Clockwise from the top-left corner: Logan Forsythe, Brad Boxberger, Maxx Tissenbaum, Matt Lollis and  Matt Andriese. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Meet the newest Tampa Bay Rays. Clockwise from the top-left corner: Logan Forsythe, Brad Boxberger, Maxx Tissenbaum, Matt Lollis and Matt Andriese. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

The Rays finalized a seven-player trade with the Padres Wednesday, sending LHP Alex Torres to San Diego, along with right-handed pitching prospect Jesse Hahn. In return, Tampa Bay will receive five players: utility infielder Logan Forsythe, RHP Brad Boxberger, infielder Maxx Tissenbaum, and right-handers Matt Andriese and Matt Lollis.

Make no bones about it, the Rays’ now former LHP was excellent last season. Torres went 4-2 with a 1.71 ERA in 58 innings (over 39 appearances) in two stints with Tampa Bay in 2013. Furthermore, he ranked third among AL relievers with a .159 opponents’ batting average and led major league relievers with a .224 opponents’ slugging percentage. He struck out 62 batters. Though Torres could have been an asset in the pen this season, he also had the potential to regress. With this in mind, Andrew Friedman went in to the trade with the opportunity to fill a few areas of weakness.

As we bid adieu to Alex, a question emerges: who are the new faces around the clubhouse? Let’s delve into them a bit.

Brad Boxberger

According to Scouting Book, Boxberger works with a 92-94mph fastball that he’ll work in on hitters quite fearlessly, and he complements it with a decent-and-improving curve. Most interestingly, though, he features a nifty sinking change that could be a real strikeout pitch for him once he learns to command it a bit more consistently.

Boxberger is the most Torres-like pitcher of the crop. He’s capable of working against righties (with a slider) and lefties (with a change-up). paired with a low-90’s fastball, he has a similar arsenal to what Torres offered. As John Sickles, of Minor League Ball, wrote in a review of the 2013 season,

Brad Boxberger, RHP, Grade C+: Solid season for Triple-A Tucson, 3.47 ERA with 72/18 K/BB in 49 innings, 44 hits. Has fanned 11 in nine major league innings. Age 25 now, has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, strikeout rate continues to point to bullpen upside.

Very good performances over meaningful innings pitched are highlighted; red ratios are worrisome. (Courtesy of Scoutingbook.com)
Very good performances over meaningful innings pitched are highlighted; red ratios are worrisome. (Courtesy of Scoutingbook.com)

Matt Andriese

Andriese is a groundball pitcher, who relies on a 93 MPH fastball (on average), that has a lot of sudden movement as it reaches the plate. He also lays claim to a hard curve and a falling splitter. He has great control of all three pitches. Andiese ranked among the Padres minor league leaders in ERA (3.27, fifth), wins (11, second) and strikeouts (105, fifth). Per the Padres press release,

Over three minor league seasons, the right-hander has gone 26-16 with a 3.18 ERA (322.1-IP, 114-ER) and 278 strikeouts to 77 walks.

Matt Lollis

Lollis, went 3-8 with a 4.62 ERA over 74 innings (in 58 appearances) with Class-A Lake Elsinore, Tucson and San Antonio last season. He’s a career 15-33 with a 4.79 ERA over five minor league seasons. Lollis features some serious heat, approaching 100, a mid-70’s curve, a low-90’s slurve and a change-up. Unfortunately, Lollis also feature poor control. File him under the work in progress category.

Maxx Tissenbaum

As Daniel Russell of DRaysBay wrote of Tissenbaum,

Tissenbaum was one of three star players in the Low-A Northwest League in 2012, along side Cubs famed first base prospect Dan Vogelbach and Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, as ranked by SCOUT:

(Courtesy of Daniel Russell/DRaysBay)
(Courtesy of Daniel Russell/DRaysBay)

SCOUT is a system used by Fangraphs to assess low minors performances where small sample size can be compared against the league and then projected for future performance. That 139 mark for Maxx is particularly impressive given his age, as most players at this time would have been in Rookie ball.

In 2013, Zunino leapt into Double- and Triple-A for 67 games before finding himself in the majors. Vogelbach started in Class-A ball and sported a 128 wRC+ before earning a 17 game promotion to High-A to finish the year, which he crushed.

Meanwhile, Maxx saw a dip from his stellar 2012, dropping from a .378 wOBA and 131 wRC+ in 47 Northwest League games to a .341 wOBA and 109 wRC+ at Class-A. Not horrible, but not turning heads either.

An 11th round pick from 2012, Tissenbaum could surprise us all in 2014.

Logan Forsythe

Forsythe is a versatile defender who had a nice 2012 campaign (107 OPS+), yet he struggled last year, slashing .214 BA/.281 OBP/.332 SLG/.813 OPS in 243 plate appearances last year. The switch hitting Forsythe has had much better success against southpaws (from the righthand side of the plate) over his career than against same-handed hurlers — posting a .793 OPS vs a .594 OPS.

Forsythe has spent time at second, short, third and the corner outfield, and certainly fits the Rays mold for being a flexible player. He’ll battle for a roster spot and playing time with Sean Rodriguez, Vince Belnome, and Jayson Nix. The Rays will control the three-year veteran for four seasons, though only the coming year will be at the league minimum.

Noteworthiness

  • Ironically, the Rays made a similar deal with the Padres in 2010 for Jason Bartlett, getting Brandon Gomes, Cesar Ramos, Adam Russell and Cole Figueroa in return.
  • Surprise surprise, the Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka agreed to a massive seven-year, $155 million deal Wednesday. Noah Pransky of the Shadow of the Stadium blog had an interesting take on things, writing,

Nobody outside of New York wants to see one team sign every good free agent available, but for the last decade or so, it’s seemed the Yankees would. The problem with that is it minimizes the opportunity for teams in smaller markets who cannot sign the top players.

As many Twitter followers responded, the Yankees are simply playing within the rules established by the league. And that’s why, for years, I’ve always said the inequality in baseball (as well as the reason why 19,000 fans a game at Tropicana Field aren’t “enough”) is MLB’s fault.

The league isn’t sharing revenue like the NFL does at a time where free agent salaries are soaring out of control for smaller teams.

There’s a LOT more money in the game these days, and its up to MLB to spead enough around to make sure all 30 teams have a legit chance of competing.

  • One also wonders how the Tanaka signing may effect David Price’s future with the Rays. “With Masahiro Tanaka signing a seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees on Wednesday,” writes MLB.com‘s Bill Chastain,” there could be renewed interest in Rays ace David Price from teams that missed out on the Japanese hurler.

 

 

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