Submitted by: ShaquilleOatmeal
March 27, 2023
Rays
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availablility | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
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This trade makes 0 sense for the Rays. If you do not want him, just cut him, save 1 mil.
I cannot describe how much I hate Tristan Gray not getting a roster spot. MLB doesn’t pay minor leagues for Spring Training. They consider it a voluntary internship, while the veteran players like Gray (27 years old, 2 years in AAA) show up hoping to earn a roster spot. This proves there wasn’t a spot to be earned this Spring, and Gray should have just stayed home.
The Rays have 2 empty 40 spots, and could easily put Gray on the 40 man roster, so that he can receive a 40 man roster salary instead on live in poverty for the next year.
His spring is certainly worthy of being compensated for, especially with the spring training ticket prices not being appropriate to “watching volunteer minor leagues not being compensated”. a
The Rays are sending money to the Dodgers because fuck the cheap ass Rays.
This trade makes zero sense for both sides. Both sides immediately say no.
You don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about. None.
Gray had a great Spring. If he goes to AAA and continues raking, he’ll be up in the Majors soon enough. He’s gotta walk the walk for longer than 6 weeks though.
He has. Hit 33 HR in 500 PA in AAA as a SS. A low BABIP hurt him. But it was good enough to get him an invite to MLB spring training, not minor league spring training. It’s such a dick tease to him to have him start at SS every other game, OPS 1200 off a lot of MLB pitching, hitting a HR every 10 PA and a double every 6 PA. 4th in measured average exit velo, behind like Pete Alonso and 2 other dudes on top 20 lists. He could not have done more to earn a spot.
But a spot wasn’t available. And I hate that so much. I hate it that a career minor leaguer can’t win a spot no matter how good he is in spring training. There’s only like five prospects that should show up for voluntary spring training next year, because obviously if you’re not in the top 10 and already on the 40 man roster, you don’t stand a fucking chance of earning a roster spot. I am so angry for this guy. I love Walls, but Walls played like three games. PrimaWanna’s showing up out of shape with leg problems again, and should be started on the 10 day IL if he’s not capable of going today. I love the idea of Josh Lowe being something, but right now, he’s not.
The rays knew their opening day roster before spring training even began, because that’s the only thing that explains this decision. And it’s so chickenshit to invite/require veteran minor leaguers to attend if they don’t even stand a prayer of making the roster. Gray should have been on the backfields, rather than playing in front of a paying crowd if there was zero chance of drawing a major league salary… And there was zero chance of him drawing a salary on the MLB roster, clearly. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t show up to Durham. Ask for his release, go play in Japan . He wasn’t given a fair shot by his employer.
Gray has no reason to be as upset as you’re suggesting. He had a good Spring, but he also hasn’t hit above 100 wRC+ in the Minors since 2019. I don’t care what his BABIP is if he’s sporting that kind of consistent underperformance. The Rays aren’t going to just give him a 40 man spot to reward him for a good Spring given the SSS and the quality of pitchers/pitches faced in ST. He’s also shown himself to be a subpar defender, so he’s not an ideal utility infielder. In short, he needs to do more to force his way on the roster.
Ultimately, the Spring was a good experience for him. He opened a lot of eyes and if he has a good year in Durham, the Rays will either be forced to bring him up, trade him, or lose him to free agency next year (I believe he’s eligible). But giving him a 40 man spot and an active roster spot was always going to be extremely unlikely because he’s an infielder (and the Rays are pretty loaded in the infield if everyone is healthy), because he’s not a good fielder and because he doesn’t have the history of performing in the minors. ST is just one piece of the evaluation.
Was it possible for Gray to win a roster spot in spring training? Was their anything in else he could have done to have found himself collecting a MLB salary tomorrow?
They invited him to the major league camp, rather than the minor league camp. They charged people money to watch him play for free. They waited til the last day to cut him. It’s like going to a job interview and finding out the boss’s son is also interviewing. It’s a complete waste of your time, and heartbreaking if you’re really set on that job. A 7 year minor leaguer wasn’t given an opportunity to win a job, and I fucking hate that.
Next year, unless you are on the 40 man roster, Just don’t even show up to spring training. You can be the best player in baseball for a month, after hitting 33 bombs in AAA, but you’ve been cut before you even arrived.
On this issue, fuck the Rays. Additionally, Gray is not a bad defender. He’s a pretty bad shortstop. But he is an above average glove at 1st, 2nd, 3rd. It’s like saying Zobrist is a bad defender. Just because he had to get moved off of shortstop, didn’t mean he couldn’t play the hell out of every other position. And you should stop considering a 100 wRC+ for a SS as being bad. It’s average. Average isn’t bad. Average for a SS is good. And when you have the worst batting average on balls and play in the league, in spite of consistently hitting the ball harder than anyone else in the league, average is great. It’s great, because his luck will change, and he’ll no longer be average.
Josh Lowe hit 2 HR in 200 PA, and is an atrocious defender. His season was saved by a ridiculous .460 babip, that cannot and will not ever be repeated. At the end of the day, Lowe K’d more often and made weaker contact than Gray facing the same pitching in AAA. Gray got screwed, and I feel terrible for him.
What does it matter if he was in major league camp or minor league camp?
A 100 wRC+ in the minors probably doesn’t translate to a 100 wRC+ in the Majors.
I’ll give you he’s an average fielder at positions other than SS. Best I can do.
As for whether he had a chance to win a position in ST, well of course he did. But Raley had a great camp, Lowe had a good camp and there were no major injuries among position players. He will get his opportunity.
Here’s why it matters that he was assigned to major league camp rather than minor league camp:
1) False hope. He undoubtedly believed with a good enough performance with Major leaguers against major leaders that he could possibly make the team. What actually happened though, is that for a month, he was basically the best player among the 1500 hopefuls, and got sent home empty handed anyways.
2) MLB has spent decades arguing against minor leaguers receiving a salary during spring training. They have argued this is a tryout for minor leaguers. But if there is no possibility of Gray making the team no matter what he accomplished, what is he trying out for? If he is there to help Major leaguers get better, and for paying fans to not watch forfeits when major leaguers leave the park in the fourth inning, pay him for his time and skill. If he is there to try to make the team, he made the team.
bleacherreport.com/articles/10026801-mlb-lawyer-says-minor-league-players-shouldnt-be-paid-during-spring-training
3) By being assigned to major league spring training rather than minor league, it’s detrimental to his progress in that he wasted all his time playing shortstop for an entire month. His future isn’t as a shortstop. His future is as a utility player. Outfield, corner infield, occasional middle infield. He didn’t get the opportunity to practice those positions when games don’t matter. The Rays didn’t have a shortstop for spring training, so he defaulted to it. Now he has to show up to the minor leagues playing a position he hasn’t played in 6 months.
4) Fuck the Rays. They screwed this man. Josh Lowe sucks.
Sorry buddy, I can’t get behind you on this one. Gray had a good ST and will be more in the minds of both the Rays and other teams going forward. That is good for him. If he performs well in AAA this year, I would think he’d get a call up at some point this year or next (with the Rays or someone else).
I just hope they were honest with him. I hope he knew 2 weeks ago they were cutting him. Because cutting a 27 year old with a 1200 OPS, 4th in baseball in exit velo, 3 days before opening day is a harsh move. Especially when he outlasted everybody, he wasn’t expected to outlast.
The worst thing that ever happened to this guy was that he was traded to the rays. He’d be arbitration eligible by now if he was still a pirate
Neither do you.
You got me. Good one.
How exactly does the Dodgers getting a player not on a MLB contract, not on a 40 man roster, AND getting 1 million $ in cash, while giving up nothing, cause the Dodgers to immediately say no? I look forward to your explanation as eagerly as you looked forward to telling me your team would never accept this deal.
No need for him.