Submitted by: jdabisch
August 28, 2023
Rays
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availablility | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assad | 25 | Majors | LRP | SP | Medium | 5.3 | 5 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2 |
| Hughes | 27 | Majors | RP | Medium | 5.3 | 9.4 | 5.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.4 | |
| Morel | 24 | Majors | UTIL | OF | Medium | 5.3 | 42 | 21.6 | 20.5 | 16.4 | 20.5 | 24.5 |
| Wesneski | 25 | Majors | SP | Low | 6.3 | 27.7 | 13.7 | 14 | 11.2 | 14 | 16.8 | |
| Young | 28 | Majors | 1B | 2B | 6.3 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
If Wander Franco is lost for the 2024 season (or longer), Morel might be a serviceable SS until Carson Williams is ready. I can see the logic in that part of this trade for the Rays. The problem would be that Morel isn’t playing SS for the Cubs and his defense hasn’t looked all that good on the whole this year. With that being the case, I would expect the Rays to stick with their home grown guys (T.Walls and O.Basabe) if Franco can’t play next year.
As for the rest of the trade, Wesneski might be worth acquiring. His 2023 results are pretty bad but that’s the way it goes with rookies sometimes. Assad and Hughes…. They don’t strike me as high leverage relievers of the future, but I trust the RFO, so if they like these guys, then I like them. They aren’t a huge part of the return anyway. Rays really have no room on the 40 man for another 1B, so Young would have to be replaced.
The main problem with this trade is that it leaves so much value on the table. The only way the Rays would consider this trade is if they thought Wesneski had top 3 arm potential, which seems a stretch to me. Morel also seems like a sell high candidate, which further hurts the valuation gap. Ultimately, I don’t think the Rays would be interested in this trade as-is.