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Ben Rortvedt Ben Rortvedt Avoids arbitration
Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 1:43 PM
The Rays and Rortvedt avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.125 million contract Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: He was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. Rortvedt led Rays catchers with 328 plate appearances in 2024 but is slated to take a back seat to Danny Jansen in 2025. |
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Shane Baz Shane Baz Reaches deal with Tampa Bay
Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 12:19 PM
Baz and the Rays avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.45 million deal, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Analysis: Baz was limited to 14 starts with Tampa Bay in 2024 after spending the early part of the season completing his recovery from September 2022 Tommy John surgery as well as an oblique injury that cropped up during spring training. Once he joined the big-league rotation in early July, Baz struggled to regain his pre-surgery velocity but achieved strong results nonetheless, posting a 3.06 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 79.1 innings. Though Baz needed a .229 BABIP and a 9.6 HR/FB% to achieve the shiny ERA, now that he's further removed from elbow surgery, there's reason to hope that the 25-year-old can improve upon his 21.6 K% to help stave off the ERA correction that might otherwise be headed his way in 2025. |
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Zack Littell Zack Littell Settles with Tampa Bay
Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 11:53 AM
Littell and the Rays avoided arbitration Thursday, agreeing to a one-year, $5.72 million contract, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Analysis: Littell will receive a raise of just under $4 million in his second year of arbitration, coming off a solid showing in his first season as a full-time starter in the big leagues. He tossed 156.1 innings across his 29 outings with Tampa Bay in 2024, pitching to a 3.63 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 141:31 K:BB. Littell's lack of premium stuff will likely limit his strikeout upside once again in 2025, but his ability to keep walks in check while using of a variety of off-speed offerings to keep hitters off balance may allow him to find continued success as a back-end arm in the Tampa Bay rotation. |
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Garrett Cleavinger Garrett Cleavinger Avoids arbitration
Thu, Jan 9, 2025, 10:36 AM
The Rays and Cleavinger avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2 million contract Thursday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Analysis: Cleavinger gets a well-earned raise after putting up a 3.75 ERA and 71:31 K:BB over 60 innings during 2024 in his first year back from knee surgery. The left-handed reliever will be in line for high-leverage work again with the Rays in 2025. |
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Joey Krehbiel Joey Krehbiel Receives NRI from Tampa Bay
Wed, Jan 8, 2025, 1:54 PM
The Rays signed Krehbiel to a minor-league contract Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Krehbiel, 32, spent all of the 2024 season at Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners organization, holding a 3.26 ERA and 55:25 K:BB over 58 innings. The right-handed reliever has put up a 3.65 ERA and 18.4 percent strikeout rate across parts of four major-league seasons. |
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Drew Rasmussen Drew Rasmussen Agrees to contract extension
Tue, Jan 7, 2025, 1:42 PM
The Rays and Rasmussen avoided arbitration Tuesday by agreeing to a two-year, $8 million contract extension, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: The deal also includes an $8 million club option for 2027, which could escalate to as high as $20 million if Rasmussen reaches all of his health and innings pitched incentives. There's a $500,000 buyout attached to the option, so the right-hander is guaranteed a total of $8.5 million with the extension. Rasmussen looked sharp in 2024 in his return from an internal brace procedure, holding a 2.83 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 35:6 K:BB over 28.2 innings. He is expected to return to the rotation full time in 2025, though he will have significant workload restrictions in place after totaling just 80.2 frames since the start of the 2023 season. |
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Coco Montes Coco Montes Minor-league deal with Tampa Bay
Mon, Dec 23, 2024, 1:39 PM
The Rays signed Montes to a minor-league contract Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Montes split the 2024 season between Triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies organization and with Japan's Yomiuri Giants. Capable of playing shortstop, second base and third base, the 28-year-old Montes got a cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2023, posting a .560 OPS in 18 contests. |
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Eloy Jimenez Eloy Jimenez Signs minors deal with Tampa Bay
Mon, Dec 23, 2024, 11:12 AM
The Rays signed Jimenez to a minor-league contract Monday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: Per Hector Gomez of Z101Digital.com, Jimenez will earn $2 million if he makes the Opening Day roster, with an additional $2 million bonus waiting if he gets to 500 at-bats. Jimenez, 28, slashed only .238/.289/.336 with six home runs over 98 games between the White Sox and Orioles in 2024. He's reached 100 games played just twice in his career and hasn't hit 20 home runs since his rookie season back in 2019. Jimenez did still have a 49 percent hard-hit rate this past season and represents a no-risk, moderate-upside play for the Rays on a minor-league deal. |
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Joey Gerber Joey Gerber Nets NRI deal with Tampa Bay
Wed, Dec 18, 2024, 3:26 PM
The Rays signed Gerber to a minor-league contract Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Gerber, 27, spent the 2024 season in the minors in the Yankees organization, holding a 2.43 ERA and 40:17 K:BB over 33.1 innings across four levels. The righty reliever made 17 appearances with the Mariners back in 2020 but has battled a multitude of injuries since then. |
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Shane McClanahan Shane McClanahan Expected to throw '150-ish' innings
Mon, Dec 16, 2024, 8:20 AM
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said on Dec. 10 in an interview on MLB Network that he expects McClanahan (elbow) to throw "150-ish" innings in 2025.
Analysis: McClanahan missed the 2024 season following August 2023 Tommy John surgery but has been able to go through a normal throwing program this offseason. The left-hander threw 115 innings in 2023 and had a career-high 173.1 frames in 2022 between the regular season and playoffs. This is McClanahan's second Tommy John surgery, however, and Walker Buehler's 2024 (Buehler was coming back from his second TJS) is an example of the downside involved with McClanahan in 2025. It's not yet clear how the Rays plan to manage McClanahan's workload, but it could involve some early removal from starts and/or extra rest in between outings. |
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Joe Boyle Joe Boyle Dealt to TB in Springs trade
Sat, Dec 14, 2024, 11:37 AM
The Athletics traded Boyle, Jacob Watters, Will Simpson and a compensatory draft pick to the Rays on Saturday in exchange for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: After showing a lot of promise as a prospect in 2023, Boyle wasn't quite able to live up to the hype in '24, accumulating a 6.42 ERA and 1.72 WHIP over 47.2 innings while missing a month of the season with lower-back problems. He'll now attempt to turn things around following a change of scenery, though there's no guarantee the 25-year-old begins his Rays tenure in the big leagues. |
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Wander Franco Wander Franco Trial postponed
Thu, Dec 12, 2024, 12:22 PM
Franco's (personal) trial has been postponed from Dec. 12 to June 2, Juan Recio of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled that several key witnesses were not located in time to proceed on the originally schedule date. Franco -- who is facing charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking -- is on MLB administrative leave. |
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Jake Brentz Jake Brentz Latches on with Tampa Bay
Wed, Dec 11, 2024, 2:15 PM
The Rays signed Brentz to a minor-league contract Dec. 7.
Analysis: Brentz hasn't been the same since coming back from Tommy John surgery, most recently posting an 11.40 ERA while walking 52 over 30 innings between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in the Royals organization. The lefty showed promise in his rookie season back in 2021 and the Rays will try to coax that back out of him. |
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Danny Jansen Danny Jansen Nets one-year deal with Tampa Bay
Fri, Dec 6, 2024, 12:16 PM
The Rays agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million contract with Jansen on Friday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Analysis: Murray notes that Jansen turned down multi-year offers from other teams, preferring to bet on himself on a one-year pact after a down 2024 campaign which saw him put up a .658 OPS over 92 games between the Blue Jays and Red Sox. Injuries have been a problem for Jansen, whose career high in games (107) and plate appearances (384) was established back in 2019. However, he's been an above-average offensive catcher for most of his career, particularly from 2021-23 when he put up an .805 OPS. |
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Colin Poche Colin Poche No contract from Rays
Fri, Nov 22, 2024, 7:10 PM
Poche was non-tendered by the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Poche has been a key high-leverage reliever for the Rays the last several seasons, picking up a combined 65 holds since 2022. He's also posted a WHIP no worse than 1.16 in that span, meaning he should be in relatively high demand on the open market. |
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Eric Orze Eric Orze Dealt to Tampa Bay
Tue, Nov 19, 2024, 3:25 PM
The Rays acquired Orze from the Mets on Tuesday in exchange for Jose Siri, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Analysis: Orze, 27, yielded four runs over 1.2 frames during his first go-round in the majors in 2024 but posted a 2.92 ERA and 84:31 K:BB across 61.2 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. The Rays often work wonders with their relievers, so if they see something in Orze then he's probably worth keeping an eye on. |
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Richard Lovelady Richard Lovelady Removed from 40-man roster
Tue, Nov 19, 2024, 1:58 PM
The Rays designated Lovelady for assignment Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Lovelady is a roster casualty as the Rays look to clear space on Rule 5 Draft protection day. The lefty reliever holds a career 4.98 ERA and 90:36 K:BB over 99.1 innings covering parts of five big-league seasons. |
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Cole Sulser Cole Sulser Avoids arbitration
Mon, Nov 18, 2024, 4:50 PM
The Rays and Sulser avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract Monday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Analysis: Sulser had been eligible for arbitration for a second time. The 34-year-old reliever holds a career 3.74 ERA and 158:71 K:BB over 149 innings covering parts of six big-league seasons. |
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Austin Shenton Austin Shenton Designated for assignment
Mon, Nov 18, 2024, 4:46 PM
The Rays designated Shenton for assignment Monday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Analysis: The club has decided it had a better use for a 40-man roster spot ahead of the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline. Shenton will turn 27 in January and has just 50 major-league plate appearances under his belt, but he's slashed .276/.391/.541 with 34 homers in 144 games at the Triple-A level, so there could be interest in the infielder via waivers. |
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Wander Franco Wander Franco Facing firearm charge
Tue, Nov 12, 2024, 2:57 PM
Franco (personal) is facing charges of illegal use and possession of a firearm related to his arrest in an altercation in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, Juan Recio of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: Franco is expected to be granted provisional release Tuesday, although terms of his bail have not yet been defined. The 23-year-old is on MLB administrative leave and is due to stand trial on Dec. 12 in the Dominican Republic involving charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking. A concurrent investigation of Franco is being performed by MLB under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. |
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