RHP Kirby Yates was traded to the Cleveland Indians Wednesday afternoon.
RHP Kirby Yates was traded to the Cleveland Indians Wednesday afternoon.
Per a tweet from the Tampa Bay Rays, RHP Kirby Yates has been traded to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations.

Additionally, the Rays also released C J.P. Arencibia and outrighted RHP Brandon Gomes and OF Daniel Nava. Both Gomes and Nava had the option to refuse the assignment and did, becoming free agents. The team addressed the roster status of the four players designated for assignment last week to create space on the 40-man roster.

After celebrating a solid 2014 campaign, in which he collected a 3.75 ERA/10.5 K9/3.8 BB9, Yates couldn’t replicate his success due in large part to the immense number of home runs allowed. And while the righty is considered an extreme fly-ball pitcher, 30.3% of the balls put into the air against him left the yard in 2015; Yates posted a gaudy 7.97 ERA after yielding 10 homers in 20 1/3 innings.

Arencibia collected a .310 BA/.315 OBP/.606 SLG/.921 OPS slash line with six home runs. However, there is no indication that he’d be able to replicate (or even come close to) that line in 2016. Steamer projects that both Arencibia and Rene Rivera will perform similarly to one another in 2016 ― .202 BA/.239 OBP/.369 SLG/.608 OPS vs. .218 BA/.265 OBP/.337 SLG/.602 OPS. Faced with having to choose between a pair of weak number-nine hitters, Matt Silverman chose the catcher with the better defensive peripherals.

I’m thankful for the chance they gave me and thought I did enough to have a chance to be a part of 2016, Arencibia told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) on Wednesday. Never know how things work out in this game. I know I’m back as an established major league player. And I proved that last year. I’ll be back as a visitor again and never know maybe even on the home side.

Nava suffered through the worst season of his career, slashing a meager .194 BA/.315 OBP/.245 SLG/.560 OPS line in 166 plate appearances between Boston and Tampa Bay this past season. He, however, is a career .265 BA/.358 OBP/.383 SLG/.741 OPS hitter, and his track record against right handed pitching, combined with his flexibility between the outfield corners and first base, should garner some interest in him as a platoon option.

As for Gomes, the righty has been part of the Rays’ bullpen over the past five seasons, posting a career 4.20 ERA in 167 innings. Gomes has averaged 7.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a 32.7 percent ground-ball rate as a big leaguer, yet his susceptibility to to the long ball played an important part in his dismissal from the Rays. Gomes posted 1.53 HR9 in 2015 — 54 points higher than his career average — after he yielded a career worst 10 home runs.

In an interview with Topkin, Gomes noted his disappointment with the decision:

I understand how the business side works, so I definitely knew it would be a possibility that they would go in a different direction. I obviously was disappointed when I received the call because I enjoyed my time with the Rays. So, at this point, I would have to say I will take full advantage of being a free agent and explore all my opportunities prior to making my decision.

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