With the deadline to exchange arbitration figures last Friday at 1:00 pm, the Tampa Bay Rays came to terms on one-year deals with right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Yonny Chirinos, outfielder Manuel Margot, and infielder Joey Wendle — four players that will avoid arbitration hearings. However, the Rays were unable to agree to deals with southpaw Ryan Yarbrough and fan-favorite Ji-Man Choi, and the club likely will proceed to an arbitration hearing with the pair next month.
Of the four that did come to an agreement by the deadline, Glasnow received the most money. The Rays ace agreed to a $4-Million deal for 2021. Glasnow was slated to make $2.05-Million last season if not for the COVID 19 shortened campaign. Per Juan Toribio (MLB.com), the increase in pay is a combination of Glasnow’s continued development and his second time going through arbitration.
The team agreed to a $1.175-Million deal with Chirinos, who was projected to make more money through arbitration this winter, but he will miss the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August.
Somewhat surprisingly though, Chirinos has started to play catch, which is a good sign. Still, it would be stunning if Chirinos was able to pitch at all in ’21 given the typical timeline for Tommy John recovery.
Margot will receive $3.4-Million, while Wendle got the biggest raise — $2.25-Million, compared to $575,600 in ’20.
Meanwhile, Choi’s representation filed for a $2.45-Million contract although the team countered with a $1.85-Million figure. MLB Trade Rumors had Choi slated to earn somewhere between $1.6-2.1-Million. Choi hit just .230 with three home runs last season.
Yarbrough’s representation filed for a $3.1-Million deal and the Rays came back with a $2.3-Million figure. MLB Trade Rumors had Yarbrough slated to earn somewhere between $2.2-$3.6-Million.
Yarbrough’s case could be one of the more interesting cases to follow. Over the past two seasons, Yarbrough has been one of the most accomplished pitchers on the staff, throwing at least 180 innings while maintaining a FIP under 3.70. On top of that, he has accrued 28 wins over the last three seasons. Yet, Yarbrough’s role on the roster makes the arbitration proceedings tricky.
As Toribio writes, both sides will make case for why more or less money should be given to the left-hander.
The Rays have started Yarbrough 29 times, but he also has served as the primary bulk pitcher behind the opener, which became a common strategy for Tampa Bay during the 2018 season. Both sides likely will look to make an argument on his role and how he should be compensated. It could be an arbitration hearing that sets the precedent on other bulk pitchers around the league.
— Juan Toribio
The Rays also reportedly added a pair of top-ranked international prospects. Tampa Bay agreed to deals with Venezuelan shortstop Carlos Colmenarez, ranked number four on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 International Prospects List, for $3 million, and Dominican outfielder Jhonny Piron, ranked number 17, for $1.825 million.
MLB.com gave a brief scouting report on both players.
Colmenarez shows solid mechanics at the plate with a slight upcut stroke that allows him to generate some loft and hit the ball out of the ballpark. He shows good bat speed and the ability to drive the ball to all fields in games. He’ll add more power as his body matures. On defense, he shows soft hands, good body control and projects to have an above-average arm. Colmenarez has the potential to be an above-average defender.
As for Piron, he shows solid swing mechanics and the ability to hit for extra bases by spraying line drives across the outfield. He shows average power to all fields and is on track for plus power in the future. On defense, Piron has the tools to keep him in center field and moves well in all directions. He has a chance to have an above-average arm.
— Jesse Sanchez and Juan Toribio (of MLB.com)
Noteworthiness
— Big news on the game front, the Rays are planning to allow roughly 7,000 socially distanced and mask wearing fans to attend games in ’21. A lot can change between now and Opening Day, however, the hope remains that vaccine rollouts can mitigate the number of spikes around the country. The plan is to reopen part of their upper deck to help keep fans appropriately distanced. Of course, all this contingent upon approval from Major League Baseball as well as government authorities. The team should have more information about ticketing before the end of February.
— While not an update on the stadium saga per se, the City of St. Pete has narrowed the scope of the Tropicana Field redevelopment project, as well as the number of developers interested in the project.
It is important to remember that each developer was tasked with contributing two visions for the Trop site: one with a stadium and one without.
As a matter of opinion, I still firmly believe the team is trying to get its cake, by reaping the redevelopment rights to the property and eating it too by getting a stadium built at the waterfront Al Lang site, which both the team and City have explicitly hinted at (read the comment by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman in the embedded Instagram post above).