Rays Have Discussed Extension With Top Prospect Curtis Mead

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The Rays and top infield prospect Curtis Mead have had some discussions regarding a possible contract extension this spring, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). There’s no indication a deal is likely or imminent, though the talks add an interesting storyline to Tampa Bay camp.

Mead, 22, has still yet to make his major league debut. Initially signed by the Phillies as an international amateur from Australia, he was dealt to Tampa Bay over the 2019-20 offseason for left-hander Cristopher Sánchez. Mead hadn’t even reached full-season ball at the time, but he’s appeared a strong find for the Rays’ scouting department. The 2020 minor league season was scrapped due to the pandemic, but Mead has mashed since returning to game action in 2021.

The right-handed hitter combined for a .321/.378/.533 line across a trio of minor league levels that season, topping out at Double-A. He split the ’22 campaign between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, putting together a .298/.390/.532 mark with 27 doubles and 13 home runs in only 76 games. The bulk of that work came in Double-A, with Mead only playing in 20 games at the top minor league level. That’s in large part due to an elbow injury that cost him almost all of the season’s second half, perhaps dashing his chances of reaching MLB last year.

Tampa Bay made the obvious decision to add Mead to their 40-man roster this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He can still be optioned to the minors for three consecutive seasons and looks likely to start the 2023 campaign back in Durham. If Mead continues to hit at the level he has the past two years, however, he’d get a big league look before long.

Mead heads into this season ranked between 20th and 40th on top prospect lists from Baseball America, ESPN, The Athletic and FanGraphs. Evaluators are effusive in their praise for his bat, though there are a number of questions about his long-term defensive fit. He’s played primarily second and third base in the minors; however, there seems to be a fair amount of risk he’ll eventually have to move to left field or potentially work primarily as a designated hitter.

Regardless of Mead’s defensive outcome, the Rays are clearly enamored enough with his bat they’re open to tacking on their window of club control. Tampa Bay already controls him for at least six seasons. Sending him back to the minors early in 2023 — a reasonable enough decision considering Mead’s lack of Triple-A experience and an infield mix that already includes the likes of Jonathan Aranda, Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, Isaac Paredes, Yandy Díaz and Vidal Bruján — would likely delay his path to free agency by an additional season. Mead does have the prospect status to potentially “earn” a full year of service time even if he’s not in the majors for 172 days as part of the prospect promotion package in the collective bargaining agreement, but he’d need a top two finish in Rookie of the Year balloting to do so.

There have been a handful of extensions for players who hadn’t yet made their big league debuts. Jon Singleton, Scott Kingery, Evan White, Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert have all signed such deals since 2014. Singleton was guaranteed $10MM, while White and Kingery each locked in $24MM. Jiménez secured $43MM. Robert holds the record for such deals with a $50MM guarantee.

Robert and Jiménez were generally viewed as higher-caliber talents at the time of their deals than Mead is now. Jiménez had ranked as Baseball America’s #3 prospect at the time of his contract; Robert was ranked the sport’s #2 minor league talent when he put pen to paper. Kingery (BA’s #31 prospect in 2018) and White (#54 in 2020) fit more into the bucket in which Mead now finds himself: excellent prospects but a bit behind the game’s truly elite minor league talents.

Neither Kingery nor White has met their clubs’ expectations thus far. Both teams would surely like a do-over on those contracts, though even the misses have had a fairly modest effect on the teams’ books. White is making $3MM this season and will secure $7MM and $8MM, respectively, over the next two years. Kingery is due $9MM this year, including a buyout on a 2024 club option.

The Rays don’t spend anywhere close to Philadelphia’s level and are even a ways back of Seattle, so a deal for Mead would be a little more risky than the White or Kingery ones were. Still, the potential payoff of locking up a high-end talent at below-market rates is enough for teams to have interest in this kind of arrangement. Tampa Bay hasn’t reached any extensions with players before their MLB debuts, but they’d made out exceptionally well on early-career pacts for Evan Longoria and Brandon Lowe before either had reached 50 big league contests.

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