On Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays released their 2016 Spring Training schedule. Tampa Bay will open the 2016 Grapefruit League season on March 2 against the visiting Washington Nationals at Charlotte Sports Park, and the 29-game schedule will conclude on April 1 against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland.
The schedule does not yet include any games in Cuba. The Rays were picked by Major League Baseball to play two spring training games in Cuba pending government approval. The games would take place during the final week of March, and if the Rays do get the opportunity to play in Cuba, it would be the first time since 1999 that an MLB team (the Baltimore Orioles) played there.
Pitchers and catchers will report to camp on February 21, while the first full squad workout is scheduled for February 26.
Tampa Bay Rays 2016 Grapefruit League Schedule
March 2: Nationals, 1:05
March 3: Orioles, 1:05
March 4: Red Sox (Fort Myers), 1:05
March 5: Orioles (Sarasota), 7:05
March 6: Twins, 1:05
March 7: Red Sox (Fort Myers), 1:05
March 8: Tigers (Lakeland), 1:05
March 9: Blue Jays, 1:05
March 10: Pirates, 1:05
March 11: Pirates (Bradenton), 1:05
March 12: Yankees, 1:05
March 13: Red Sox (SS), 1:05
March 13: Blue Jays (ss) (Dunedin), 1:05
March 14: Braves (Lake Buena Vista), 1:05
March 15: Phillies, 1:05
March 16: off
March 17: Phillies (Clearwater), 1:05
March 18: Red Sox, 1:05
March 19: Orioles, 1:05
March 20: Orioles (Sarasota), 1:05
March 21: Braves, 1:05
March 22: off
March 23: Twins (Lee County), 1:05
March 24: Yankees (Tampa), 6:35
March 25: Twins, 1:05
March 26: Pirates (Bradenton), 6:05
March 27: Blue Jays, 1:05
March 28: off
March 29: Twins, 1:05
March 30: Twins (Lee County), 1:05
March 31: Pirates, 1:05
April 1: Tigers (Lakeland), 1:05
Single game tickets range from $10 to $29, although the March 12 game against the New York Yankees and the March 13 game versus the Boston Red Sox are listed as premium games with prices between $15 and $32.
Tickets will go on sale starting December 4th at 10:00 AM, however, the team will have a sale on Cyber Monday.
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.
The #Rays have traded RHP Kirby Yates to the @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.
The Rays also released C J.P. Arencibia and outrighted RHP Brandon Gomes and OF Daniel Nava. Nava refused the outright and is a free agent. — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) November 25, 2015
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.
The now former Rays’ catcher J.P. Arencibia did not make the cut Friday night.11/25/15 update: per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Rays have released catcher J.P. Arencibia, who was designated for assignment on Friday. Arencibia is free to sign elsewhere.
On Friday night, the Tampa Bay Rays added five players to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule-5 Draft: RHP’s Jacob Faria, Taylor Guerrieri and German Marquez; LHP Blake Snell, and utility-man Taylor Motter. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team designated catcher J.P. Arencibia, outfielder Daniel Nava, and RHPs Brandon Gomes and Kirby Yates for assignment.
In addition, Tampa Bay outrighted LPH Grayson Garvin and RHP Burch Smith to the Triple-A Durham Bulls.
That the front office chose to designate Arencibia is somewhat surprising, after all he was very impressive in his 73 plate appearances toward the end of the season. J.P. 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.
As Ian Malinowski (DRaysBay) sees it:
Arencibia has always been a one-trick pony, with a high strikeout rate and a minuscule walk rate, and last season he was even more extreme than usual, striking out 30.1% of the time and only walking 1.4% of the time. And never before in his big-league career has Arencibia been an above-average hitter, so those peripherals are a good reason to suspect that he has not, in fact, turned the corner.
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.
It is thought that both Snell and Motter have a chance at cracking the Opening Day roster.
Snell, who was one of the most frequently spoken of prospects in 2015, jumped three levels and took home Baseball America’s prestigious Player of the Year award. The lefty hurled 46 scoreless innings to start the season, and collected a minuscule 1.41 ERA. His 163 strikeouts in 134 innings (good enough for fourth in the minors) wasn’t too shabby either.
The 26 year-old Motter slashed .292 BA/.366 OBP/.471 SLG/.837 OPS with Triple-A Durham last season, also collecting 14 homers and 43 doubles. The utility player spent time at every defensive position with the exceptions of first base and catcher.
The front office also had to make some tough decisions of who to leave off the 40-man roster. Because of it, outfielders Tyler Goeddel and Joey Rickard, shortstop Jake Hager, RHP Jeff Ames, LHP Jonny Venters, and infielder Patrick Leonard are susceptible to be picked up by another team in the Rule-5 Draft. Scott Grauer (DRaysBay) wrote an excellent piece on those players, and it’s worth the read.
*Granted Steamer also projects Arencibia to collect just one at-bat next season, so…
Noteworthiness
The Tampa Bay Rays have claimed RHP Chase Whitley off waivers from the New York Yankees.
Per Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors):
Whitley, 26, underwent Tommy John surgery in May after having thrown 19 1/3 useful innings for the Yankees early in the season. The former 15th-rounder posted a 4.19 ERA with a 16-to-5 K/BB ratio across four starts in the Yankees’ rotation before falling to injury.
Given the timing of his operation, Whitley won’t be ready to open the season on the Rays’ roster, so he’ll presumably land on the 60-day DL to begin next season (assuming he survives the winter on the 40-man roster). He’ll provide the Rays with an MLB-ready pitching option once healthy, however, replenishing some depth lost by Tampa Bay following the trade of Nate Karns. Whitley has a career 2.89 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 196 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level.
Whitley boasts an upper 80’s fastball, a mid 80’s slider, a low 80’s change-up, and a low 90’s two-seam fastball. He started to mix in a curveball last season as well.
Because of his left/right splits ― left handed hitters dominated Whitley to the tune of a .326 OBA/.377 OBP/.542 SLG/.919 OPS, compared to a .266 BA/.316 OBP/.400 SLG/.716 OPS against righties ― and because the Rays likely have a full starting rotation at their disposal, it’s thought that Chase will be used out of the ‘pen once he returns in July.
Non-tender candidate Brandon Gomes. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Times)
Friday is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters ahead the Rule 5 Draft. (They also have to set their Triple-A and Double-A rosters for the minor league phase.) As it stands, the Tampa Bay Rays have a full 40-man roster with several top prospects not yet protected from other teams. In short, expect several moves to be made between then and now.
Blake Snell, Taylor Guerrieri, Jake Faria, Taylor Motter, and one or two others are expected to be added to the roster by the deadline. Yet with nary a roster spot to play with, the front office is going to have to trim some of the dead wood to create multiple openings. Who could be dropped from the roster, or dealt, in order to protect the handful of top prospects? Let’s take a quick look.
Outfield
Daniel Nava (Non-tender candidate)
Joey Butler (DFA candidate)
Desmond Jennings (Trade candidate)
According to a tweet from MLB Communications (seen below), the Rays season opener has been moved up a day, as they will now be one of six teams to play on Sunday, April 3. Tampa Bay will also be included as part of ESPN’s Opening Day package.
ESPN will cover 7 Opening Day games during first two days of 2016 regular season on Sunday, 4/3 & Monday, 4/4. pic.twitter.com/VItDXzA7RU
Jake McGee: Trade candidate? (Photo Credit: Darren McCollester)
The Major League Baseball General Manager meetings came to an end on November 12th. While Matt Silverman and the Tampa Bay Rays made no acquisitions during the meetings, the perception is that the groundwork for some deals may have been laid. Let’s take a look at the trade rumors that saw the light of day over the course of the meetings.
Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee
The Detroit Tigers are one of many teams who showed interest in Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger during the GM Meetings reports Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times). Also included on that list are the Houston Astros, whose interest in a Rays’ reliever extends back to the 2015 trade deadline. Detroit is in the market to upgrade its bullpen, so it’s no surprise that Al Avila and Detroit would check in with Tampa Bay.
The Rays, however, aren’t under any pressure to make a deal at the moment. MLB Trade Rumors projects McGee to earn $4.7MM in 2016, while his right handed counterpart is still a year away from arbitration eligibility. The team isn’t facing any financial burden by keeping both relievers in the fold. Whatever the case, the general sense is that they’d need to be overwhelmed by an offer for the Rays to deal either reliever.
The recent trade of Craig Kimbrel could give an idea of what the Rays could net should they decide to deal the left handed McGee. Adam Sanford (DRaysBay) wrote on the subject:
Kimbrell and McGee have had similar careers with Kimbrell easily being the more dominant pitcher, but he has been well-compensated for that, as he signed a four-year extension in 2014 that guaranteed him $42 million from 2014 to 2017, with a $13 million option for 2018. McGee will be paid just about half of what Kimbrell gets these next two years, which compensates for lesser numbers he’d put up.
Asdrubal Cabrera, a Ray once more?
While improbable, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Asdrubal Cabrera could return to Tampa Bay on a one-year contract. Even with the newly-acquired Brad Miller expected to compete for the job at short, the team could platoon both Miller and Logan Forsythe at several positions, while Asdrubal ― or a player like Alexi Ramirez ― gets the bulk of playing time on the left-hand side of the diamond.
A contact extension for Logan Forsythe
According to Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors), Tampa Bay and the 28-year Forsythe have expressed mutual interest in discussing an extension of some kind. Forsythe has two years of control remaining, and he is projected to earn $3.3MM for the coming season. Given that he is coming off what many have called a career season, and bearing in mind Stu Sternberg’s frugality, the likely scenario may be a two or three season deal with an option or two at the back end.
James Loney on the trade block?
“The Rays are willing to eat some of James Loney‘s $8MM salary to help facilitate a trade, which could help them swing a deal in a thin first base market,” writes Mark Polishuk (MLB Trade Rumors). There is also the school of thought that if the Rays dealt a pitcher, they could insist on adding Loney as part of the trade package. Personally, I can’t help but feel the primary onus on figuring out a way to move OF Desmond Jennings. Nevertheless a trade of Loney could open playing time for Richie Shaffer, as well as go far in creating financial and roster flexibility to add a hitter.
Matt Moore and Drew Smyly
Should the Rays choose to deal another hurler, Matt Moore ($5MM) ― who is in his last guaranteed year before three team options kick in ― or Drew Smyly ($3.9MM) ― with his shoulder issues ― could be the likeliest candidates to be moved. Per Topkin, both southpaws carry significant salaries for the low-payroll ball club. It is thought that Tampa Bay may have enough depth to get away with moving another starter, which would also clear a spot in the rotation for über prospect Blake Snell.
Making roster space ahead of the Rule 5 Draft
This Friday is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters for the Rule 5 Draft. (They also have to set their Triple-A and Double-A rosters for the minor league phase.) Per Topkin:
With Snell, Guerrieri and Faria and another couple of prospects (INF/OF Taylor Motter? RHP German Marquez?) expected to be added to the roster by Friday’s deadline to be protected from the upcoming Rule 5 draft, the Rays are going to have to trim elsewhere. Players who could be dropped from the roster, or dealt, include OFs Daniel Nava and Joey Butler, Ps Kirby Yatesand (injured) Grayson Garvin and either C J.P. Arencibia or Rene Rivera. RHPs Brandon Gomes could be another.
