Important Time of Year for Depth
Most of the top-level free agents have signed. Of those remaining, many are seeking the right landing spot, especially if you’re expecting a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training. If the Rays are calling any free agent pitcher with a minor league contract offer, there are many reasons to consider Tampa Bay an ideal destination.
There are several reasons for this, but for the most part, the Rays give individuals the best chance for an extended opportunity, and for success. Let’s take a look at some recent stories, and the reasons why Tampa Bay is a solid landing spot:
The odds are with you: For the past four season, the Rays have not been at the top of the league, but have been above average in terms of pitchers used. Not including position pitchers, they used 37 last season, 38 in 2021, 24 in the shortened season of 2020 and 30 in 2019, all of them playoff years. Since most years the 40-man roster has 22 or so pitchers, a full season might allow for an additional 8-to-15 pitchers to get a chance.
If a player is just seeking the best chance to get back to the majors, that’s one reason why Tampa Bay is a good fit for pitchers on minor league free agent deals.
Winning breeds opportunity: Some might suggest that the best chance for a player seeking a minor league free agent deal is to sign with a team that is rebuilding. However, that’s not necessarily the case.
If you’re a pitcher going to a bad team, you might also be playing with fielders that don’t have range, and that might lead to poorer results, that don’t reflect how you’re pitching. In addition, a bad team may have more innings to fill. Because they have more innings to cover, they’re not putting you against hitters where you have the best chance to succeed.
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If you’re on a bad club, that team also might give a homegrown player a greater chance. For a playoff contender like Tampa Bay, every game matters, so there’s a greater likelihood you get a chance, and stay with the Rays based on merit.
Plus there are going to be 40-man spots available as Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge will begin the year on the 60-day IL so it’s not like the Rays will need to remove someone to get a pitcher to the majors.
Small Market Team: If you’re a larger market club, you can always go out and add a free agent arm or one via a trade to upgrade. For instance, the Phillies recently signed Craig Kimbrel and traded for Gregory Soto. The Rays are among those teams that don’t have the same resources of the large-market clubs. Sure Tampa Bay can trade for a reliever on occasion, but by and large they have to be more creative than most teams. That also requires them to lean more heavily on six-year free agents.
Shawn Armstrong joined the Rays in season in 2021 via Baltimore, and after going to Miami as a free agent early in 2022, he passed through waivers during the year, and elected to re-sign with Tampa Bay. What followed was another reason for free agents to pick the Rays.
Best of Times: The goal of any minor league player is to get to the majors and stay there because they’ve had success. By and large, especially for pitchers, the Rays have provided individuals the tools to do so.
Tampa Bay first emphasizes what is most important, why they like a player, and the characteristics that make him successful. That creates a level of confidence for the signing player.
Beyond that, Tampa Bay creates favorable matchups to best utilize strengths. That, combined with strong analytics, athletic defenders, a strong training staff to keep players healthy, as well as great teachers like pitching coach Kyle Snyder maximize success.
Armstrong had arguably his best extended run in the majors last year, and he’s not the only minor league free agent to have that lately. In the past four years, the Rays have had varying levels of success with Armstrong, Luke Bard, John Curtiss, Louis Head, Andrew Kittredge, Aaron Loup, and Casey Sadler. That’s not to mention pitchers like Evan Phillips or Dietrich Enns, who didn’t stay long with Tampa Bay in the majors. Phillips achieved MLB success with the Dodgers, while Enns has multiple years with Japan.
Regardless of how the success has come, the bottom line is that if the Rays call in January and February for a pitcher still looking for work, it’s a good idea to answer the phone.
