The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly finalizing a Minor League contract with free-agent outfielder Ben Gamel. He is expected to arrive at big league camp once he passes a physical.
Last season, Gamel appeared in 115 games with the Pirates, slashing .232 BA/.324 OBP/.369 SLG/.693 OPS across 423 plate appearances. He hit nine homers and accrued an 11.3% walk rate, with a 23.2% strikeout rate. Should Gamel crack Tampa Bay’s roster, he will give the heavily right-handed Rays an option from the left side of the batter’s box.
Including 2022, Gamel has spent time in each of the past seven seasons in the big leagues extending back to his 2016 debut with the Bronx Bummers. He’s a lifetime .253 BA/.333 OBP/.385 SLG/.718 OPS hitter with a 97 wRC+ in 2200+ plate appearances. Even though he’s viewed as light on power — his career-high in home runs is 11, with a career .132 ISO — Gamel has drawn walks at a strong clip for the majority of his big league career (10.2%).
Gamel’s track record against right-handed pitching is roughly average over his career, however, he carries a solid .255 BA/.351 OBP/.408 SLG/.759 OPS slash line against right-handed hurlers dating back to Opening Day 2021. That’s somewhere in the ballpark of 12% better than the league average when you consider, well…ballpark factors.
Outside of the batter’s box, Gamel was rated as a good defender early in his career, although those metrics of hit the skids the last few seasons. Per MLB Trade Rumors, Statcast has given decreasingly favorable reviews to his outfield jumps and dropped his arm strength from above-average to roughly average in 2022. Gamel’s sprint speed still landed in the 65th percentile of MLB players in 2022, but he was in at least the 80th percentile in each of his first three MLB campaigns (including an 87th percentile showing in his debut season).
Currently, the Rays’ primary outfielders are Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri, Manuel Margot, and Harold Ramirez. Yet, all of them bat from the right side. In other words, Tampa Bay could use some left-handed help, especially since the Rays traded Ji-Man Choi to the Pirates in the offseason. If Gamel can stay healthy and impress Kevin Cash, he could offer steady production from the left side.
Noteworthiness
— Tyler Glasnow took the mound on Wednesday — the second day of live batting practice in Spring Training. The right-hander worked on his off-speed pitches, as well as his heater, with Rays skipper Kevin Cash noting that Glasnow was “electric.”
(The) Breaking ball looked incredibly sharp both curveball and slider. It’s electric stuff. Every hitter, certainly our young hitters, come back. It’s OK to be wowed by it. It’s pretty special stuff.
— Kevin Cash