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Rays open camp by completing two trades and announcing a pair of acquisitions, as well as a new season ticketing model

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Well, that’s a pretty idyllic sight. (Photo Credit: Rays Radio)

‘Twas the first day of camp and, well…a boat-load of stuff went down. The Tampa Bay Rays formally announced the acquisitions of Rich Hill and Oliver Drake, worked out a pair of trades with Boston and Miami, and announced the new flexible season ticket model.

We discussed the acquisitions of Hill and Collin McHugh last week; McHugh’s deal is still a few days away from being finalized. In a Zoom call with the media, Rays GM Erik Neander said they brought Hill in to provide length (in addition to leadership) and will look at him as a starter … although he’s willing to pitch behind an opener as well.

The left-hander boasts a 3.06 ERA over 13 career postseason appearances (12 starts) and helped lead the 2017 and 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series.

Drake, 34, will earn $775,0000 plus a roster bonus of $325,000 if he hangs onto a spot for fifty days. He returns to Tampa Bay after an injury-plagued 2020 season. The right-handed LOOGY was limited to 11 appearances due to right bicep tendinitis and went 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA and two saves. He was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) with just seven punchouts. The tendinitis clearly impacted Drake, as his fastball velocity dropped more than two miles per hour in his limited amount of time on the mound.

Even so, Drake is 5-4 with a 3.63 ERA across parts of the last two seasons, and he limited lefties to a .156 average (19-for-122) with just two home runs. As Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors) noted, Drake induced ground balls at a 52.3% clip in 2019 and ranked in the 83rd percentile or better in whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, expected ERA, expected batting average against, expected slugging percentage against, and expected wOBA.

Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), “Drake is expected to be healthy near the midpoint of the 2021 season, so Tampa Bay could place him on the 60-day IL if they need to. In addition, Tampa Bay also could move Yonny Chirinos to the 60-day IL as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Within the week at least one spot is expected to be needed when the signing of RHP Collin McHugh is formally announced.”

The Rays and Red Sox also completed a four-player trade in which they received a pair of pitchers, Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs in exchange for minor league catcher Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard, the Rays’ 12th-round pick in 2019.

Mazza, 31, has spent time in the Majors with the Mets and Red Sox over the past two seasons but hasn’t matched his strong Triple-A results. He posted a 5.05 ERA and 4.96 SIERA with a subpar 2:1 K/BB, as well as a less than stellar 35.4% ground ball rate. Still, he carries a 3.72 ERA in 92 Triple-A innings and a 3.24 ERA across 283-2/3 Double-A frames.

Overall, Mazza has a career 3.21 ERA as a farm-hand and is above average at inducing weak contact — he ranked in the 83rd percentile in limiting hard contact last season.

Neander said that Mazza can provide length with his sinker/cutter/slider combination.

It’s crossfire lower slot delivery, a lot of east and west from the right side, and just a different look. But one that we think combined with how we might be able to match him up … Just think we might be able to find a higher gear.

— Erik Neander

While Springs yielded too many home runs last year, he led big leagues with a 39.8% whiff rate on his sinker and ranked second with a 52.8% whiff rate on his changeup.

The Rays believe they can coax more out of both players by tinkering with their pitch mixes and/or altering their approach with the existing arsenals of Mazza and Springs.

They’re talents that to start we have more optimism than their 2021 ERAs would suggest. Players that we think are going to be additive to our group and help us win.

— Erik Neander

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay sent right-hander John Curtiss to Miami in exchange for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards.

The 23-year-old Edwards was a fourth-round draft pick out of North Carolina State in 2019. He only has a half-season of professional experience due to a lack of minor league games, yet he made the best that time slashing .281 BA/.357 OBP/.442 SLG/.799 OPS with 49 RBI, nine home runs, 15 doubles, and a triple in 308 plate appearances.

Neander said they are excited about Edwards’ skill-set and how he fits into the group, as he gives an organization flush with talented players up the middle a solid corner prospect.

Finally, the Rays announced their new, Season Membership model in anticipation of fans returning to the Trop for the 2021 regular season. The Season Membership model will allow fans to choose from six membership levels, each with their own associated discount and seating location. According to the website, “you can redeem your membership credit for as many games as you want to attend, one at a time or all at once, when you are ready. Use the credit on your account to buy any combination of tickets, up to six per game.”

The initial announcement did not include all the details, however, the membership price levels start at $500 and run up to $20,000. They are tied to a seating area and other benefits, such as discounts on parking and access to presales.

Per the press release:

“We look forward to welcoming fans back inside Tropicana Field this year,” said Rays Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service Jeff Tanzer. “A Season Membership provides a great way to join the Rays family while receiving tremendous flexibility and value, along with priority access to tickets and incredible benefits throughout the year.”

The new program has been created in part to ensure socially-distant seating, as traditional fixed season ticket locations will not be available for 2021. Season Memberships offer flexible alternatives and priority access to tickets when fans can return to the stands. Current Season Ticket Holders will receive an email in the coming weeks with instructions on how to select their new Season Membership package for the 2021 season.

The Rays continue to work with Major League Baseball and local public health authorities to determine when and how to safely welcome fans back to Tropicana Field. A health and safety protocol which includes a reduced capacity, socially-distanced seating and mandatory face masks except while actively eating or drinking in your seat, will be announced prior to the start of the season. In the event that games are canceled or postponed due to COVID-19, Season Members with tickets to affected games will receive credit to their account for future ticket purchases or as a refund to the original method of payment.

— Tampa Bay Rays

More information can be found by visiting RaysBaseball.com/SeasonMembership, by calling 888-FAN-RAYS, or by emailing tickets@raysbaseball.com.

Rays set to bolster rotation with additions of Rich Hill and Collin McHugh

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The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly inked deals with Rich Hill (above) and Collin McHugh on Friday.

The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly bolstered the pitching staff on Friday, adding not one but two quality arms in veterans Rich Hill and Collin McHugh. Both hurlers have agreed to one-year contracts worth a combined $4.3-million. The agreements are pending physicals that may not be completed until Spring Training begins next week.

Tampa Bay is set to add two experienced hurlers who seem like perfect fits for what could be another creatively pieced together season.

Hill will turn 41 in March and has logged a 2.93 ERA/3.57 SIERA with a 28.6% strikeout rate and a better-than-average 7.9% walk rate across 503 innings as a member of the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, and Twins — this despite possessing 90 mph fastball. Last season, the southpaw went 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 38-2/3 innings (eight starts) for the Twins, although he averaged fewer than five innings in his time with Minneapolis. A question regarding Hill’s durability lingers as knee, forearm, and shoulder issues have impacted the hurler the last few seasons. Even so, his fastball/curveball combination has made him dominant when he’s taken the mound.

McHugh — a one-time Astro, Rockie, and Met — was largely successful in Houston as a starter and reliever from 2014-19, although elbow issues have impacted him the last few seasons, including the truncated 2020 campaign — McHugh signed with Boston before last season but was not healthy enough to pitch for the club.

McHugh owns a career 58-43 record with a 3.95 ERA and 771 punchouts across 800-2/3 frames (210 appearances). He averaged 181 innings per season as a starter from 2014-16, then 70 per season from 2017-19 when he moved to the bullpen. In 2018, McHugh was exceptional in a full-time relief role, posting a 1.99 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 94 strikeouts over 72-1/3 innings (58 outings).

The right-hander’s repertoire has evolved over time. In 2018, the average spin rate on his slider (2,835 rpm) was comparable to that of former Ray Chaz Roe (2,843), while the average spin rate on his curveball (2,799 rpm) was nearly identical to that of current ace Tyler Glasnow (2,802).

McHugh, a one-time fastball/curveball hurler, threw his slider 43.4% of the time in 2019 — dominating batters on the offering along the way. Meanwhile, his 90.8 mph four-seam fastball limited batters to a .175 BA with a .343 SLG and a 39.6% SwStr% against his slider.

The Rays sought starting pitching this offseason after parting ways with Charlie Morton and Blake Snell. As Adam Berry (MLB.com) wrote, “as teams try to safely manage the increase in pitchers’ workloads from a 60-game schedule to a 162-game season, it seems Tampa Bay is prepared to attack the challenge by loading up on ‘bulk-inning’ options.”

As of now, the Opening Day-ready starting/bulk-inning choices include Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough, Chris Archer, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Collin McHugh, Trevor Richards, Josh Fleming, Shane McClanahan, Luis Patiño, Brendan McKay, Brent Honeywell Jr. and Joe Ryan will give the Kevin Cash and Kyle Snyder the necessary innings needed to navigate through the season without overtaxing any of their arms.

The Rays could piggyback starters, or throw once or more through the order — Perhaps Trevor Richards, Collin McHugh, and/or Josh Fleming, along with several others during any given contest. They could also lean on pitchers with “different looks,” conceivably pairing power right-handers — like Glasnow or Patiño — with lefthanders that focus on a fastball/slider combo, or lefties who coax grounders with righties who rely heavily on curveballs.

As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) writes, the Rays like all teams, will have to be very flexible this season.

Why would Tampa Bay consider going this route of having so many options? For one it’s hard to fathom pitchers going 200 innings or even 180 after throwing 60 the previous year.

Perhaps for 2021, teams are more likely to get 100 to 150 innings out of starters/bulk pitchers to keep them healthy. Let’s say you get an average of 120 innings out of nine pitchers. I listed 15 pitchers above, which creates a lot of cushion for performance and health.

You can have six-man rotations at times, or tandem starters, where one pitcher goes four or five innings, and another goes three or once through the order.

Use nine pitchers at an average of 120 innings, that would cover 1080 innings, leaving fewer than 400 innings for the true relievers to cover, like Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo, Pete Fairbanks, plus John Curtiss, Cody Reed, Ryan Sherriff and Ryan Thompson among others. This way you could avoid relievers going beyond 60 or 65 innings (after going just 20 or so last year) and keep them sharp and healthy too.

— Neil Solondz

While the baseball world has hammered the Rays front office for their confounding offseason moves, Erik Neander and Co. have quietly put together a squad of impactful arms that are projected to drive the team toward another postseason run. Haters, like Fuzzy — or whatever the fuck his name is — are going to hate, however, the Rays are known to make many a blogger eat their own words. And by the looks of it, a nice dish of crow could be on the menu come October.

Noteworthiness

— The Rays submitted their Spring Training roster of 73 players on Friday — a list that did not include the abovementioned Hill and McHugh, who are expected to be added to the roster just prior to the start of camp.

Rays announce Chris Archer deal; Noteworthiness

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The Tampa Bay Rays made the one-year deal with Chris Archer official on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays made the one-year, $6.5-million deal with Chris Archer official via a Zoom press conference with the media. To create room for Archer on the roster, the Rays traded right-hander Aaron Slegers to the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named later or cash considerations. We wrote about the acquisition for the former and now current Ray last Wednesday.

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) summed up the presser on the Rays Radio blog, and what follows are some of the highlights/quotables from the meeting.

On the reunion with the team Archer found the most success:

Seeing the things they’ve done the last two years, really, really excited me. The number one thing I wanted to do was play for a contender, play for a contender in a really strong division, and play somewhere that would give me the best opportunity to be me, and do me.

From a legacy standpoint, I want to be a part of a winning culture. I was part of a .500 culture whenever I was there. So being a part of the winning culture definitely was a big reason for my interest in going back to Tampa (Bay).

— Chris Archer

On the expectations for the right-hander in 2021:

I think there’s a real opportunity here for him to come back, just to pitch, just to compete. Just to be one of the group and not have any expectations for anything above and beyond that. And we’ll take it day by day and we’ll see where this thing goes.

— Erik Neander

Rays GM Erik Neander said the goal is for Archer to start every fifth day, although the door is definitely open for him to be as a bulk guy given his injury-laden last two seasons, as well as his numbers the third time through the order which, historically, have left a lot to be desired:

He’s made that very clear. That’s not anything that we had to pull out of him. It was a matter of him saying, hey look, if you need me to bulk if you want to put someone in front of me. Whatever can help this team win games, that’s what I’m about.

— Erik Neander

On Archer’s impact in the clubhouse:

We have a lot of young talent and young talent’s impressionable. You want to have good examples around them to influence them. We certainly feel like the veterans we brought in (Archer and Michael Wacha) do really help in that regard.

— Erik Neander

On being hungry for a successful season:

I want to be a part of the fun. I want to be a part of the magic. I’m really looking forward to getting in the locker room. I know what the goal is. When I was there in the past, we had different goals. But there’s only one goal, to win those two last games of the season. So, I can’t wait to be a part of that.

— Chris Archer

On shelving his sinker, which did not fare well in Pittsburgh, and including an improved changeup.

There will be zero two-seam fastballs attempted by me.

Mainly just get back to being myself, because I got away from that based off the injuries and not really using my stuff properly. I tried some new things and learned that they didn’t work and getting back to me, what made me great those years that I was in Tampa.

— Chris Archer

Noteworthiness

— The Rays recently signed right-hander Hunter Strickland to a minor league contract which included an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Strickland is a four-team veteran having previously pitched with the Giants, Mariners, Nationals, and Mets across six big league seasons. He played a big role in San Francisco’s bullpen from 2014-17, combining for a 2.64 ERA/3.58 SIERA while posting a 3/1 K/BB across 180-2/3 innings.

He, however, was not nearly as effective the last three seasons. While his fastball velocity had not fallen off, averaging somewhere in the 95-96 mph range, he was blistered in 2019, when he tossed to a 5.55 ERA (a career-worst) with a 17.1% K% (also a career-worst) over 24-1/3 frames between the Mariners and Nationals. He lasted just 3-2/3 innings in 2020 after inking a minor league deal with the Mets

— Baseball Prospectus released the PECOTA projections on Tuesday, and the Rays are forecasted to be the second-best team in the AL East — resulting in another postseason berth. You can read the projections here (paid link), and we’ll dig into the numbers in the next few days.

Rays Roster Moves: a reunion with Chris Archer

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The prodigal son is expected to return to Tampa Bay pending a physical.

Free-agent right-hander Chris Archer is returning to the Tampa Bay Rays according to Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic). The one-year, 6.5-Million deal is pending a physical.

Archer was a highly touted prospect prior to his debut in 2012. Then from 2013 onward, the right-hander was seen as a valuable member of the Rays’ rotation if not the de facto ace. Through the final year of his initial run with Tampa Bay (2018), Archer posted a 3.69 ERA with a 25.8% K% and a 7.7% BB% across 1,063 innings and 177 starts.

Yet, the Rays decided to trade Archer to Pittsburgh when his team control was dwindling prior to the 2018 trade deadline. That proved to be another fantastic trade by Erik Neander and the Rays, who received right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz, as well as outfielder Austin Meadows from the Pirates in exchange for Archer. Glasnow and one-time All-Star Meadows have turned into big-league building blocks for the Rays, while Baz is the seventh-best prospect in the number one farm system in baseball according to FanGraphs.

On the flip side, the trade was a disaster for the Pirates, as they lost three quality players and gained one that was disappointing while donning the black and yellow. Under the tutelage of Ray Searage and Oscar Marin, Archer was encouraged to lean on his sinker which resulted in a .327 BA/.270 xBA/.490 SLG/.440 xSLG/.396 wOBA line which resulted in eight punchouts across 59 plate appearances in 2018, and an even uglier .378 BA/.390 xBA/.778 SLG/ .803 xSLG/.504 wOBA line with just four punchouts a season later. His overall production fell even more in 2019 when, according to Connor Byrne (MLB Trade Rumors), Archer logged career worsts in ERA (5.19), SIERA (4.38), and home run-to-fly ball percentage (20.2) across 119-2/3 innings. Pittsburgh hoped that Archer would bounce back last season, however, he missed the entirety of the shortened 2020 campaign after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in June. The Pirates chose to decline his $11-Million club option for the upcoming season in favor of a $250-Thousand buyout.

Given Archer’s recent performance, yet reduced salary, the deal represents a low risk/high ceiling deal for the Rays. If healthy, the 32-year-old right-hander may be able to add to the Rays’ rotation which lost both Blake Snell and Charlie Morton following the World Series.

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) made a good point on how to view Tampa Bay’s offseason pitching acquisitions — Michael Wacha and now Archer — on the Rays Radio blog.

The layperson will look at the Rays now and say Snell and Morton have been replaced by Archer and Michael Wacha. I don’t think that’s really the case. For one, whether it’s by trade or free agency, I think Tampa Bay will still add pitching between now and the start of Spring Training games on February 27th.

In addition, I don’t think it’s fair to compare, only because I think the pitchers will be used differently. The Rays staff will deploy the team’s pitchers to best maximize the team’s 1450 or so innings and give the club the best chance to win each night.

If Wacha and Archer each provide 140–150 good innings, they will have served an important purpose in 2021, and provided some young pitchers more time to grow. If they do better than that, that’s icing on the cake.

In addition, having both pitchers could allow the team to use other staff members differently. For instance, rather than pitching in a bulk role, Aaron Slegers or others like him can go two or three innings to follow a starter. When you add up those innings, perhaps 150 from a starter, and 90–110 from some two or three-inning pitchers will allow for better results, especially in such a unique year.

And when I look at how the Rays replace Snell and Morton, it will be the combination of Archer, Wacha, whomever they add, plus Luis Patino, Shane McClanahan, Joe Ryan and several others that will determine the team’s ability to produce. Based on how they use pitchers, I think the Rays will find a slightly different way to have a very effective staff.

— Neil Solondz

It would be reasonable to assume that Tampa Bay will wait until the start of Spring Training to make the deal official, as a roster move is necessitated in order to make room for Archer on the 40-man roster, which is currently full.

It would also be reasonable to assume that Archer could fill a bulk guy role — be that pitching behind an opener, or being limited to five-to-six innings or two times through the order (whichever comes first) — given his historical struggles the third time through. We will touch on that very subject in the next week, once we parse the data.

Wander Franco and five other prospects invited to big league camp; players reject league’s 154-game proposal

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Number one prospect in all of baseball, Wander Franco, received an invitation to big league camp along with five other prospects.

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that number one prospect in all of baseball, Wander Franco, has been invited to Major League Spring Training along with five others. This marks the 19-year-old’s first full spring in big league camp. Franco was part of Tampa Bay’s 60-man player pool last season and spent the summer at the team’s alternate site in Port Charlotte. He also earned a spot on their 40-man postseason player pool.

In addition 1B/OF Dalton Kelly, INF Esteban Quiroz, and C/OF Brett Sullivan, RHP Yacksel Rios, and Adrian De Horta have also received invitations.

The switch-hitting Franco was named the Rays’ Minor League Player of the Year two seasons ago, when he slashed .327 BA/.398 OBP/.487 SLG/.885 OPS with 41 extra-base hits (nine home runs, 27 doubles, and seven triples) across 114 games between Class-A Bowling Green and Class-A Advanced Charlotte. It isn’t yet clear at which level he will start the season, although he could be on track to make his highly-anticipated big league debut later this season if he breaks camp in Double-A or Triple-A.

Both Sullivan and Kelly attended big league camp last season as non-roster invitees, and Sullivan also was in the 60-player pool for part of 2020 as was Quiroz. This is the first MLB Spring Training for Quiroz, who was a player to be named in the Tommy Pham trade. Quiroz played mostly second base and posted a .274 BA/.390 OBP/.541 SLG/.931 OPS line in two Minor League seasons after signing with Boston out of Mexico. Following the 2020 season, he played winter ball for Caneros de Los Mochis in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, slashing .299 BA/.466 OBP/.483 SLG/.949 OPS with eight homers and 38 RBI in 58 games.

The 25-year-old De Horta was part of the 60-player pool for the Angels last season. He worked to a 5.33 ERA with 76 punchouts and 33 walks across 52-1/3 frames (18 outings) including eight starts at three levels of the Angels’ system two seasons ago. Rios allowed four runs in as many innings with Pittsburgh last season.

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) provided an updated list of the players invited to big leaguecamp so far by Tampa Bay. Those with an asterisk are non-roster invitees:

Pitchers (30): Nick Anderson, Jalen Beeks, Diego Castillo, Yonny Chirinos, John Curtiss, Adrian De Horta*, Chris Ellis*, Dietrich Enns*, Pete Fairbanks, Josh Fleming, Tyler Glasnow, David Hess*, Brent Honeywell Jr, Andrew Kittredge*, Shane McClanahan, Brendan McKay, Luis Patino, Colin Poche, Cody Reed, Trevor Richards, Yacksel Rios*, Kenny Rosenberg*, Phoenix Sanders*, Ryan Sherriff, Aaron Slegers, Drew Strotman, Ryan Thompson, Michael Wacha, Ryan Yarbrough, Tyler Zombro*

Catchers (6): Ronaldo Hernandez, Francisco Mejia, Joe Odom*, Kevan Smith*, Brett Sullivan*, Mike Zunino

Infielders (12): Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Vidal Brujan, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Wander Franco*, Dalton Kelly*, Brandon Lowe, Kevin Padlo, Esteban Quiroz*, Taylor Walls, Joey Wendle

Outfielders (7): Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Josh Lowe, Manuel Margot, Austin Meadows, Brett Phillips, Yoshi Tsutsugo

Noteworthiness

— The Rays have been linked to, and are said to have interest in, right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, formerly of Atlanta. After appearing in the 2018 All-Star game, Foltynewicz took a step back two seasons and pitched in just one game in 2020 — ironically against Tampa Bay on July 27th, when the Rays blew him up for six runs on four hits (including three homers) and four walks across 3-1/3 innings — resulting in an outright by the team and free agency by “Folty.”  Given his recent struggles, Foltynewicz would likely have to pitch his way into a rotation spot in Spring Training, although he is a change of scenery type of candidate.

— After proposing a 154-game season without prorating player pay for the 2021 season at the end of last week, on Monday the MLBPA rejected the league’s proposal as the union “doesn’t like expanded playoffs”. It is uncertain whether the player’s union will offer a counter proposal.

For what it’s worth, the league’s proposal also included delaying the season by a month while also adding eight games at the tail end while also expanding playoffs as mentioned above. The universal designated hitter is also included in this offer.

The league’s proposal had everything both sides want by all accounts: full season pay for the players, expanded postseason for the owners, and a delayed start for the health and safety of everyone involved. And while the league has never been a proponent of pushing the playoffs deep into November, a greater number of participants — both fans and players — ideally would be vaccinated against COVID-19 at some point during the upcoming season. Even though November is adjacent to winter, it’s almost a given that it will be safer.

As TZ Zencka (MLB Trade Rumors) writes, expanded postseason play could impact the players position heading into CBA negotiations after the season.

…caving on expanded postseason gives the players very little leverage to carry with them into the CBA negotiations at the end of the 2021 season. Besides, the MLBPA represents a large body of players, most of whom have made preparations for a season to start on time.

— TZ Zencka