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Rays agree to minor league deal with OF Jake Smolinski

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Outfielder Jake Smolinski signed a minor league deal with the Rays on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Unknown)

The Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent outfielder Jake Smolinski on Wednesday. Smolinski will likely receive an invitation to big league camp come Spring Training.

Smolinski was outrighted off the 40-man roster last month and elected free agency. The outfielder’s 2018 campaign was cut short by a blood clot in his left calf, hitting just .128 AB/.171 OBP/.205 SLG/.376 OPS across 41 plate appearances, resulting in a mid-May demotion to Triple-A Nashville. Smolinski, however, bounced back and posted a terrific .278 BA/.372 OBP/.548 SLG/.920 OPS line with the Sounds. Be that as it may, he is a career .227 BA/.287 OBP/.357 SLG/.644 OPS hitter in the big leagues. The right-handed hitter has handled southpaws well throughout his Major League career, slashing .282 BA/.351 OBP/.473 SLG/.824 OPS in 276 plate appearances against left-handers, with 11 home runs and 36 RBI.

As it stands, Tampa Bay boasts a 40-man roster that includes outfielders Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier and Austin Meadows, as well as utility options like Brandon Lowe and Daniel Robertson. Smolinski will vie for a bench role in Spring Training, competing against the recently acquired outfielder Guillermo Heredia for a right-handed hitting outfield spot on the 2019 roster. If he doesn’t break camp with the team, it is foreseeable that Smolinski would head to Triple-A Durham as depth in case of injury.

Rays complete Mike Zunino deal

On Thursday, the Rays completed the five-player deal which netted catcher Mike Zunino and outfielder Guillermo Heredia and sent Mallex Smith to Seattle. We wrote about the deal yesterday.

Rays trade Mallex Smith to Seattle for Mike Zunino and Guillermo Heredia

The Rays also acquired minor league southpaw Michael Plassmeyer, yet lost outfielder Jake Fraley, in the trade

Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors) wrote about Plassmeyer, saying:

Plassmeyer, 22, was the Mariners’ fourth-round pick just five months ago in the 2018 draft, which aligns with Dipoto’s willingness to deal from his most recent draft classes. He traded catcher David Banuelos, his 2017 fifth-rounder, to the Twins last December and also flipped 2017 fourth-rounder Seth Elledge to the Cardinals this past summer. Plassmeyer, Mizzou product, posted a ridiculous 44-to-4 K/BB ratio through 24 innings in Short-Season Class-A ball this summer.

Jeff Sullivan (FanGraphs) broke down the trade, calling it a win for the Rays:

You can see an argument favoring either side of this, but I find the Rays’ to be more convincing.

Rays trade Mallex Smith to Seattle for Mike Zunino and Guillermo Heredia

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Mike Zunino, the Rays new starting catcher. Photo Credit: Unknown)

The Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners made the first significant trade of the 2018-19 offseason, sending outfielder Mallex Smith to the Pacific Northwest in exchange for catcher Mike Zunino and outfielder Guillermo Heredia. Tampa Bay could also include an additional lower-level prospect in the agreement, writes Ryan Divish (Seattle Times). The deal is pending medical reviews, so nothing is official just yet.

Zunino, 27, is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $4.2-Million through arbitration this winter and is under team control until 2020, while Smith is not yet arbitration-eligible after narrowly avoiding Super-Two status, and is controlled through 2022.

The deal marks the second time in the past two seasons that Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has acquired Smith, although his original tenure with the Mariners was measured in hours. Dipoto traded for Smith from the Braves in a deal that sent Luiz Gohara to Atlanta. Yet Smith was promptly flipped to Tampa Bay in order to acquire Drew Smyly. Unfortunately for Seattle, Smyly injured his arm in Spring Training 2017, an injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery before he ever threw a pitch in Seattle.

Zunino brings about pole to pole power and premium defensive skills, yet, he pairs those highly vaunted attributes with a blemished 34.2% career strikeout rate and questionable on-base skills. He’s coming off a disappointing 2018 campaign in which he slashed .201 BA/.251 OBP/.406 SLG/.657 OPS, albeit with 20 homers. Yet he is just a season removed from a .251 BA/.339 OBP/.509 SLG/.848 OPS campaign with a career-high 25 homers. Over the last three seasons, Zunino has performed to a combined .223 BA/.300 OBP/.462 SLG/.762 OPS line with 57 homers across 1032 plate appearances.

As Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors) notes, Zunino’s average and OBP might not jump out, but when adjusting for the Mariners’ pitcher-friendly home park, that level of production rates at about seven percent better than the league-average hitter and nearly 20 percent better than that of a league-average catcher (by measure of OPS and wRC+).

Defensively, Zunino is a strong throwing/framing catcher with more power than just about any catcher in the game, Wilson Ramos precluded. He threw out a career-high 35% of would-be base stealers last season, and he continually ranks among the league leaders in terms of pitch framing — boasting an 8.5 oStr% (tied for 14th behind John Ryan Murphy) and 27 +Calls according to Stat Corner.

The acquisition could push Michael Perez from a starting role to a backup job, although Perez was impressive in his brief Major League promotion last season — hitting .284 BA/.304 OBP/.392 SLG/.696 OPS with a homer and five doubles, while also throwing out 29% of would-be base stealers (17 total). In all likelihood, Zunino and Perez, who has received good defensive ratings throughout his minor league career, will battle it out for the starting position in Spring Training. Whatever the case, the platoon gives Tampa Bay a couple of solid defenders behind the plate.

Heredia, 28, is similar to Smith in that he’s a speedy outfielder (ranking 55/55 in speed according to FanGraphs), with minimal power, who is capable of handling all three outfield positions. He, however, has amassed poor defensive ratings in centerfield (-9 DRS in 2018), though he grades out above-average in the outfield corners. He hit .236 BA/.318 OBP/.342 SLG/.660 OPS with the Mariners across 337 plate appearances last season.

Heredia is not likely to get the bulk of the reps in the outfield, which should feature Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier and Austin Meadows as starters. He, however, could give the Rays a nice bench option, or depth at Triple-A since he has multiple minor league options remaining.

Rays promote Matt Quatraro; claim Oliver Drake and outright Sucre and Nuno among others

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The Tampa Bay Rays Rays promoted Matt Quatraro to bench coach following the loss of former bench coach Charlie Montoyo. (Photo Credit: MLB.com)

The Tampa Bay Rays Rays promoted Matt Quatraro to bench coach following the loss of former bench coach Charlie Montoyo. Quatraro had been the Rays’ third-base coach on manager Kevin Cash’s staff.

According to the team’s press release:

Quatraro, 44, becomes the 10th bench coach in club history, following Frank Howard (1998-99), Bill Russell (2000), Hal McRae (’01), Billy Hatcher (’01-02), John McLaren (’03-05), Bill Evers (’06-07), Dave Martinez (’08-14), Tom Foley (’15-17) and Charlie Montoyo (’18).

Montoyo was recently named manager for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 2019 season will be Quatraro’s 24th in professional baseball and 16th in a coaching capacity. Last season, Quatraro returned to the Rays’ organization after spending the previous four seasons (2014-17) as an assistant hitting coach for the Indians.

Prior to joining Cleveland, Quatraro was Tampa Bay’s Minor League hitting coordinator from 2010-13. He also spent four seasons as a Minor League manager in the Rays’ organization, going 196-228 (.462) with Class A Bowling Green (’09), Class A Advanced Columbus (’08) and Class A Short-Season Hudson Valley (’06-07).

Quatraro’s coaching career began midway through the 2004 season, as a catching instructor and coach with Hudson Valley.

An eighth-round selection by the Rays in the 1996 Draft, Quatraro played seven seasons in the system as a catcher, first baseman and outfielder, reaching Triple-A Durham in 2002. He became the first player in organization history to hit for the cycle on July 6, 1997, against Class A Hickory.

Over 415 career Minor League games, Quatraro hit .286/.343/.416 (415-for-1,451) with 23 home runs and 202 RBIs.

The Rays also made a handful of roster moves, claiming right-hander Oliver Drake off waivers from Minnesota, and outrighting catchers Jesus Sucre and Adam Moore, as well as hurlers Andrew Kittredge and Vidal Nuno off the 40-man roster. Right-handers Jose De Leon, Wilmer Font, and Jose Mujica, as well as infielder Daniel Robertson, have all been reinstated from the 60-day DL. The Rays’ 40-man now stands at 37 players.

Drake, 31, hasn’t had much success in his brief big league career, however, there are reasons to believe he could succeed in the near future. The right-hander has been rather unlucky over the past couple of seasons, having been staked to a .353 BABIP, albeit with an exceptional 47% swinging strike percentage. Drake worked to a 2.21 ERA with an impressive 3.3 K/BB ratio and a 50% ground-ball rate across 20-1/3 innings with the Twins — the only team with which he found real success.

Drake also saw MLB action with four other teams in 2018 (Blue Jays, Angels, Indians, Brewers), and he’s seen time with six Major League clubs over the past two seasons. Drake is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to break camp with Tampa Bay (or another club) next spring or else be exposed to waivers yet again.

Sucre, 30, appeared in 73 games with the Rays this past season, although he hit just .209 BA/.247 OBP/.253 SLG/.500 OPS across 198 plate appearances. Having accrued more than three years of Major League service time, Sucre has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Moore, 34, went 4-18 in eight games with Tampa Bay. He’s seen big league action in parts of nine seasons, slashing a lite .199 BA/.239 OBP/.312 SLG/.551 OPS in 312 plate appearances.

Kittredge, 28, came to the Rays in November of 2016 in the deal that sent Richie Shaffer and Taylor Motter to the Seattle Mariners. With Tampa Bay, the right-hander suffered mightily, getting torched for 33 earned runs across 38-1/3 innings.

Nuno, 31, was quite effective in his brief time with the Rays, allowing just six earned runs in 33 innings (across 17 appearances) while performing toa 1.64 ERA.

The loss of Sucre signals that the Rays could be in the market for a right-handed hitting catcher, with Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) suggesting that the team could pursue Wilson Ramos or Robinson Chirinos — both of whom are familiar to the Rays. The Rangers surprisingly cut ties with Chirinos, 34, on Friday. He was a quality offensive backstop as a Ranger, posting a .768 OPS in 1,546 plate appearances with the club.

Rays seeking pop in the offseason

Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Rays’ main offseason objective is to acquire a right-handed power hitter, to join Tommy Pham in the middle of the order, with presence and pop. Topkin named Nelson Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, and Josh Donaldson as free agents who would qualify, adding that it appears the team will move on without righty-swinging first baseman C.J. Cron, who belted 30 home runs in 2018.

Even though Cron performed well in 2018, and will be affordable next season (MLB Trade Rumors contributor Matt Swartz projects a $5.2-million salary), the Rays could trade the first baseman prior to the November 30 non-tender deadline, as the team is seeking a more “feared” and consistent hitter.

Speaking of who the Rays may be seeking in the offseason, MLB Trade Rumors released its annual top 50 free agents and their contract predictions.

Among the players listed, hurler Lance Lynn has been predicted to sign with Tampa Bay this offseason, projecting a two year, $16-million deal.

As Tim Dierkes (MLB Trade Rumors) writes:

Like Moustakas, Lynn was one of the free agents who got body-slammed by the 2017-18 market freeze.  MLBTR projected a four-year, $56MM deal for Lynn coming off a solid season for the Cardinals, yet the righty fell to the Twins in March on a one-year, $12MM deal.  He struggled in 20 starts for Minnesota, as his already-high walk rate got out of hand.  The Twins sent him to the Yankees at the trade deadline.  Lynn wound up making nine starts for New York, with a 4.60 ERA but a 2.17 FIP, 3.03 xFIP, 10.0 K/9, and 2.5 BB/9.  Despite the small sample, those peripherals are intriguing and should land Lynn a rotation job — if not a two-year deal — somewhere.

Noteworthiness

— Just your daily reminder that the clock is tick-tick-ticking down to the inevitable January 1 deadline in which Stu Sternberg has to inform the city of St. Petersburg whether he will be opting out of the Tropicana Field lease early. If you’re counting down, as of Monday, Hillsborough County — which is tapped out and cannot adequately fund crucial infrastructure improvements, much less a stadium — has just 57 days to come up with to come up with, at minimum, $300-million in stadium funding before the proposed $892-million stadium turns back into a pumpkin.

I think we have some work to do in terms of getting a financing plan together that will get that stadium built. But I remain confident if anybody can get it done in Tampa Bay, it’s Stu (Sternberg). Nobody is working harder at it, said MLB Commisioner Rob Manfred.

“Some work to do” — Ya think?

Honestly, staying at Tropicana Field and developing the land around it is looking like a better business move as the clock continues to tick down. Then again, there is a piece of property that is readily available, by way of a referendum, if it comes down to it…

Baldelli and Montoyo assume managerial positions with Twins and Jays; Gaston close to signing

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Rocco Baldelli was introduced to the media Thursday afternoon at Target Field. (Photo Credit: Brian Peterson/Star Tribune)

The Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse will have a different look going into Spring Training next season. On Thursday, the Minnesota Twins announced that Rocco Baldelli will replace former manager Paul Molitor, while bench coach Charlie Montoyo will take over as the Blue Jays new skipper. The Rays are also reportedly close to signing a $2.61-million deal with 17-year-old Cuban right-hander Sandy Gaston.

Rocco Baldelli announced as the Twins new manager

Baldelli had previously been in consideration for several managerial vacancies, with the Blue Jays and Rangers having been top candidates. Former Rays hitting coach Derek Shelton was also said to be a finalist, while Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde was Minnesota’s other top choice. It is plausible that Shelton, who also served on the Twins’ coaching staff last season, could remain on hand as the bench coach, given his familiarity with Baldelli.

 

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No matter the uniform… he’s one of ours.

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Baldelli, 37, is best known for his promising, but injury-shortened, big league career, slashing a combined .285 BA/.326 OBP/.425 SLG/.751 OPS with 27 home runs and 44 steals through across 292 big league games. Baldelli, however, suffered an ACL tear in his right elbow during the 2004-05 offseason which required Tommy John surgery before he could return to the field.

Baldelli rejoined the Rays in 2006 and batted .302 BA/.339 OBP/.533 SLG/.872 OBP in 92 games. Sadly his career took a mysterious downturn the following season, as he was diagnosed with a rare condition called channelopathy, rendering his body metabolically incapable of recovering from the rigors of playing baseball at a professional level. After amassing a total of 429 career plate appearances in 2008, Baldelli played his final game at just 29 years of age.

The former Ray spent three seasons as first base coach from 2015-17 and was also tasked with outfield instruction. The organization created the new role, Major League field coordinator, for Baldelli last season — a role in which he assisted manager Kevin Cash and bench coach Charlie Montoyo with a heavy focus on player development at the big league level.

As with Cash, who was just four years removed from serving as a player before being hired as manager, Baldelli will be touted as someone who is more capable of connecting with younger players.

Charlie Montoyo announced as the Blue Jays new manager

The Blue Jays announced the hiring of Charlie Montoyo, who received a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth season in 2022.

 

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Good news: we’ll see each other a lot. Bad news: we’ll see each other a lot.

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Montoyo, 53, spent 18 seasons managing within the Rays’ organization before he joined the big league coaching staff in December 2014. He initially served as Tampa Bay’s third base coach before being named bench coach last offseason, replacing Tom Foley. Montoyo’s experience and positive reputation helped to make him a popular managerial candidate this offseason — he also interviewed with Cincinnati and was linked to other ball-clubs too.

Montoyo was a sixth-round draft pick with the Brewers in 1987 and had a 10-year playing career in the minors, receiving a brief big league promotion in with the 1993 Expos — appearing in four games and tallying just five plate appearances. When his playing career ended in 1996, he almost immediately joined the Rays organization.

Montoyo is only three years younger than the man he’ll replace, John Gibbons, but he comes from a different background, having spent more than two decades with an organization that has often spearheaded experimental tactics and strategies. He’ll give the Blue Jays a bilingual skipper with considerable experience running a clubhouse (albeit at the minor league level) and a deep understanding of the increasing role that data plays not only in informing roster construction but also in the day-to-day performances and training regimens of a big league roster, writes Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors).

Rays close to signing Sandy Gaston

The Rays are reportedly close to signing a deal with Cuban right-hander Sandy Gaston that will pay him a $2.61-million bonus. The deal is pending a physical.

Gaston is slated to absorb the bulk of the Rays’ remaining international spending pool, which previously stood at $3.5-million.

The right-hander was ranked the 24th overall international prospect by Baseball America, and is known for his big velocity, which he showed off in a recent showcase for MLB clubs at Marlins Park in Miami. He, however, lacks polish — his off speed pitches and fastball command remain in question. In any case, at just 17 years of age, Gaston clearly has plenty of time to iron things out.

In July, the Rays landed 13th overall prospect, shortstop Alejando Pie, for $1.4-million.

Tampa Bay Rays agree to a long-term contract with Kevin Cash

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The extension to Kevin Cash’s contract will make him the longest-tenured manager in franchise history.

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a long-term contract extension with manager Kevin Cash. The lengthy commitment runs through the 2024 season, however, it also includes an option for another year. As of now, the financial details are unknown. This agreement replaces the prior deal which included one more season and a two-year option.

In spite of the odds placed against them, Cash guided the Rays to a 90-72 record this season, using a variety of unorthodox methods of utilizing the roster. And though 90 wins weren’t enough to earn the team a spot in the 2018 postseason, the strong showing, after a 1-8 (and 4-13) start to the season, generated optimism and enthusiasm for the team in the near future. Moreover, it demonstrated to the front office that Cash is the right person to translate their theories into action.

We put a lot on his plate, Rays GM Erik Neander said. When it comes to managing effectively, leading a club effectively, frankly, I don’t know how much more one could have demonstrated over the course of a season than what he did.

… Under Kevin’s leadership, our teams have always played hard. They’ve played with energy, and by and large, they’ve played the game the right way. In our opinion, taking a look at this thing, the way that our teams have played has a lot to do with the example Kevin sets and the consistency which he approaches day to day.

The energy, the competitiveness. There’s a certain authenticity that we’ve spoken to over time here, that makes him real and allows him to motivate and to relate to a wide assortment of people. … Our players want to play for him, and he’s just created a wonderful culture for our group.

Cash was initially hired in a 2014-15 offseason that saw the massive organizational overhaul — Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon both departed for Los Angeles and Chicago, respectively. The former backstop oversaw a pair of middling 80-82 seasons sandwiched around a brutal 68-94 2016 campaign.

Even before the start of the 2018 season, Tampa Bay was under an immense amount of pressure. The MLBPA filed a formal complaint against the team because of their cost-cutting roster decision. The club then shipped away even more veterans, with Chris Archer following catcher Wilson Ramos, starter Nathan Eovaldi, closer Alex Colome, and outfielder Denard Span out the door during the course of the season.

Yet the young squad performed admirably, improving from a .500 record at the start of August to finish the season on a 34-16 tear. Cash, aided by the data-driven front office, maximized the emerging player’s talent to great effect.

When the season closed, the Rays were left looking at an intriguing depth chart, largely blank future balance sheet, and lauded farm system, writes Jeff Todd (MLB Trade Rumors).

There also is a renewed hope of bolstered future revenues, as the organization is expected to officially announce its, as of now, generous new TV deal prior to the start of the 2019 season.

Cash enters this new phase of his term with a vote of confidence from the front office and more job security than, well … the former skipper, Joe Maddon.

I’m incredibly appreciative of the opportunity that was presented four years ago, and now, Cash said. I’m thankful for the support of Stu and the ownership group. From Matt and Brian to Erik and Chaim, all of our baseball ops people, our fans and the players.

I think this game has always been about the players and will always be about the players. But any positive impact myself, my staff, our front office can do to help lead them in the right direction is a huge benefit.

If Cash stays through 2024, he will become the longest-tenured manager in franchise history. He, too, would lead the Rays into a new stadium, be that in Ybor City or in Pinellas County.

Expectations have been raised, and it will be interesting to see what sort of additional tinkering is pursued over the 2018 offseason.

Rays offseason plans

The Rays enter the offseason with a committed payroll of around $32-million. Neither free-agents OF Carlos Gomez nor RHP Sergio Romo are expected to return. As Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) writes, upgrades seem likely for arbitration-eligible 1B/DH C.J. Cron (despite 30 homers) and C Jesus Sucre. A glut of lefty-hitting outfielders (and overall) creates the potential to trade Mallex Smith or, less likely, Kevin Kiermaier.

The expectations are up, Neander said. We go into next year off the season we had, we want to improve. And to improve on the number of wins we had this year should put us in the territory where we’re expecting playoffs.

How to go about doing that? How to achieve it? How to balance the depth that we have? We have a lot of puzzle pieces, now it’s a matter of which ones fit and which ones can be repurposed.

I don’t think we’re forecasting an active winter, so to speak. But there’s a lot that we need to think through to make sure we’re as competitive as we can be and as functional as we can be, and not just a young, talented team.

Trading for an impact player or two, or signing a few free agents — while different, given the team’s previous offseason moves — seem to be a given.