The Rays swung a distinguished commerce with the Athletics Saturday, bringing in three gamers and a Aggressive Stability Spherical draft choose in trade for left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. Tampa president of baseball operations Erik Neander informed MLB.com’s Adam Berry that the choice to maneuver Springs was “actually, actually troublesome,” and that the commerce was “a state of affairs 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’ve got rotation spots and type of navigating the alternative ways to resolve that whereas additionally figuring out you’ll be able to by no means have sufficient,” Neander mentioned.
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 key and minors, and Neander urged 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 mentioned. “I believe there’s indicators of progress on the strike-throwing, and he doesn’t have to be a sharpshooter to be actually efficient…The upside, I believe, is one thing that warrants nice persistence in relation to his growth.”
Buying and selling from the rotation depth was one of many prime checkpoints on Tampa’s offseason to-do listing, and it stays to be seen what else Neander has in retailer to improve the roster forward of what is going to be an unconventional season at George M. Steinbrenner Area slightly than Tropicana Area.
By way of lineup assist, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Instances feels the Rays will principally look inside their group, however they might add outfield depth and the crew is “at the very least open to a extra offensive-oriented shortstop.”
Since Wander Franco’s time with the Rays is sort of certainly over, Taylor Partitions is penciled in because the beginning shortstop, and Partitions remains to be on the lookout for a breakout on the plate. Over components 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 at the very least 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 provide or free agent alternative must move “a excessive bar” to encourage Tampa Bay to cut back Partitions’ taking part in time. Any type of acquisition at shortstop would even be a short-term add anyway, since prime prospect Carson Williams could possibly be in line to make his MLB debut in some unspecified time in the future 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 experiences 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 experiences that “the Rays pitched a short-term deal…supposedly with opt-outs after every season.”
It’s most likely protected to imagine that this provide didn’t achieve a lot traction inside Soto’s camp, however there was no hurt in floating a novel provide Soto’s method to see if there was any curiosity. It was simply final season that a number of different Scott Boras shoppers 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 likelihood that Soto would come up quick in his bid for a record-setting contract.
