At long last, the Tampa Bay Rays made official the one-year, $5-Million contract with free agent outfielder Colby Rasmus. He has a chance to earn an additional $2-Million in incentives (details of which are below). To make room on the 40-man roster, the team released outfielder Jason Coats, who was recently acquired from the Chicago White Sox.
OFFICIAL: The #Rays have signed OF Colby Rasmus to a one-year contract. He’s posted four seasons with 20 or more home runs in his career. pic.twitter.com/uKU1mGSxF6
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) January 30, 2017
Rasmus slashed just .206 BA/.286 OBP/.355 SLG/.641 OPS/.257 BABIP/.282 wOBA last season for Houston, following a 2015 campaign in which he batted .238 with a .475 SLG with 25 home runs and 61 RBI and a 117 wRC+ in 137 games. He is coming off October surgeries for a cyst in his ear as well as hip and core muscle maladies — which tends to explain his offensive fall-off.
Though he is still recovering from the procedures mentioned above, Rasmus — who reportedly is doing well — has been cleared for running and baseball activities, although he plans to be cautious in Spring Training, with the possibility he may be sidelined in the early going, with an eye on making sure he is ready for the regular season opener.
Rasmus: “I plan to be ready to go. It may be a little later in the spring, but I want to make sure I do right by myself and the team.”
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) January 30, 2017
Rays Vice President of Baseball Operations, Chaim Bloom, told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the team is “comfortable” with Rasmus’ rehab progress, and they “are optimistic” he will be ready to start with season.
Rasmus presents another left-handed bat to the outfield along with Kevin Kiermaier and Corey Dickerson. Bloom said Rasmus will spend time in both left and right field, as well as get reps at DH, and in centerfield when Kevin Kiermaier needs a day off. It is his versatility that gives Rays manager Kevin Cash more options.
We know he has a lot of sock in his bat, said Bloom. He can change a game with his power. But he’s also a very good athlete, and he impacts a game defensively. And for us to get someone we see is a very good defensive outfielder, with the ability to play center field, and layer that on to how he can impact a game at the plate, that was a very attractive combination for us.
The Rays’ front office hopes for a bounce-back season, in the batter’s box, from Rasmus, the outfielder has drawn strong defensive reviews, especially last year when he posted a +20 DRS, and is known as a good base runner even though he doesn’t often attempt to steal.
Rasmus cited several factors that enticed him to sign with Tampa Bay, including the team’s proximity to his Alabama home, his familiarity with several Rays players, and a reunion with former Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Chad Mottola.
Rasmus attributes the work he put in with Mattola for his renaissance at the plate:
Motor helped me to see some things, Rasmus said. I developed some bad habits from my younger days coming up with the Cardinals. … He helped me fix those things. … And just helped me get comfortable in my own skin.
As for the terms of his contract, Rasmus is set to make a base salary of $5-Million. From there, he can earn up to $2-Million in incentives based on plate appearances:
400 pa: $100,000
425 pa: $100,000
450 pa: $100,000
475 pa: $100,000
500 pa: $200,000
525 pa: $400,000
500 pa: $500,000
575 pa: $500,000
Total: $2,000,000
Also $250,000 each time he is traded.
Noteworthiness
— Citing Evan Grant (Dallas Morning News), Jeff Todd (MLB Trade Rumors) writes that the Rays have opened a dialogue with Texas about infielder Jurickson Profar:
It seems that the discussions are just preliminary at this point, but it does seem there’s a rather intriguing possible match on paper. Tampa Bay is in need of a second baseman after trading Logan Forsythe (and might also like the idea of having another player capable of playing short). For Texas, Profar is something of an underutilized asset; the Rays possess a variety of pitchers that might be of greater function. Of course, lining up on value and finding common ground isn’t as simple as finding mutual interest; it remains to be seen whether these talks will gain traction.
The teams were linked with one another at the 2016 trade deadline for either Profar and Joey Gallo, yet the Rays did business with the San Francisco Giants instead of the Rangers, trading LHP Matt Moore for SS/3B Matt Duffy.