Rays Notes: Boyle, Springs Trade, Shortstop, Soto

The Rays made a major trade with the Athletics yesterday, bringing in three players and a Competitive Balance Round draft pick in exchange for lefties Jeffrey Springs AND Jacob López. Tampa president of baseball operations Erik Neander told Adam Berry of MLB.com and other reporters that the decision to move Springs was “really, really hard“, and that the trade was “a situation where the A’s really stepped up and really wanted Jeffrey.”

On paper, it was assumed that the Rays would address their rotation depth this winter, with Springs and Zack Littell considered the most likely trade candidates as they were the two highest paid of the rotation candidates. The surplus is still technically there as they still have six starters (Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussenand Littell) on the roster, more now Joe Boyle acquired in the Springs trade. Berry writes that despite all these available weapons, the Rays are not expected to trade starting pitching anymore.

“Right now, we’re looking at more starters than rotation points and exploring different ways to fix it, while also knowing that you can never have enough“Neander said.

Boyle has big league experience in the form of 63 2/3 innings with the A’s over the last two seasons, but of the seven potential starters, he seems like the clearest candidate to start the season in Triple-A. The powerful Boyle battled his control in both the majors and minors, and Neander suggested the Rays view him as a bit of a work in progress, with a lot of potential.

“Joe Boyle is someone who has the physicality and what it takes to fit at the front of the rotation“Neander said. “I think there are signs of progress in shooting, and he doesn’t need to be a sharpshooter to be truly effective… On the bright side, I think, it’s something that deserves great patience when it comes to his development.”

Trading from rotation depth was a major checkpoint on Tampa’s offseason to-do list, and it remains to be seen what else Neander has in store to upgrade the roster ahead of what will be an unconventional season at George M. Steinbrenner Field. compared to Tropicana Field. In terms of roster help, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times believes the Rays will mostly look within their organization, but they could add depth to the outfield and the team is “at least open to a more offensively oriented shortstop.”

From Wander Francotime with the Rays is almost certainly over, Taylor walls is listed as the starting shortstop and Walls is still looking for a breakout at the plate. Over four MLB seasons, Walls has hit just .188/.288/.293 in 1,243 plate appearances – Walls’ 71 wRC+ is the fourth-lowest among all players with at least 1,000 PAs since Opening Day 2021.

What Walls brings to the table is glove work, although public defensive metrics are not unanimous in their approval of Walls’ work as a shortstop. Outs Above Average metrics have given him negative grades in each of the last three seasons and he earned negative UZR/150 scores in 2022 and 2023 before a whopping +15.3 UZR/150 last season. The Defensive Runs Saved metric, meanwhile, gave Walls +35 DRS in his 1983 career 2/3 innings as a shortstop.

The Rays appear to be leaning more towards the DRS view, as Topkin notes that the club has a “fervent appreciation” for Walls’ gloves. Therefore, a trade offer or free agent opportunity would have to clear “a high bar” to inspire Tampa Bay to reduce Walls’ playing time. Any type of shortstop acquisition would still be a short-term addition as a better prospect Carson Williams he could be in line to make his MLB debut at some point later in the 2025 season.

However, you can never rule out Neander and his front office making a creative move. We saw proof of this in early November, when reports indicated the Rays were one of many teams they had been in contact with Juan Soto when the free agent market opens. Perhaps the check-in was largely due to due diligence, but Topkin reports that “the Rays floated a short-term deal…presumably with waivers after each season.”

It’s probably safe to assume that this offer didn’t gain much traction within the Soto camp, but there was no harm in presenting a one-off offer to Soto to see if there was any interest. It was just last season that several of Scott Boras’ other clients signed short-term contracts, full of player options, after not finding the long-term deals they were hoping to get in free agency, even though there were plenty less chance of Soto passing away. in his bid for a record-breaking contract.