11:03am: Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the operations O’Conner have undergone this winter were to address disk issues in his lower back that impacted him during the regular season (Twitter links). He appears to be facing a lengthy recovery, as senior vice president Chaim Bloom told Topkin that the team is “a ways away from [O’Conner] being able to play,” adding that the 2017 season isn’t entirely lost. (The very fact that the entire season was even referenced as a possibility speaks to the nature of the rehab, however.) Per Topkin, the Rays could look to bring O’Conner back on a minor league deal if he clears outright waivers.
9:40am: The Rays announced on Monday that minor league catcher Justin O’Conner has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Wilson Ramos, whose two-year deal with Tampa Bay is now official.
O’Conner, 25 in March, was drafted with the No. 31 overall pick by the Rays in 2010 and rated as one of the organization’s top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) each year since. Prior to the 2015 season, BA rated him as highly as No. 3 on Tampa Bay’s top 30, and MLB.com entered the season with O’Conner ranked 61st overall among MLB prospects that same season. That ranking came on the heels of a very solid .278/.316/.466 batting line compiled between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, but O’Conner limped to a .231/.255/.371 performance in 2015 — his first full season at Double-A.
Injuries have been an issue for O’Conner, though, and the Rays announced today that he’s undergone a pair of back surgeries after being limited to just 20 games in 2016. He also underwent a pair of hip surgeries early in his career, so durability concerns aren’t exactly a new phenomenon for O’Conner.
Last winter, O’Conner rated 13th among Rays farmhands, per BA, though their scouting reported questioned his ability to hit breaking pitches and changeups while also raising questions about his “decision-making on defense and aptitude for game management.” BA does note that he’s gotten 80 grades on his throwing arm — O’Conner has halted 46 percent of stolen bases attempted against him in his career — and has above-average raw power.
Smells braves to me
Me too. Braves don’t have room on the 40-man though. I would still really like to see the braves pick him up.
Convert him to a pitcher with that arm lol
Not out of the question
And then when Ramos leaves us in a year we’ll have no catchers again. Awesome
2 years
Basically a year. He’s not gonna catch much for us. Therefore it’s one year. I’m the biggest Rays fan around lol. I know what Ramos contract is
Still it is two year buddy
Angels should be on him in a heartbeat. Need catching depth and can afford to wait on his health.
I can certainly see the Braves going after him. Their 40-man roster is currently full, but if they do get him, I’m almost certain that they’ll remove Jesse Biddle to make room.
He has to make it through all the American League teams before the National League teams even have a chance. Don’t see the Braves winning that claim
In the offseason (and in the first month of the regular season), waiver order is determined based on the previous season’s standings only. The in-league waiver priority doesn’t apply.
Maybe Mets sign him
Not if the Brewers get him first or we should just straight up trade him to the Rays
Oops I mean we should trade Maldonado for him straight up
The Twins could use some catching depth.
Castro goes for $24.5 mil and hit about
.230 Ramos will miss one or two months but hit .307 with 80 RBI and 21 homers. And Castro isn’t as good as a defender. Twins got robbed, one hell of a deal for Tampa
Castro is certainly a better defender especially after Ramos’ knee surgery
Ramos had one already before this and was still better than Castro