Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow’s name has been floated frequently in the rumor mill this offseason, and it’s not hard to see why. Tampa Bay’s highest Opening Day payroll in franchise history, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, was a figure just under $84MM in 2022. Meanwhile, RosterResource projects the Rays for a substantial increase over that figure, with a $126MM projection for the club’s 2024 Opening Day roster as things stand. That disparity of more than $40MM has led to a widespread belief around the league that the club needs to slash payroll this offseason, and Glasnow’s $25MM salary in 2024 is far and away the largest salary on Tampa’s books for 2024.
That said, the Rays are facing a great deal of question marks regarding their starting rotation due to significant injuries to lefties Shane McClanahan and Jeffrey Springs as well was right-hander Drew Rasmussen last season. Each of the three required season-ending surgery in 2023 and figure to miss much, if not all, of the 2024 campaign as well. That leaves the Rays with just three sure-fire starting pitchers entering the 2024 season as things stand: Glasnow, Aaron Civale, and Zach Eflin.
The club could get additional help next year from youngsters Taj Bradley and Shane Baz (the latter of whom is coming off a lost season due to Tommy John surgery in 2023) as well as righty Zack Littell, who pitched solidly as a swingman for the Rays in 2023, but the club’s many pitching injuries this past season serve as a reminder of the importance of maintaining starting pitching depth. Trading Glasnow would represent a major blow to that depth, particularly after he finished second to only Eflin in innings on the Rays last year despite not making his season debut until the end of May.
It’s worth noting the possibility the Rays’ situation isn’t as dire as it may seem. After all, president of baseball operations Erik Neander has indicated that the club would be open to running a higher payroll in 2024 than they have in previous years in order to keep more of the club’s 99-win 2023 roster together. Specifics on exactly how high of a payroll club ownership is willing to stomach aren’t clear, but cutting projected payroll to $100MM would place them 22nd among majors league clubs in projected payroll for 2024, just behind the Brewers ($101MM) and just ahead of their southern neighbors in Miami ($96MM). While the club has typically run a bottom-five payroll among MLB clubs in recent years, precedent for the Rays ranking higher does exist, as Cot’s indicates their 2010 payroll was 22nd in the majors as well.
Given the club’s pitching and financial situations, it’s fair to not only ask if the Rays can afford to keep Glasnow in 2024, but also if they can afford to part with him. While there are no simple answers to the second question, it’s worth looking into the first: if the Rays are willing to run a payroll of $100MM in 2024, is there a path to retaining Glasnow as a member of the Opening Day roster?
Glasnow isn’t the only Rays player who’s seen his name appear in the rumor mill this offseason; outfielder Manuel Margot’s name has percolated almost as frequently as the hulking right-hander’s, with the Mets and Yankees among his known suitors. Moving on from Margot, who has posted roughly league average numbers (97 wRC+) at the plate over the past four seasons alongside stellar defense in the outfield, would likely be a must if the Rays are to trim their current payroll to $100MM while retaining Glasnow. Margot’s $10MM salary in 2024 is third-highest on the team, behind only Glasnow and Eflin. Trading two years of Eflin, who’s under contract for a combined $29MM over the next two seasons, in order to retain one year of Glasnow would make little sense for the Rays beyond an exorbitant trade return for Eflin’s services.
Margot isn’t the only outfielder who’s seen his name floated frequently as a potential Rays trade chip this offseason. Righty slugger Harold Ramirez has also seen his name floated as a potential trade candidate thanks to the similarity of his role to that of fellow slugger Luke Raley. While Ramirez’s projected $4.4MM salary in 2024 (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) is a reasonable price to pay for his services, Raley’s presence as a .249/.333/.490 hitter who crushed 19 homers in just 406 trips to the plate last season fills a similar niche to Ramirez on the club’s roster at a pre-arbitration rate. That makes Ramirez somewhat expendable for the Rays despite a solid .306/.348/.432 slash line over his two seasons with Tampa.
If the Rays part ways with both Margot and Ramirez this offseason, that would trim just under $15MM from the club’s payroll without doing too much damage to the club’s outfield depth, which would still include Raley in addition to Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri, Josh Lowe, and Greg Jones. That still leaves the club with more than $11MM in payroll that would need to be trimmed to get the club’s payroll down to $100MM, however. While dealing a veteran relief arm like Jason Adam or Andrew Kitteredge could save the club $2-3MM while opening up a roster spot for a youngster like Manuel Rodriguez or Colby White, the club’s bullpen depth would suffer for it and the Rays would still need to part ways with a more significant piece.
The two most likely candidates to depart in such a deal would be outfielder Randy Arozarena and second baseman Brandon Lowe, but parting with either player opens up significant question marks within the club’s positional group. Arozarena has become a face of the franchise in recent years thanks to his steady production and postseason heroic. In 2023, the 28-year-old delivered a 20/20 season while posting a 127 wRC+ as the club’s regular left fielder, production that would be difficult to replace without adding even more in payroll than Arozarena’s projected $9MM salary. That being said, there’s at least an argument to listen to offers on Arozarena’s services given the club’s budget crunch and the fact that he figures to only get more expensive in future trips through arbitration as he enters his thirties.
Lowe, on the other hand, could be easier for the club to replace. The 29-year-old had something of a bounceback season at the plate in 2023, slashing .231/.328/.443 with a 117 wRC+ in 109 games this past year after posting roughly league average numbers at the dish in 2022. Like Arozarena, Lowe figures to only get more expensive in the coming years as the Rays hold a pair of club options on his services for 2025 and 2026, valued at $10.5MM and $11.5MM respectively. With plenty of young infielders like Junior Caminero, Curtis Mead, and Jonathan Aranda approaching the big leagues, Lowe’s production could be easier for the club to replace internally than Arozarena’s, as well.
That being said, a Lowe trade comes with its own pitfalls. Lowe flashed the offensive production of an impact player from 2020-21, when he slashed .253/.346/.532 (140 wRC+) with 53 home runs in just 205 games. While he’s now two years removed from that offensive outburst, it’s worth noting that Lowe has been slowed by back issues over the past two seasons. A healthy 2024 campaign could see Lowe return to the All-Star caliber production from earlier in his career and substantially increase his value, both to the Rays and on the trade market. A Lowe trade would also exacerbate the uncertainty Tampa’s infield is facing due to the off-the-field issues of franchise shortstop Wander Franco and the offseason surgery of slick-fielding backup Taylor Walls, though it’s at least possible one or both players could be back in time for Opening Day.
For the Rays to make considerable cuts to their 2024 payroll while also retaining Glasnow, the club would likely have to part ways with at least four players in Margot, Ramirez, one of Adam or Kitteredge, and one of Arozarena or Lowe. While shipping out Margot, Ramirez, and a relief arm would all be perfectly defensible actions that subtract from areas of substantial depth for the club, dealing Arozarena or Lowe would entail giving up a slugger with multiple years of team control in the midst of his prime years who the club could struggle to replace the production of. That’s a steep price to pay in order to retain the services of Glasnow for the 2024 season, particularly when he figures to depart in free agency next winter either way.
Of course, there’s plenty of factors this exercise doesn’t take into account as well. Chief among them is the potential trade returns the Rays could garner, not only for Glasnow, but also for a longer-term piece like Lowe or Arozarena. If the Rays find themselves bowled over by an offer for any of the pieces mentioned here, the options at their disposal could certainly change. It’s also fair to note that the Rays could at least plausibly be willing to carry a payroll that exceeds even the $100MM figure used in this exercise; after all, the club made an offer to superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman during the 2021-22 offseason and had interest in dealing for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, both of whom would have likely required financial commitments north of Glasnow’s $25MM salary. Since then, the Rays have also hammered out an agreement on a new stadium in St. Petersburg, potentially further incentivizing the club to loosen the purse strings.
Cut payroll? They already have one of the lowest payrolls.
They also don’t get much from Bally’s and can’t even count on that.
…. And fans don’t show up to the games. Gate receipts are killing them.
Yea i totally agree. In the nhl the they have a hard cap and floor and just about every team is within 5% or so of the 83.5M cap save for the very worst 2 or 3 teams every year, the vap also goes up every year aswell. In the nhl there are only 6 teams spending under 80 And only 1 is under 76, there are also teams spending well over the cap due to how LTIR works. They have half the home games in smaller stadiums so i dont understand how every mlb team isnt spending at least 83m per season. The floor in the nhl is 62 and the lowest spending team whonis in a major rebuild is still 12 mil over that. Its actually a shame.
I believe there should be a soft floor like thwy have the soft cap that has tax and draft implications. If you sont spend to the floor you lose your 3rd highest pick and are taxed 25% of the difference between what you spend amd the floor.
I thought NFL teams had to spend a percentage of the cap too, it used to be something like 80%. It might have changed, I’m more of a college football guy anymore.
At any rate, caps work when there is a floor too.
there are 10 teams spending less then the nhls cap with 5 under 50 and 2 under 30. Seems like 50-55 is a good place to put a soft floor. Teams taxed 25% on the difference betweem there actual spending and the floor and any team under 40-45 lose a draft pick either 2 or 3. So a 10m cushiom between tax and draft pick lose qnd then another 10m cushion before you lose your 1st pick
Just to put your comment to rest. There will NEVER be a spending floor as the owners oppose it and there will NEVER be a spending cap, because every player in the mlbpa oppose any kind of cap on spending. They want every player making a billion dollars a year for the life of the player.
Caps don’t work, any problem that mlb has every other sport with a cap has a problem. The Mlbpa doesn’t want a cap either because they bargained for years against.
If the rays can constantly win and put out competitive teams with bottom tier payroll year in year out why should they be forced to pay more? There’s a reason why they never have any bad contracts.
And before some imbecile says how many rings they got? If your measure or success in baseball is just WS rings then 24 teams should tank every year.
Iver- Interesting to note that they were the worst run team for the first 15 years and became the best one the last 15 years.
But with one small market team WS win since 1991 these teams are doomed because they cannot afford the multiple superstars that you almost always need to win it all.
The playoffs are a crapshoot. There’s been plenty of small market teams in the World Series. With the ridiculous playoff format they have all you need to do is get to the playoffs now.
I have the Twins,Royals,Guardians,Rays,As,Brewers,Pirates,and Reds as small market teams.The three AL teams have won 7 pennants since 1991,with one championship.
In 31 seasons and 62 pennant winners and 7 pennants,that is 11.3% of the time.The small market teams are 8 of 30 teams,or 26.7%.They win the pennant on average 42.3% of the time that they could.
They have won the WS 14.3% of the time that they had won the pennant.
Anything is possible but 31 seasons say “no”.
The playoffs are a crapshoot.
But not for small market teams
Very much for small market teams, for any team. End of debate.
When crapshoot means any team can win a World Series title,and a small market team or two has gotten into the playoffs every complete year since 1991,and only one has won the World Series,yes it is the end of debate for those of us who base our opinions on facts.
Then again some people have opinions not based on facts.Are you one of them Iverbure?
It’s a crapshoot. Ask any gm. Each individual series is a crapshoot. Just because they haven’t won a bunch of coin flips in a row doesn’t mean they can’t.
The nerds have done the research adding a 4 war player to a playoff team against another playoff team in a playoff series adds like 0.01 chance to a teams win %. So in conclusion, it’s a crapshoot when two playoff teams play in a short playoff series which all playoff series are short even the 7 games one are short.
Any GM will tell you that they would want the best players on their team.
Thirty one years in a row are a lot of statistical data for this analysis.Any nerd will tell you that.
It may be a crapshoot for mid size and wealthy teams,but clearly not for small market teams based a on a lengthy history during the big money era.
Seven games are enough to generally say who the better team is.Five games are too.
But small market teams have proven that your hypothesis is wrong for them.
It is a conclusion that anyone who understands statistics and history would come to.
The costs associated with a domed stadium are much higher than an open stadium, and baseball has a much longer season than the NHL.
Brandon Lowe to the Red Sox for Garrett Whitlock and maybe a lower level prospect or two, who says no?
Brandon Lowe, like Jonathan India, would be a step up for Boston but not a great step up. Whitlock is effective if he’s coming out of the bullpen. Some pitchers just can’t be used as starters. The Sox found that out with Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves. Boston’s hope is that Nick Yorke is ready to roll by late ’24 or opening day ’25.
I think it’s a near certainty the Rays trade Glasnow. And I don’t think he will return what some people think. It’s 25 million bucks for a guy with a career high of 120 innings. Yes he has potential but that’s a giant pile of money. Glasnow to the Dodgers for one of two of their mid 20s “prospects” makes sense to me. Then the Dodgers can choose between Buehler and Glasnow after the 2024 season since both will be free agents.
He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. I doubt that’s what it would take for the Dodgers to get him. Not to mention, the Rays have the negotiating power against a team like them who need starters. In my opinion they should stay away. They already have more than a few injury prone arms.
No he’s not one of the best pitchers in the league. He can’t stay on the field.
At the end of the day the Rays have very little negotiating power because they need to trade him. The Dodgers can sign someone else but I think he makes a lot of sense for them because they have a history of giving guys a lot of money on a shorter term and they have the kind of players the Rays will want, cheap guys with many years of team control
Let me rephrase, he’s one of the best pitchers when healthy. The article said the Rays GM had expressed a willingness to keep the same team that won 99 games. It’s speculation that they’d want to trade Glasnow because this is their highest payroll yet. The Rays very much have negotiating power and their own question marks in their rotation to keep Glasnow.
his stuff is among the best. Yes, he has been injury-prone, and who knows what the future holds. But his stuff is golden.
When your projected payroll is 50% higher than any in the history of your franchise you do not have negotiating power.
Glasnow will get dealt I would bet anything on it.
He’s not even that. His career ERA is 3.89 and his WHIP is 1.206. He’s not a bad pitcher by any means, but he is nowhere near one of the best pitchers in the league. He is a mid rotation starter at best, but still hangs onto his prospect hype simply because he is injured so much that people continue to hang onto the pie in the sky belief that he is more than he is.
I don’t doubt he’ll be traded. I just think it’ll cost more than a few mid level prospects.
I see your argument but I disagree. He has top of the rotation stuff. His peripherals are too good to be just a mid level starter.
At best Glasnow is an ace. But what are the odds he’s at his best in 2024? Never pitched over 120 innings. Has big time upside but just like his career numbers suggest he’s not a lock to pitch well even if he’s healthy.
I understand why teams would want him. But for 25 million there are other options out there. Ones with much more reliability.
Those arguments were always used with guys like Chris Archer and Jose Quintana too. But like them Glasnow has been around long enough to be what he is. Some guys just don’t perform in reality to the hefty level the peripherals say they should. Doesn’t make them bad, just not as good as people think.
Glasnow has big time upside. He’s a huge guy at 6 8 and it takes big guys longer to develop. But the health concerns are very very real. You can dream on Glasnow I understand the appeal. But to act as if he has trade value at 25 million dollars for one season I just don’t see it
Trade simulator has Glasnows value at roughly 13 million and Biebers at 6. Who the heck would rather have Glasnow AND pay him twice as much?
Peripherals don’t win games, actual results do; I can see leaning on peripherals for guys with short track records, but for guys that have been around all that really matters is actual results. For me, Glasnow should be converted into a super reliever who pitches 1-2 innings 2 to 3 times a week. It’s not like Glasnow will ever give you any real length, so you may as well focus on getting quality outings.
“Let me rephrase, he’s one of the best pitchers when healthy.”
While I agree, he’s health overshadows that. His career high in starts was this season with only 21. His second highest is a paltry 14 starts. $25 million for a guy who is more likely than not to give you only 10-15 starts is a lot of money. Can’t imagine he nets anything more than a mid-range prospect or two.
@Joel P
Starting pitching is in demand, and there is a shortage. They need to trade him, but many other teams will want him. If the offer isn’t considered the best of the bunch, that team won’t acquire him. The Rays have the usual negotiating power. Not less. Not more. The Dodgers can sign someone else, but they will have to compete for them, too.
I think they will have serious negotiating power. They’ll have numerous suitors for a guy with that kind of talent. Injury history or not- a lot of teams will want him.
There are not numerous teams out there who want to spend 25 million dollars on a guy who can’t be trusted to stay healthy. There are perhaps a couple but not many.
@hiflew How do people toss in a guy’s numbers from 2016 with a straight face, as if they were as meaningful as his current numbers?
Glasnow 2021-23 has an ERA+ of 132. Do that long enough and they put you in the Hall of Fame.
The problem with Glasnow is that you’ll get 90 innings in 2024, not 200. As for thinking his numbers from 2016-2018 matter, or that there’s any projection system in the world that includes them in the matter of 2024, it’s an offense against reason.
A felony offense.
It’s also a rental.
He’s a 2 WAR pitcher with a $25 million salary. If you start his season in mid-August he might be worth the price.
That’s a 45 FV hitting prospect. A 50 FV at most, on top of his salary, but those prospects are already worth an average of $28 million.
Any team paying $53 million overall for 90 innings of Glasnow deserves what they get.
Silly me, I used his actual career numbers instead of taking his best year and pretending he did that every year of his career.
Projection systems, no matter how good they are, are still just guesses. The problem is that people tend to think of them as 100% accurate just because someone pays money to buy a domain name and type them up for everyone to see.
Joel.. You argue against his value and for it. Which is it?
He’s a good risky pitcher. The problem is his contract. What’s so hard to understand?
Both can exist at the same time
As mentioned in the article, the Rays need starters, as do the Dodgers.
Could they keep Glass and see how the season goes and move him by the deadline? They’ll get less back but prob won’t get much back anyway than a salary dump. But then again, that what they’re looking to do either way.
The article mentioned the new stadium and may be increasing revenue/payroll. But either way, the new stadium is a couple seasons away, and from having gone to plenty of Rays games at the Trop, putting a new ballpark in same location isn’t going to lead to much of an attendance spike, at least not anything approaching a sustained one.
They should just move him for whoever and continue the eternal Rays Churn, right?
I understand the Rays need pitching just like the Dodgers but the Dodgers spend money the Rays don’t. Swappping Galsnow for someone like Grove or Pepiot or one of the other Dodgder pitching prospects not named Miller could work for both teams.
The Rays won’t keep Glasnow until mid season because they don’t want to pay him.
Glasnow is as good as gone. The question is who else will they trade really.
Good point Joel
Rays need a catcher Dodgers have 2 young catchers. Will Smith is only 28 years old and think Dodgers want to keep Smith for a while and have Barnes as back up.. . Catcher & Pepiot or Grove might do it
Nobody is giv8ng away their farm for a rental
You must be a Dodgers fan to think that’s enough for Glasnow. It’s not.
I am a Cardinal fan I don’t like the Dodgers one bit. But they are the team that makes sense for Glasnow. He’s also from the area another reason the Dodgers would trade for him it could improve their chances of signing him long term.
As a Cardinal fan I would like to have him but I understand there is a budget. The Dodgers budget is much higher they can take risks other teams can’t.
Glasnow isn’t young anymore either. He’s not a 25-year-old looking for his first big season. He’s 30 looking for his first big season. 2023 was the second time in his career he’s surpassed 100 innings.
I say no way I’m not trading garret Whitlock for Lowe that’s crazy talk even if Whitlock not a starter he showed he can be a top 10 reliever in the AL no thanks
You never know what Breslow thinks about that contract, and who knows if Whit will ever be able to stay healthy enough, I’d move him for the right offer, and if that got us a 2B, I’d take it
lol…I’m not trading a replaceable relief pitcher for a 2B that has hit thirty homers! No way!
Gonna assume two things:
1) you’re a sox fan (obv from the name)
2) you will never, ever be a GM
relief pitchers come and go (most of them). I’d personally never give more than three years to any RP…
@sideline
Exactly, that’s insane, Whitlock gets nothing close to lowe.
Sox need to add pitching, not subtract. Especially for a rental
I wonder how confident they are that Wander Franco never plays again. Haven’t heard much at all about the scandal since it came out.
It’s going to get swept under the rug
There would be some kind of glorious baseball god justice if a desperate Ben Cherrington spent Nutting’s dollars to pay Glasnow and the Pirates had a season for the ages.
If the Pirates are willing to take on all of Glasnow’s remaining salary, it may only cost a mid-tier prospect to get him.
If baseball is making so much money, if teams are so flush with cash, why are teams cutting payroll?
Only large market teams are bringing in the cash. They are also the ones driving salaries too high for the rest of the league.
With the Bally’s situation, more than half the teams ate going to cut payroll or not spend. I’m sure Tony Clark will cry collision when a lot of vets are unsigned by spring training. I’d tell him to look in the mirror because this fouled up system should have been dealt with years ago.
They’re ALL planning on making a go for Ohtani?
Or, you know, the owners.
Because owners only care about profits and filling their own pockets
It’s a business and you are the customer. No different than a company making movies or music. I gave up thinking there was anything more to it than that long ago, and I immediately started enjoying it MORE. Didn’t miss all the anger and disappointment and righteousness at all.
Yeah? and? that’s like saying that cows only care about eating grass.
And without the owners making profits, there would be no MLB. And most of these players with just a high school education would not be millionaires. They would be working factory jobs or at Wal Mart and playing beer league softball on Tuesday nights.
Because they are still making money without having to spend big.
Most of the teams that are cutting payroll are the ones in limbo with their TV deals.
Is it crazy to wonder if Glasgow has much trade value at that price point/injury hx? He’s a 25 million dollar lotto ticket, and has exactly 1 season when his value matched that salary (2019; 2.5 bWAR)
Actually,I think it ludicrous to value 1.0 WAR at $9 or $10 M.
I think it is more like $4.5 M
I do not know how that figure was determined in the first place.
If Glasnow gets traded I’m sure TB gets some starting pitching back in the deal. People seem to forget that Tampa has been making and winning these types of trades for years.
DBacks should open their pocketbook and get Glasnow. Maybe a deal of Jake McCarthy, Blaze Alexander, and one of the Nelsons on their staff would appeal to the Rays. The team should have more $$ after making it to the World Series this year. However, they have extensive maintenance and repair issues to their stadium that needs to be addressed. They are trying to get the community to foot most or all of the bill. Picking up good players will widen fan interest and increase attendance even more.
The question is why did the Rays give him this much money in the first place?
I may be missing that it was his first free agent year.I do not think that he pitched that much last year after one of his numerous injuries.
Elite arm. Short contract.
It was an extension. A weird one (extremely back loaded, and very short, only two years) but they got him for one extra year (2024) they otherwise wouldn’t have. They no doubt intended to trade him rather than pay for 2024, so the extension amounted to a way to get compensated for losing him beyond a comp pick. He only made $5m this last year.
It was a 2 year deal. They got a discount on the first year and overpaid in the second.
It was a deal designed to trade him down the road from day 1.
Thanks guys.I knew it was a two year deal like that but I was thinking,or lack thereof,that 2024 was his last year of control.
It only makes sense if they can get something decent for him.
He could have been a great pitcher but he cannot stay healthy and I am not sure that he ever will be.
It seems what is really hurting the Rays is having to pay Wander Franco his massive contract while he may never play in MLB again according to some reports.
Franco’s current payment is minimal, and any suspension he is given will remove that obligation. He will likely owe them money back.
Wander doesn’t get anything massive until down the road.
Yeah from his cell mate
If the Rays want to trade Glasnow, they’ll have to accept a negligible return as last year’s production at $25 million offers zero surplus value.
While I admire the front office’s unparalleled ability to acquire undervalued talent from other teams, they’re being undercut by ownership’s cheapness. The team burns out SPs at a record pace and they’ve gotten far less than expected out of their farm system in the past few seasons. Houston and Atlanta had the two weakest farm systems heading into 2023 and both got more out of their rookies than Tampa.
This whole refusal to capitalize on their competitive window is getting old. At the absolute least they need to invest more in better physical trainers and player development personnel. Championship caliber teams cost money. The team can no longer cry small market poverty since they have opted to build another small capacity stadium in the same, inaccessible area.
Ultimately, the Rays inability to win it all is self inflicted. The annual cost cutting ritual only accentuates that fact.
As mentioned in a comments already, the Bally/Diamond RSN bankruptcy if messing with multiple teams and that does includes the Rays. That’s why 2022 payroll ran higher than 2023 when uncertainty if TB would actually get cash from their RSN.
There hasn’t been much news regarding this so we can only presume there continues be uncertainty for all the impacted teams. TB is probably going to wait until 2024 to understand what their cash in from their RSN will be and then make a call on Glasnow. That said if someone is aggressive early, I could see him moved. Someone mentioned the DBacks, that’s a perfect fit for them, they have the deep farm, the extra playoff $ and their window for contention is open.
Others fit too but given how DBacks likely aren’t in on the big FA names, this is a good use of their farm.
I would assume if the Dbacks are going to pony up prospects for a star, it would be someone with more than a year of control, because they’re still a developing team and don’t have a huge budget.
Glasnow is only a one year contract. While expensive, it has no future effect on team payroll. It also means that it won’t take “name” prospects to acquire. TB will want a ML ready pitcher back and a low level prospect that most fans don’t recognize. It won’t be a major hit on the Diamondbacks farm.
It can’t be said enough, there are NO bad 1yr contracts. Acquiring Glasnow in the off-season allows AZ to make a QO and for 2024 he’s a guy who can start a playoff game 1-3 for you. Going to the WS takes it’s toll on a staff, adding the top of the rotation is a really good roster move to returning to the post season.
I think AZ has both prospect depth and players that are MLB ready which is what TB may like here. TB is REALLY good at scouting other team’s farms. While Pfaadt, Nelson and Jameson all have some prospect pedigree and each logged MLB innings in 2023 of varying success.
Each of that trio might be “rich” in a deal for Glasnow straight up but that doesn’t mean TB can’t send a prospect back along with Glasnow. Also at no point has MIL indicated Burnes is going to be made available and we will come in at lower cost than Glasnow where once again that trio of pitchers could headline a deal.
What’s AZ’s 40 man situation like? 40 man depth could play a part into how a package is crafted.
Wander Franco
Having visited the current stadium I think their biggest problem isn’t payroll or anything else. Building a new stadium in the same location and having seen the plans for basically the same type of stadium is the #1 problem for the Rays. They would’ve done better moving the team to San Jose CA than to stay there. MLB needs two Bay Area teams and the Giants need to let it happen.
@They
San Jose is not an option. The Giants won’t let it happen. Tampa Bay has to deal with realities.
San Jose isn’t an option unless someone with Steve Cohen type money decides that’s where the team is going to play. Giants be damned!
@Joel. I don’t think the Ray’s get as much as that. There might be a very “coercive” collective that leaves him on the Ray’s shelf to let them worry about their own money.
Why would you as a POBO risk your reputation on someone who might be healthy? At $25 million for a rental?
I think a team like the Dodgers would take him and his salary. But this idea that he has loads of trade value is silly. I think he has 5 million in surplus value tops.
How about a Glasnow for Manoah swap? The Rays add a 3b like perhaps Mead. Moanoah would give the Rays a potential ace making league minimum. That would make sense.
Potential being the key word.
That’s a winner right there.
Rays don’t have to trade Glasnow or no one else. They have been piling. Collective bargaining money for decades and not spending it. So they aren’t going to dump Glasnow in a bad trade or anyone else.
I do believe they’ll make a move or 3 w Glasnow most likely to be moved but they’ll move anybody so Randy is my dark horse
@Joel P
Glasnow for Manoah is interesting, but Glasnow has more value than Manoah currently. Don’t expect the extra player to come from TB.
No way Glasnow has more trade value than Manoah.
Manoah sucks, I don’t know why that’s so difficult to imagine.
He was top 3 in Cy Young voting in 2022. 4 years of control left and makes league minimum. Most importantly he’s available.
All well and good, but he imploded last year with some serious attitude/conditioning issues that aren’t just going to go away. No one is paying anything close to full price for that.
@joel – agreed. My coercive comment is extreme, but I wouldn’t be giving anything up for him. Similarly, and logically the long he stay in the shelf, the less he will garner…
Consequently I’ll be wrong and he’ll dealt for three top 30s tomorrow!!!
Glasnow literally makes about a quarter of the Rays payroll so the only way to cut payroll and keep him would be to trade Eflin and Margot.
Rsox – Or Franco’s contract gets voided.
And Franco’s expensive years haven’t even kicked in yet
It is too bad the Rays are a poverty franchise. It would be impressive to see what they could do if they weren’t on food stamps.
Rays are certainly one of the most impressive franchises in all of sports. Their cost per win in perspective may be best in all professional sports over the past 15 years.
If I’m the Rays, I just trade Margot, one of their more expensive relievers, and Ramirez. That won’t get them down to the $100m mark, but it should be close enough where they’d still be comfortable operating at that level.
Their pitching depth is too important to worry about 10mil and trading Glasnow. Every team has pitching injuries and needs as many quality arms as possible, and that goes especially for a team that wants to try and replicate their near 100 win season from last year.
Couldn’t agree more. If they trade Glasnow, they’re punting on the season due to their lack of SP depth. Yes, Glasnow may get injured sooner than later, but they need as many arms as possible to at least get them through the middle of the season. Springs should be back midseason and Rasmussen maybe later in the year, but we can assume that probably two or three starters will get injured even before they return. If that happens and they don’t have Glasnow, that leaves them with some pretty awful choices for the back end of their rotation (probably a combination of Taj Bradley and bullpen days where they’ll end up blowing out the arms of their bullpen by the end of the season).
Exactly right. This is an extremely promising group who can go all the way with the right pitching. Way too much is being made of the Rays frugality. They can definitely suck it up for a season, especially if they want public support for their new stadium.
This franchise is in trouble, whether they move into a new stadium or not. The most obvious indicator: Having the home field advantage for the AL Wildcard Series, and having paid attendance of 19,704 and 20,198 in a stadium which holds 42,735. Pitiful.
Montreal or Nashville could draw more fan than that.
Yessir Florida just doesn’t care about baseball no matter how good the Rays or Marlins become it will always be all about the Buccaneers and TB Lightning.
Grisham & Jay Groome for Glasnow & Margot? Gives the Rays 8 yrs combined control and lessens the payroll considerably; helps Pads in short-term.
injure your prone picture
Trade em 2Dodgers 4cpl good prospect Ps … and the circle of Life is complete.
A trade with the Cardinals makes too much sense right now and a package can be done including Margot freeing up salaries receiving a bonified arm in Matz and perhaps O’ Neill or Burleson and other prospects in return.
Hire an editor, PLEASE! “There’s plenty of factors” is not proper English. Neither is “his postseason heroic.” And there should never be a comma before “as well.”