The Twins announced today that infielder/outfielder Niko Goodrum has been reassigned to minor league camp, indicating he won’t be on the club’s Opening Day roster. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Goodrum has triggered an assignment clause and that the Rays have interest in him.
Goodrum signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December. An assignment clause, also known as an upward mobility clause, requires the signing team to offer the player to the other 29 clubs. If any of those clubs expresses interest, the signing club has to decide between adding the player to their roster or trading them to the interested club. If none of the clubs are interested, then the player would stay with the original signing club.
The Rays are known to love versatility and Goodrum can certainly provide that. He is a switch-hitter and can move all around the field, having played each of the seven positions outside of the battery. He’s also stolen 46 bases in 59 attempts in his career. But it’s been a while since Goodrum looked to be a viable hitter in the big leagues, which makes the interest from the Rays somewhat surprising.
Goodrum hit .247/.318/.427 for the Tigers over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, good enough for a wRC+ of 98. That means he was still slightly below average, but that was solid production for a guy who can bounce all around, doing multiple things. However, his offense has been nowhere near as good since. He hit .203/.282/.350 over 2020 and 2021, 74 wRC+, then produced a dismal line of .116/.156/.163 in 2022.
He settled for a minor league deal with the Red Sox last year and had a solid .280/.448/.440 line in 65 games for their Triple-A club. He opted out of that deal in the summer and signed with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, slashing .295/.373/.387 in 50 games for them without hitting a home run, buoyed by a .389 batting average on balls in play. In Spring Training with the Twins, he has a line of .103/.257/.138 in 35 plate appearances.
The Rays have lost a few position players lately, thinning their depth. They knew long ago that Taylor Walls wouldn’t be an option due to his offseason hip surgery but spring injuries will also lead to Josh Lowe, Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca starting the season on the IL.
The projected lineup is heavily right-handed, with Brandon Lowe and Richie Palacios the only lefties who seem likely to get regular playing time. Goodrum is a switch-hitter but he’s actually been better from the right side in his career. He has a line of .303/.369/.447 against southpaws for a 121 wRC+ but a .199/.274/.369 line against righties, which leads to a wRC+ of just 72.
That makes him less than an ideal fit for a club that already has plenty of right-handed bats but perhaps the Rays are nonetheless interested in adding him as a versatile bench piece to move around as needed. Though he hasn’t had a great showing this spring, he did draw walks in 17.1% of his plate appearances. That generally aligns with the 23.1% walk rate he had in Triple-A last year and the 11.4% walk rate he had in the KBO.
Who isn’t interested in a good r- oh you mean the guy. If it’s the Rays my guess is they pick him up, he’ll have a .600 SLG through June, get shipped out, post .100/.150/.300, and the 28 year-old AA arm they get for him will be a 2025 All-Star after they teach him a 90 mph forkball.
Yeah…I was dumbfounded when the Tigers couldn’t trade him to the Pirates.
When I see the Rays trying to make a move like this I scratch my head as if I’m playing a chess game against a master.
“Why did you move your pawn there?”
Great teammate with tons of ability. A player of his skill set allows a manager like Cash to rest players when needed and not miss anything defensively. Just another athlete on a team that prides themselves on Defense and Fundamental baseball.
He’s been a slight negative at every position he’s played in his career, by DRS
While not terrible defensively, not exactly stellar either.
Just came here to say that’s an awesome last name
Certainly better than his roommate in the minors – Badscotch.
I was thinking Sosotequila, but good one!
I was going to go with Mr. O. K. Whiskey…
Although unquestionably, Ms. Weakwine is just annoying.
I like Goodrum.
Monty to the d backs!
Nico is a strikeout machine and not ready for MLB any longer. His K rate has to be in the 40 percent range. Even the Rays won’t be able to fix him at this stage of his career
The Rays never fix hitters. He will fit right in with Alex Jackson and Brandon Lowe. We needed more strikeouts from this team for sure…
Baltimore signed Kemp, and the Rays might sign Goodrum. I don’t understand it, there’s guys at AAA they could play at least as well as these guys and cost less. Plus the AAA guys might actually have a chance at a big league career… I don’t know, go figure.
Do the Twins have any say on what the Rays have to offer? Are these just cash deals?
Niko Goodrum on the Twins: below replacement level
Niko Goodrum on the Rays: 2024 MVP, GG, SS
They seem to make All Stars out of Tigers castoffs…
So the Rays strategy is to sign 5 versatile career . 200 guys and move them all around the pitch? Meanwhile they don’t give roster spots to some other players more deserving? Huhh??
Who’s gonna take the corner kix?
Me. I may have drunk a bit too much before commenting.
Those “more deserving” prospects get to play every day in the minors and develop. Sitting on the bench doesn’t provide that opportunity.
I get it. I’m not really referencing Caminero here but Mejia and Mangum did enough to at least deserve a shot on the bench over Alex Jackson and a few bench UTI players. Certainly better than Goodrum… I also believe that Brandon Lowe is washed up and the Rays need to start thinking about his replacement.
I just can’t stand having Taylor Walls/Brandon Lowe/Jose Caballero in our INF. Yeah they can play Defense but they can’t hit. Same with Siri. Too many D-minded players who can’t hit over league average…
Goo Drum
I too am interested in Goodrum, but will settle for Neatwhisky
What would the twins get for Goodrum?