Tyler Glasnow is among the higher-profile trade candidates around the league. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last August and will miss at least the bulk of the 2022 campaign. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $5.8MM arbitration salary in his second-to-last year of club control, Glasnow could find himself on the move after the lockout. It’s possible the low-payroll Rays would prefer to reallocate those funds to more immediate help as they try for a third straight division title.
If Glasnow had his way, though, he’d stick in Tampa Bay. The 28-year-old chatted with Chris Rose of Jomboy Media during a recent episode of The Chris Rose Rotation (video link on YouTube). Asked whether he’d remain a member of the Rays, Glasnow noted some uncertainty but flatly stated that’d be his preference.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he replied.”I hope. I really, really hope. I didn’t get traded before the lockout, so that’s a good sign. … I think if somebody were to call the Rays and give them a really awesome deal or something, (president of baseball operations Erik Neander) is not going to be like ’no.’ He has to listen to everything. That’s just how being a GM is.
But we have a really good relationship. Time will tell, but I would much prefer to stay a Ray. It would be nice to watch everyone in the beginning of the season and how good the team is and how young everyone is and then try to weave my back in and contribute.”
As Glasnow implied, it seems there’s a chance he’ll make it back to the mound late during the upcoming season. The Southern California native suggested he’s soon to begin throwing from 45 feet, the first time since going under the knife that he’ll pick up a ball. Glasnow noted there’s sure to be some variability in recovering from such a significant procedure and pointed to the many hurdles still in front of him, adding that he’s taking his rehab “day-by-day, week-by-week.” Yet he also suggested he has progressed as planned to this point and didn’t rule out the possibility of returning in August or September.
If the Rays do hold onto Glasnow, it’d be a huge boon for the club if he could make a late-season return. Over 14 starts last year, he worked 88 innings of 2.66 ERA/2.92 SIERA ball. The 6’8″ hurler punched out a massive 36.2% of batters faced against a solid 7.9% walk percentage. Glasnow has still yet to exceed 111 2/3 frames during an MLB season, but his rate production since the start of 2019 has been elite. Over the past three years, 156 hurlers have worked at least 150 innings as a starting pitcher. Glasnow ranks fifth among that group in ERA (2.80) and FIP (2.87) and sixth in strikeout/walk rate differential (28.1 percentage points).
If Glasnow can hit the ground running late in the season — even if he’s forced to work in shorter stints — that’d be an impact boost for the Rays (or a potential acquiring team) if they remain in the thick of the playoff race. Even if the club has fallen out of contention by that point, getting Glasnow some innings so he can enter the 2023 season with fewer question marks would be welcome. It remains to be seen whether a late-season comeback will be viable, but it’s encouraging to hear it currently remains a possibility.
Glasnow and Rose go on to speak about the Rays’ stadium situation, including the organization’s since-killed plans to split seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal. They also address the ongoing lockout and the pitcher’s day-to-day routine during his rehab process among a wide-ranging conversation. Rays fans, in particular, will want to check out the interview in full.
I feel horrible for the true Rays fans. They cheer on their team (a perennial contender) only to see the budget-minded franchise ship off their best players due to payroll constraints.
Hoping that all 14 of you get to see Glasnow stick around in Tampa.
Please don’t feel bad for us, we compete every single year and constantly have young exciting players who play their hearts out and just wanna have fun and win. We don’t care that we aren’t overpaying over the hill players who are lazy and boring just to say we have had the same jersey for 10 years
And while you’re at it please name a player the rays have traded from their MLB roster and have regretted it….?
Let me! Let me! Longoria, nevermind. Archer….oops, nevermind. I got one! FA d’Arnaud….oops, that gave ABs to Zunino. Nevermind.
A young Jose Bautista was sold for $50k; they traded Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker. I think those both look like stinkers for the Rays.
Adames
@KC38 – The Rays deeply regret trading Jake Cronenworth. He has become a stud in SD, while Xavier Edwards hasn’t done much at all for Tampa yet. The other pieces of that trade were pretty much a wash: Tommy Pham for Hunter Renfroe.
That was the Devil Rays
Wasn’t on their MLB roster, trading prospects is always a guessing game.
Jake Cronenworth comes to mind.
German Marquez
They might regret trading Turner and Ross for Souza and Hearns.
Oh, I don’t feel bad for you guys at all.
Quite the opposite actually, @kc.
@ Craven
Sure, Preller goes on a trade frenzy and he’s the Rock Star GM. Tampa does trades to keep contending within their payroll, which is more amazing, and you feel horrible.
I’d rather see my team be successful then hold on to veteran players because I “like” them and be a below .500 team every year. Have fun watching your team spend 150+ million a year to finish 4th in their division.
The Ray’s guys on the board aren’t necessarily the best examples. You guys (oftentimes a bit surly) are hard core fans. I just looked it up. In a season where you put up 100 wins, you failed to draw even a million fans, bro. (28th in MLB 761,072.)
I’m not sure Ray’s Nation – or whatever – feels the way you do. Seems like they’d be drawing significantly more fans than they actually are.
I still think the average fan likes to go to games & cheer on their stars. Ray’s don’t often provide that opportunity.
You guys (oftentimes a bit surly) are hard core fans.
==================================
I assume that you are using ‘surly’ in the best way possible.
Past that, I agree. It’s not like getting to Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park is a piece of cake. It’s pretty good if you live near the subway, but driving is a catastrophe.
Doesn’t bother me that they’ve a bit of a chip on their shoulders. Hey, in the end, I am actually the same way: screw everybody but us. I hate everyone too.
One of the things I’ve done with my time on the board is try to get at least a poster or two on every team that I have interacted with & find their takes worthwhile. Not much luck breaking in with the Rays, man. None in fact. Perhaps it’s just me. Or Yankee fans in general. Dunno.
But that’s the problem. There aren’t enough rays fans to fill the park and generate the revenue they need to have bigger payrolls. It’s all college football over there.
They should’ve thankful they’re had geniuses in the front office that still field contenders most years with 10% of the means the division rivals have.
Sorry, Tyler. You don’t fit into the spreadsheet.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Sure. He could remain a Ray, but the Rays aren’t going to remain Rays.
If he really wants to stay why not sign a 2 year deal for $10MM with $9MM in year 2. TB has $$ for this year and he only loses a few million ( figure 5.8MM this year and 7MM next year via arbitration). Add a full NTC and he gets to stay just like he wants
Pretty sure he isn’t making $1 million next year.
I don’t really get all the hype for the guy. Seems to me like a modern day Ryan Dempster to be perfectly honest
That’s actually a decent comparison tbh. Dempster had 1 “Cy Young” caliber season as a starter with the Cubs.
He’s just a flat out good dude, A lot of baseball fans prob watch the Rose Rotation and notice that.
I’ll never forget Manfred changing the pitching substance rules in the middle of the season, and Glasnow tearing up his elbow a week later. Ridiculous.
Yeah it’s pretty evident who was cheating once the rules changed so you could no longer cheat LOL
The pitchers were warned early in the season.. Some pitchers figured it out, and some didn’t.
If that really happened then Glasnow was not in shape to be a pitcher. I don’t buy for a second that’s what happened though.
Glasnow had arm issues and missed most of 2019. His arm was going sooner or later. Happened sooner.
That saying of poop in one hand and wish in another comes in to play here. No disrespect intended.
Just use the wish to ask for more poop. Double fisting turds is a pretty big flex.
He is the one man I would have sex with.
Let us know how it goes.
Not following the Rays on a consistent basis, what are their two most important needs this season?
I ask as a Giants fan who would be willing to wait and take a chance that Glasnow will some day pitch more than 120 innings in a season. (The most he’s ever pitched is 112 back in 2018, and none above 88, which he only did last season.)
A righty 1B or DH is pretty much their only need. Besides pitching depth which every team can use. I don’t think they line up well with the Giants unless you guys were willing to give up Ruf. But I know the Giants like to platoon just as much as the Rays do. The only other option would be trading us one of your top prospects, but I doubt that would happen given Glasnow’s injury risk.
Thanks, MATT. Ruf has been terrific since coming back from the KBO—he’s even been pretty solid in LF. I know the want to give him more ABs, so you may be right about the matchup with the Rays. I guess a lot will depend on Glasnow’s medical reports.
C’mon, Tyler. You know the drill. Make too much money and you have to go.
Been a long time Rays season ticket holder for many years. Currently I live in Dade City FL but I also lived in Bradenton & Lakeland in the past. Rays just need to get out of downtown St Pete & get closer to I75.
I don’t know the area at all but from the map I wonder why they don’t locate the new stadium close to the Florida State Fairground near I-4 and I-75. There seems to be plenty of parking. I can see why no one wants to go to St. Pete. The team needs customers on all sides with an easier commute. Give it to them. How far is Orlando from the Fair Grounds?
about an hour, but i4 traffic also sucks big time
The Pirates got fleeced.
Pirates are not a major league city or team can’t afford players either but rays try
Sorry, JR, but you’ve missed on both parts. The Pirates will never be a St.Louis-type market, even with a winner, but they are perfectly capable of drawing 2 million fans if there is a competitive team on the field, even at a ballpark that seats 39K
Secondly, the ownership group here is somewhere in the range of the 11th or 12th richest such group in MLB. Having the money has never been the problem. Reaping huge profits *has* been the issue
The Nutting group threw some money at the team during the most recent “glory” era of 7 or 8 years ago, didn’t get instant gratification and then conducted a 5 year fire sale of anyone with talent.
The Pirates have the best stadium in all of MLB. It’s such a shame they don’t fill it night after night. While it’s taken 3-4 years, the Pirates finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Their minor league system is packed with talent that should start contributing no later than 2023. Their future looks very promising; they just need their fans to buy in and start supporting the team. Nutting will spend money so long as more money flows into the organization.
Thanks to the structure of MLB, the money has never stopped flowing in to ownership. It’s been stated repeatedly that on field success and attendance are but small elements within that structure, something Mark Cuban alluded to when he was interviewed about rumors of him being a possible white knight riding in to “save” the franchise a few years ago. The point was—and remains—that current ownership makes a very nice profit, and one would think that’s especially true when ownership has pared its personnel expenses to exceedingly low levels
Your point about PNC is well taken but the novelty of seeing a minor league team playing in the nicest park in MLB faded 20 years ago for most
That said, your equation seems backward. Provide a winning team and fans will come and it’s been proven. The question remains whether ownership even cares and will allow Cherington to continue the work he’s begun over the next five years
JR513 – As long-time fan (not of the Pirates), I’ve got to dispute your claim against Pittsburgh. It’s a great and historic baseball town. Some of MLB’s greatest players have come from the Pirates. Plus, they have the second nicest ballpark in the majors, second only to SF’s Oracle.
Hopefully, Nutting and his co-owners will start plowing more money into the franchise with the new CBA (whenever they finally agree to it) holding a torch to the owner’s behinds.
Jr seems like a troll to me.
Nutting spent money before during the three year acme of success.He will spend it again if and when the farm system actually produces solid major league players.Small market teams can only win if they have a steady stream of good and cheap minor league players.They need two or three stars to actually compete for championships,and stars are expensive,so the window of opportunity is relatively small.
The Pirates have always had some problems with good attendance,but the fans have been loyal and came out regularly when they had recent good teams.
I feel the Montreal Rays have an excellent chance to re-sign Tyler Glasnow. And he wants to stay.
Glasnow will be a STL Cardinal
Anxious to see how he does this year. Needs to come out swinging to make sure he gets paid and shut up all the sticky tack talk
To see how who does this year? If you are talking about Glasnow, there’s a better chance that he doesn’t throw one pitch in the majors in 2022 versus him coming back from TJS in August or September. These power pitchers usually take 14-15 months to fully recover from TJS which puts him in October or November. It would be really dumb to rush him back this year. If cash flow is the issue, sign him to a 2 year, $12M contract where he gets paid $2M this season for sitting out and $10M in 2023 when he should be healthy enough to pitch a full season. That would pay him an extra $400K more than he’s projected to make via arbitration and it still allows the Rays to trade him in 2023 and dump that $10M salary on another team. The Rays don’t care about the CBT hit ($6M/yr) since they are so far below it. They run their team on a cash basis, so it makes sense to try to reduce his 2022 salary since he won’t be playing.
Regardless of when he comes back
When he comes back
I’m anxious to see how he does
Of course, as long as the recovery is successful in the first place. He can be fairy confident but there’s certainly no guarantees. If we’re getting into detail oriented semantics here
Very well trained PR comment by Tyler.. Look at it from the opposite side..what’s he supposed to say:
“…the Rays are an organization that fosters only one path.. leaving…”
Then stay there for the coming rehab year and the following “make good” year?..He’d be crucified in the court of public opinion..
THE ONLY COMMENT HE CAN MAKE IS THAT HE WANTS TO STAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!…
Until he leaves.. like every Tampa Ray does..
Of course he wants to stay. Why would he want to rehab with an organization training/medical staff he doesn’t know?
He should have a bright future in Charlotte/Nashville/Buffalo/Portland/Vancouver/San Antonio/Las Vegas/Mexico City.
Sure. Of course by the time all of those places have teams he might be around 100 years old…
Who says they’re all getting teams? The point was that the Rays will eventually relocate but the destination is unknown at this time.
Well, in that case, 2027 is the earliest they can relocate. By then Glasnow will be long gone and on to a different team (possibly multiple teams by then)