Rays manager Kevin Cash speaking with Neil Solondz at the 2015 Winter Meetings. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
Rays manager Kevin Cash speaking with Neil Solondz at the 2015 Winter Meetings. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The 2015 Winter Meetings have come to a close, and the Tampa Bay Rays have nothing to show for their efforts aside from a handful of productive conversations. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as the Rays entered the meetings with no glaring roster wants or needs.

On Wednesday, Rays President of Baseball Operations Matt Silverman called the last three days busy, so busy that he reportedly wasn’t sure of the day or time. Yet Tampa Bay did not make a move, and Silverman didn’t classify anything as on the verge of occurring.

The Rays typically use the meetings more for the foundation building, using the productive conversations and gathered information as a means to construct trades.

In four of the past five years, the Rays returned home from the Winter Meetings and closed a deal within a couple of weeks at most. With the team normally being very deliberate, one could assume that we may be in for an interesting couple of weeks.

As of now, the likeliest move would be a trade that includes 1B James Loney. With Richie Shaffer and Logan Morrison waiting in the wings, there is quite the logjam at first base. According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the Rays are willing to eat some of Loney’s $8-million contract, making him more attractive to a team, like the Brewers, who are in the market for a first baseman.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball announced a series of recommendations to improve fan safety at ballparks. Among the proposals, teams will now be expected to lengthen their current foul-ball netting so that it extends from the near end of one dugout (the area closest to home plate) to the other one, covering field level seats. The Rays will be among the teams complying with this recommendation. The material used will be similar to what already is in place.

In spite of that, Vice President of Operations Rick Nafe says Tampa Bay’s spring training facility in Port Charlotte already meets Major League Baseball’s newly minted recommendations.

Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft took place Thursday, and Tampa Bay lost two players in the Major League portion of the draft ― oufielders Tyler Goeddel and Joey Rickard. Goeddel went first overall to the Phillies, while Baltimore selected Rickard.

This is the second consecutive season the Rays lost a player taken first overall in the Rule 5 Draft. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected catcher Oscar Hernandez with the first selection last season, and he remains with Arizona despite missing much last season due to injury.

The Rays protected Blake Snell, Jake Faria, German Marquez, Taylor Guerrieri, and German Marquez from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. Both Snell and Guerrieri have a shot at cracking the 25-man roster in 2016.

Goeddel converted to the outfield in 2015 and hit .279 BA with a .783 OPS over 123 games for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, collecting double digits in doubles, triples, and homers. He also swiped 28 bases. Rickard jumped from the Advanced-A Charlotte Stone Crabs to the Triple-A Durham Bulls over the span of one season, and was voted the Organization’s Baserunner of the Year after stealing 23 bags. Rickard also hit .321 BA with an .874 OPS between the three levels.

Goeddel and Rickard likely would have started 2016 with the Durham Bulls. Since Joey Butler was claimed off waivers by Cleveland, and Boog Powell was dealt to Seattle in November, Tampa Bay might need to bolster its Triple-A depth. Mikie Mahtook and Taylor Motter could start in Durham if they don’t make the 25-man roster out of Spring Training, while Johnny Field and Davron Varona are also possibilities within the organization.

In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, Tampa Bay added three pitchers ― LHP Adam Kolarek (Baltimore), RHP Yoel Espinal (New York), and RHP Fernando Baez (St Louis) ― and lost catcher Maxx Tissenbaum, who was taken by the Miami Marlins.

Scott Grauer (DRaysBay) wrote about the three hurlers:

Kolarek, a 26-year-old lefty and Baltimore native, never threw a pitch in the Orioles organization. He was signed to a minor league deal in October after spending six seasons in the Mets organization, briefly reaching Triple A. In 351 innings in his career, he has 349 strikeouts and a 3.56 earned-run average.

His groundball rate was 62.3% in 2015, which is much higher than his rate in previous seasons. The Rays may have some familiarity with him because he’s pitching on the same Puerto Rican pitching staff as Edrick Agosto and Jesus Ortiz, a pair of Rays prospects.

Espinal, 23, has pitched for the Tigers and Yankees and briefly reached full-season ball in 2015. The Yankees gave him a shot after seeing him at an area showcase when he showed some mid-90s velocity. In two seasons pitching in the U.S., the Dominican has 95 strikeouts and 79 walks in 99 1/3 innings.

Baez, who is also 23, is a former catcher but converted to the mound after two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He pitched for Class-A Peoria in 2015, and in 153 career innings, he has 186 strikeouts and 97 walks.

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