Hot-Stove: More On the Rays Roster Deadline Moves

One of the Rays newest acquisitions; RHP Jose Dominguez.
One of the Rays newest acquisitions, RHP Jose Dominguez.

The standing question after Andrew Friedman left for the supposed greener pastures of Los Angeles, how effective would Matt Silverman be in the vacated position? If his recent off-season moves — last night’s roster deadline included — speak to anything, I’d say he’s going to be pretty damn effective.

First, he executed a deal to the Los Angeles Angels of the Rays former long reliever, LHP Cesar Ramos. Then, he dealt Jeremy Hellickson to Arizona for a pair of up and coming prospects. Finally, when faced with opening six roster spots ahead of the 40-man roster deadline last night, Silverman executed a trade of Joel Peralta and Adam Liberatore — paired with a few other moves — to protect six players who were at risk of being picked up in December’s Rule-5 Draft. Well done Mr. Silverman, well done.

In short, Silverman opened up two slots by sending two relievers — Peralta and Triple-A prospect Liberatore — to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the blazing fastball hurler Jose Dominguez, and starter from Class-A named Greg Harris. The Rays also literally thinned out the roster by designating the swarthy Jose Molina, recently signed reliever Michael Kohn, and infielder Cole Figueroa for assignment. Both Molina and Kohn are under contract and have ten days to be traded or the Rays will have to eat their salary.

These moves gave the Rays six open roster slots and removed Liberatore from the depth chart — allowing Tampa Bay the opportunity to add Dominguez, RHP Matt Andriese, INF Ryan Brett, LHP Grayson Garvin, OF Mikie Mahtook, and C Justin O’Conner to the 40-man roster. Among the names under consideration for the Rays (but not protected from the Rule-5 Draft) are High-A starter Jeff Ames, Double-A corner outfielder Taylor Motter, longtime Triple-A starter Merrill Kelly, and Double-A center fielder Kes Carter.

Danny Russell of DRaysBay was quick to offer his thoughts on last night’s roster action,

The Rays can’t protect everyone on their list, and if Liberatore was to be exposed, the thought process would be to get something else in return. Still, the lefty Liberatore had some shiny stats last year at Triple-A, including a 1.66 ERA and 1.65 FIP while striking out nearly 12/9. He takes the place of top-ten prospect Onelki Garcia, a southpaw reliever the Dodgers lost earlier today to the White Sox after designating from the 40-man. Dodgers fans are excited to have the Durham southpaw, and rightfully so.

Paired with Joel Peralta going out the door, and bringing back only one pitcher who needed protecting on the roster, will prove to either be fateful or shrewd, depending on who is more successful: strike-em-out southpaw Liberatore, or light-em-up righty Jose Dominguez.

When all is said and done, even though the roster moves were slow in coming, Silverman passed the initial seeing eye test.

Noteworthiness

  • The Rays are expected to trim the eight-man managerial field this afternoon, with the intent to bring in three candidates for in-depth, in-person interviews. The narrowed field would expedite the interview and hiring process, though the conclusion of the process is unknown. Marc Topkin tweeted (seen below) that both Manny Acts and Brewers special assistant Craig Counsel are no longer in consideration for the position. Counsell told MLB.com that he withdrew himself from consideration for the Rays job because he likes his current gig with the Brewers.

Hot-Stove: Rays 40-Man Roster Moves Thread (Updated)

(Photo courtesy of Tyler Kepner)
(Photo courtesy of Tyler Kepner)

Update: I’m still trying to process all of the moves made by the Rays at the 40-man roster deadline. I’ll continue to update this thread, as well as put together a piece on the Rays 40-man roster additions.

I wrote Wednesday night that the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster, in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft in December, is midnight tonight, November 20th. Six players were identified as possibilities to be cut loose in order to make room for prospects, among the 38 currently on the 40-man roster. I’ll be updating this as the roster moves are announced, keep checking back.

Friday, November 21 update (7:19):

New RHP Jose Dominguez was the Dodgers number 11 prospect going into 2014 per Baseball America, citing his 100-plus mph fastball. In an article on the 40-man roster deadline, Marc Topkin wrote, “Dominguez, 24, made the Dodgers’ opening day roster but spent much of the season at Triple-A Albuquerque, going 1-2 with 10 saves and a 3.24 ERA (33⅓ IP, 12 ER) while missing time with an injured shoulder, though he returned to pitch in the minor-league playoffs. He will compete for a spot in the Rays bullpen but has options and could open at Triple-A Durham. Rays vice president Chaim Bloom cited his “electric stuff.”’

12:37 update:

(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

12:32 update: 

The Rays have traded RHP Joel Peralta and LHP Adam Liberatore to the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Jose Dominguez and Class-A RHP Greg Harris. Tampa Bay will add Dominguez, RHP Matt Andriese, INF Ryan Brett, LHP Grayson Garvin, OF Mikie Mahtook, and C Justin O’Conner to the 40-man roster. Jose Molina, Cole Figueroa and recent acquisition RHP Michael Kohn have been designated for assignment. By the end of the night, Tampa Bay knocked $2.5M off the payroll by trading Peralta, though they are on hook for $2.75M with Molina unless they can trade him by Monday, December 1.

12:10 update:

INF Ryan Brett is one of the Rays roster additions, per JJ Cooper of Baseball America. Brett played 107 games at AA Montgomery in 2014, and slashed .303 BA/.346 OBP/.448 SLG with 8 HR, 38 RBI and 27 stolen bases.

11:30 update:

Unconfirmed, the Rays have traded Adam Liberatore to the Dodgers

11:26 update:

11:08 update:

7:30 update:

The first casualty of the 2014 roster-jam: Jose Molina. The Rays will DFA C Jose Molina tonight as they clear roster space. He is signed for next season at a salary of $2.75-million, the back end of a two-year, $4.5-million deal. Molina started 70 games this season (playing in 80 total) for Tampa Bay, throwing out only 12-of-50 attempted base-stealers, batting a paltry .178 with two extra base hits. His .187 slugging percentage was the lowest for any player with at least 200 plate appearances since 1968, when Ray Oyler posted a .186 for Detroit. The Rays won’t have to eat Molina’s salary if they can work out a trade within the next 10 days.

4:30 update:

Pictured below is a series of tweets from Chris Cotillo (of MLB Daily Dish). It’s speculation, but he may be referencing a deal for Matt Joyce with the Texas Rangers:

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Hot-Stove: Tampa Bay Rays at the 40-Man Roster Deadline

Ben Zobrist collected his 1,000th hit on September 10, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Willens/Associated Press)
Ben Zobrist collected his 1,000th hit on September 10, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Willens/Associated Press)

The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft in December is November 20. In short, the purpose of the Rule 5 draft is to provide a path to the majors for players who are skilled enough to play, but are blocked by too many good players in front of them.

In other words, as DRaysBay’s Ian Malinowski put it:

…Any players who were 18 or younger on the June 5 before they signed and have been in the system for five years, or who were 19 or older on the June 5 before they signed and have been in the system for four years, and who are not placed on their team’s 40-man roster, are eligible to be chosen by another team.

If the player is chosen in December’s draft, they must be placed on the active 25-man roster of their acquiring team, and then must remain on the active roster for an entire season (otherwise, they are returned to their original team).

The Rays roster currently sits at 38, meaning before tomorrow night’s midnight deadline, Matt Silverman and company need to figure out a way to add five-to-six prospects they’re protecting from the Rule 5 draft. C Justin O’Conner, OF Mikie Mahtook, INF Ryan Brett and pitchers Matt Andriese and Adam Liberatore are the most promising.

Let’s take a look at the potential moves that could take place before the midnight deadline.

Pitching

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 9.00.20 PM
The Rays have 19 pitchers (nine starters and ten relievers) on the roster.

First off, it’s safe to assume that the nine starters aren’t going anywhere, and because of it we’re left to speculate on the ten relievers.

While Grant Balfour’s disappointing season left many calling for his head, odds are good he’ll be in camp come February — after all, the Rays can’t afford to eat the remainder of his sizable contract, and his overall lackluster performance left him with little to no trade value. The question then, who might be at risk of being moved? I have to agree with Malinowski on this one, Steve Geltz and CJ Riefenhauser (and even Brandon Gomes, who is out of options) may have enough value to pitch in the big leagues, and all three could be candidates to be moved by Thursday.

Catchers

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 9.00.51 PM
The Rays have three catchers on the roster.

The big question, can the Rays find a team with whom to trade Jose Molina? If not, swallowing the $2.75 million he’s owed seems like a reasonable alternative.

Outfielders

The Rays have six outfielders on the roster.
The Rays have six outfielders on the roster.

One of the lingering questions going into the offseason, which outfielder(s) will get traded; Matt Joyce, David DeJesus, or Desmond Jennings? The running assumption was Matt Joyce, after all he is entering his last year of team control and is projected to make $4.9 million in arbitration. And though Joyce and DeJesus have similar peripherals, DeJesus features something that Joyce does not: speed.

The 2014 Kansas City Royals reminded us that speed is a favorable attribute. With the exception of Joyce, the remaining five outfielders have speed, defensive chops, and favorable contracts — save for DeJesus on the contract front.

There is a caveat when speaking of Joyce. If the Rays receive lowball offers, there is the potential for Silverman to hold him until the Rays are offered something real.

Infielders

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 9.01.22 PM
The Rays have ten infielders on the roster.

Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez are in a similar situation to Joyce. They’re entering their last year of team control, and are therefore trade candidates. However, beyond the fact that Zobrist is a more valuable — and dynamic — player to the Rays, Rodriguez is projected to make $2 million in arbitration.

Logan Forsythe, Cole Figueroa, and Nick Franklin promise similar capabilities defensively, so Rodriguez is replaceable on that end. If Silverman thinks they can match his offensive output, the willingness to trade him cheaply increases.

A cautionary tale of sorts, with Cole Figueroa sitting at the bottom of the depth chart, he is the most likely of the ten infielders to find his name on the waiver wire.

What moves would you like to see made? Who would you like to see protected? Whatever the case, we could see some of the proverbial detritus trimmed from the roster 24 hours from now.

Noteworthiness

  • The Rays are expected to trim the managerial candidate field on Friday and bring in a thus-far-undisclosed number of candidates for in-depth face to face interviews. That makes it now unlikely a final decision will be made until after Thanksgiving.The initial 10 candidates to replace Joe Maddon are:Former Nationals and Indians manager Manny Acta
    Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash
    Brewers special assistant Craig Counsell
    ESPN analyst Doug Glanville
    Royals outfielder/DH Raul Ibanez
    Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin
    Rays bench coach Dave Martinez
    Triple-A Durham manager Charlie Montoyo
    Former Mariners manager/Royals coach Don Wakamatsu
    Giants bench coach Ron Wotus
  • Jason Hanselman of the Dock of the Rays blog writes, “On to the Rays hook. Tampa Bay has a veritable wealth of good, but not great outfielders. Once you resign yourself to the fact that the potential return for Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist necessitates them being traded you realize that there are still a ton of moving parts,” in his excellent piece on the Rays outfield in 2015. Check it out here.

Hot-Stove: Rays Trade Rumors, Tampa Bay Manager News, Stanton Signs Obscenely Large Contract, Etc.

Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins.
The $325MM man, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins.

While it’s been a busy couple of days for a handful of teams around Major League Baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays have been fairly quiet on the heels of the Jeremy Hellickson trade. Nevertheless, some impactful moves are expected by Thursday to create a few more spots on the 40-man roster (currently at 38) to add five-to-six prospects they’re protecting from the Rule 5 draft; C Justin O’Conner, OF Mikie Mahtook, INF Ryan Brett and pitchers Matt Andriese and Adam Liberatore being the most promising.

Marc Topkin reported,

 Sean Rodriguez appears a trade candidate, and moving C Jose Molina, or swallowing the $2.75 million he’s owed, would seem likely, as is dealing from relief depth, perhaps starting with RHP Brandon Gomes, who is out of options. Another avenue is to drop rostered minor-leaguers such as LHP Mike Montgomery, or maybe INF Tim Beckham.

Interestingly enough, with the Tampa Bay looking to upgrade the offense, the Rays could be eying Phillies’ first baseman (and Bellair Beach resident) Ryan Howard as well as the Dodgers’ outfielder surplus. Both clubs are said to be willing to eat significant salary to move those players.

The Rays have concluded the first round of interviews for the open manager position, culminating in an interview with Barry Larkin — the tenth of ten interviewees in the initial round. They need at least another day or two in order to cut the managerial field down from 10. The final decision seems unlikely until after Thanksgiving.

In you have got to be fucking kidding me news, the Miami Marlins — with owner Jeffrey Loria at the helm — have agreed to a 13-year, $325MM contract extension that will set the benchmark as the new largest contract in the history of professional sports.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Mark Polishuk notes:

The extension contains a full no-trade clause and Stanton “will be able to opt out not long after he turns 30,” according to Heyman, so it would seem that the opt-out clause can be triggered after the 2019 season, or after 2020 at the very latest.  Stanton just celebrated his 25th birthday on November 8.

Stanton’s groundbreaking contract will buy out 11 free agent years, valuing each of those seasons in the $26-27MM range, depending on how much he’d have earned in arbitration over the next two seasons (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged him for a $13MM salary in 2015 alone). The new contract will run through the 2027 season, after which Stanton will be 37 years of age. Of course, that assumes that Stanton does not exercise the opt-out clause, at which point he could be able to seek an even larger annual commitment over a longer term, should he continue to perform as he has to this point in his career.

Mind you that Loria not only fleeced the citizens of Miami to the tune of $1.18 billion for Marlins Park — a sum total that will be worth a lot less money in 2048 (when the stadium is finally paid off) than it is today, thanks to inflation — per Deadspin, he  pocketed a healthy chunk of the money distributed to the franchise by Major League Baseball. The money was the Marlins’ share of pooled national revenue and luxury tax dollars, intended to go toward making the team better.

To put things in perspective:

  1. Loria ripped off both taxpayers.
  2. Loria ripped off Major League Baseball by choosing to pocket the luxury tax dollars.
  3. Loria extended Stanton’s contract to the tune of (a little more than) 1/3 of the current value of Marlins Park, essentially thumbing his nose at Miami’s taxpayers once again.

Among other acquisitions, Russell Martin is on his way back to the AL East. The Toronto Blue Jays signed the former Pirate (and Yankee) to a five year, $82 million contract.

Finally, the Braves have acquired RHP Shelby Miller and RHP Tyrell Jenkins from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for OF Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden.

Noteworthiness

  • Per a tweet from Marc Topkin, Rays officials have been focusing on roster issues, seeking 40-man roster space to add prospects by Thursday’s Rule 5 draft deadline.
  • The rumors are true, Evan Longoria used FaceTime to watch his son being born while in Japan. And how did he celebrate the birth of his son? By popping an opposite field homer. Go figure.
Longo got to meet Nash Harrison, his newborn son, via FaceTime and celebrated with a homer in the Japan Series. (Photo collage courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Longo got to meet Nash Harrison, his newborn son, via FaceTime and celebrated with a homer in the Japan Series. (Photo collage courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

 

Hot-Stove: Jeremy Hellickson Dealt to the Diamondbacks (Updated)

The trade of Jeremy Hellickson is the first big move for Matt Silverman. (Photo courtesy of Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The trade of Jeremy Hellickson is the first big move for Matt Silverman. (Photo courtesy of Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

News broke late of Jeremy Hellickson’s trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks — the first big move of each team’s respective new General Manager. The deal, described by many as addition by subtraction, netted Tampa Bay a pair of minor league prospects, INF Andrew Velazquez and OF Justin Williams from Arizona.

Matt Silverman, President of Baseball Operations, thanked Hellickson for his time with the Rays,

“As we thank Jeremy for his contributions to the Rays organization and wish him great success in Arizona, we are pleased to receive two talented young prospects in return. They have the potential to become impact players at the major league level, and we are excited to add them to our player development pipeline.”

Hellickson is coming off two rough seasons, culminating in a combined 13-15 record and a 5.00 ERA. Moreover, many have insisted that he fell out of favor with the organization after waiting until after his arbitration was settled to report elbow discomfort prior to the 2014. The discomfort resulted elbow surgery to clear out bone spurs, delaying his return to the rotation until July.

The move clears approximately $4M in salary, also opening a spot in the rotation for Nate Karns or Alex Colome while Matt Moore continues to mend from Tommy John surgery. It does, however, stack the 40-man roster constraints, necessitating roster moves in the near future.

(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
(Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

The Rays released a full writeup on the newly acquired prospects,

Velazquez, 20, enjoyed a breakout season in 2014 for Class-A South Bend, and was named Midwest League Prospect of the Year in addition to a midseason and postseason All-Star. The switch-hitter led the Midwest League with 50 stolen bases, 94 runs scored and 15 triples. In 134 games (129 at shortstop), he recorded a .290 (158-for-544) batting average, .367 on-base pct., .428 slugging pct., 18 doubles, nine home runs and 62 walks. His 50 steals ranked seventh among all minor league players. From April 22 to July 16 he reached base safely in 74 consecutive games.

Following the season, Velazquez was named the No. 12 prospect in the D-backs system by MLB.com and the No. 16 prospect in the Midwest League by Baseball America. The Bronx, New York native was selected by Arizona in the seventh round of the 2012 June Draft out of Fordham Prep School.

Williams, 19, hit a combined .351 (102-for-291) between Short-Season A Missoula and South Bend in 2014, and won the Pioneer League batting title with a .386 (73-for-189) mark for Missoula. At the time of his August 3 promotion, he had compiled a Missoula-record 28-game hitting streak, batting .443 (51-for-115) during that time. He recorded 52 hits in the month of July, most of any professional hitter at any level. After the season, Williams was named a postseason Pioneer League All-Star, the league’s No. 7 prospect by Baseball America, and the No. 14 prospect in the D-backs system by MLB.com. He finished the campaign with a combined four home runs, 46 RBI, .403 on-base pct. and .467 slugging pct.

Williams, a left-handed hitter, owns a .351 career batting average over two professional seasons. He was selected by Arizona in the second round of the 2013 June Draft out of Terrebonne High School in Houma, Louisiana.

Scott Grauer (DRaysBay) put together an excellent breakdown of the prospects the Rays received.

Noteworthiness

  • Two things, per Brad Johnson of MLB Trade Rumors: 1. The Rays have concluded the first round of interviews for their open manager position, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Barry Larkin was the last of ten interviewees in the initial round. The club will step back before deciding how many candidates to bring back for a round of in-person interviews. 2. Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams – the players acquired in the Jeremy Hellickson trade – were immediately ranked as the ninth and tenth best prospects in the Rays system by MLB.com, Topkin notes.
  • This article touches on something we previously brought up, if Stu is vying for a new stadium in Hillsborough or Pinellas, he’s going to need to sell it to the taxpayers.