The Rays swung a distinguished commerce with the Athletics Saturday, bringing in three gamers and a Aggressive Stability Spherical draft choose in change for left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. Tampa president of baseball operations Erik Neander advised MLB.com’s Adam Berry that the choice to maneuver Springs was “actually, actually tough,” and that the commerce was “a scenario the place the A’s actually stepped ahead and actually needed Jeffrey.”
On paper, it was extensively assumed that the Rays could be dealing from their rotation depth this winter, with Springs and Zack Littell seen because the likeliest commerce candidates since they have been the 2 highest-paid of the rotation candidates. The excess remains to be technically in place since they’ve six starters (Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen and Littell) on the roster, plus now Joe Boyle acquired within the Springs commerce. Berry writes that that regardless of all these out there arms, the Rays aren’t anticipated to commerce any extra beginning pitching.
“Proper now, we’re taking a look at extra starters than we now have rotation spots and form of navigating the other ways to resolve that whereas additionally understanding you possibly can by no means have sufficient,” Neander stated.
Boyle has large league expertise within the type of 63 2/3 innings with the A’s over the past two seasons, however of the seven potential starters, he looks like the clearest candidate to start the season in Triple-A. The hard-throwing Boyle has battled his management in each the main and minors, and Neander instructed that the Rays view him as a little bit of a piece in progress, with loads of potential.
“Joe Boyle is someone that has the physicality and the stuff to suit on the entrance of the rotation,” Neander stated. “I feel there’s indicators of progress on the strike-throwing, and he doesn’t should be a sharpshooter to be actually efficient…The upside, I feel, is one thing that warrants nice persistence in the case of his growth.”
Buying and selling from the rotation depth was one of many high checkpoints on Tampa’s offseason to-do checklist, and it stays to be seen what else Neander has in retailer to improve the roster forward of what’s going to be an unconventional season at George M. Steinbrenner Discipline relatively than Tropicana Discipline.
By way of lineup assist, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Occasions feels the Rays will principally look inside their group, however they might add outfield depth and the group is “a minimum of open to a extra offensive-oriented shortstop.”
Since Wander Franco’s time with the Rays is nearly absolutely over, Taylor Partitions is penciled in because the beginning shortstop, and Partitions remains to be in search of a breakout on the plate. Over elements of 4 MLB seasons, he has hit .188/.288/.293 over 1,243 plate appearances — Partitions’ 71 wRC+ is the fourth-lowest of any participant with a minimum of 1,000 PA since Opening Day 2021.
What Partitions brings to the desk is glovework, although public defensive metrics aren’t unanimous of their approval of his work at shortstop. The Outs Above Common metrics has given him destructive grades in every of the final three seasons and he drew destructive UZR/150 scores in 2022 and 2023 earlier than an enormous +15.3 UZR/150 final season. The Defensive Runs Saved metric, in the meantime, has given Partitions +35 over his 1,983 2/3 profession innings at shortstop.
The Rays appear to lean extra in the direction of the DRS view, as Topkin notes that the membership has a “fervid appreciation” for Partitions’ glovework. As such, a commerce supply or free agent alternative must go “a excessive bar” to encourage Tampa Bay to scale back Partitions’ taking part in time. Any form of acquisition at shortstop would even be a short-term add anyway, since high prospect Carson Williams may very well be in line to make his MLB debut sooner or later later within the 2025 season.
Nonetheless, Neander and his entrance workplace can by no means be dominated out for making a inventive transfer. We noticed proof of this in November when stories indicated that the Rays have been one of many many groups who had been involved with Juan Soto on the opening of the free agent market. The check-in was maybe largely however due diligence, however Topkin stories that “the Rays pitched a short-term deal…supposedly with opt-outs after every season.”
It’s in all probability protected to imagine that this supply didn’t acquire a lot traction inside Soto’s camp, however there was no hurt in floating a novel supply Soto’s option to see if there was any curiosity. It was simply final season that a number of different Scott Boras purchasers signed shorter-term, participant option-heavy contracts after not discovering the long-term offers they have been hoping to land in free company, although there was a lot much less probability that Soto would come up quick in his bid for a record-setting contract.
