Tampa Bay

Rays

The deal is now official. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the club option could be worth up to $20 million through performance escalators. Rasmussen is expected to return to Tampa Bay’s starting rotation next season after posting a sparkling 2.83 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 35/6 K/BB ratio across 28 2/3 innings (16 appearances, four starts) last year in a relief role. The 29-year-old righty offers some appeal for fantasy managers, especially those with relief pitcher-only roster spots, but his numbers figure to take a hit from a run-prevention standpoint with the Rays’ relocation to hitter-friendly George M. Steinbrenner Field. He’s more of a late-round pick for re-draft purposes given his extensive injury history, but he projects as a quality ratio booster, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Montes is a long-time Rockies minor leaguer who made his MLB debut in 2023. He hit .335/.414/.551 slash line with 9 HR, and 47 RBI in 64 games for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2024 before being released by the Rockies and signing to play in Japan. He then hit .272 in 46 games in Japan and will now provide organization depth in the infield for the Rays.

It’s wild that Jiménez has to accept a minor-league deal, but here we are. The 28-year-old has battled multiple injuries since debuting as a 22-year-old in 2019 and has never built on the pedigree he showed in that rookie season where he slashed .267/.315/.513 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI in 122 games. Jiménez has played over 98 games in a season just once since then and seemed like a shell of himself in 2024, slashing .238/.289/.336 with just six home runs in 98 games with the White Sox and Orioles. Perhaps the Rays can kickstart a resurgence for Jiménez, but he has seen his fly ball rate and barrel rate fall for three straight seasons, so it’s fair to wonder if the injuries have sapped his juice. He’s going to be a DH-only in Tampa Bay, which will limit his fantasy value, but the Rays will also be playing their home games in a minor league stadium and be playing outside in Florida in the summer where the ball should be flying, so perhaps Jiménez can find some deep league value in the second half of the season.

Gerber will augment Tampa Bay’s organizational relief depth after missing most of the last four years due to injury. The 27-year-old righty made 17 relief appearances for the Mariners during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, posting a serviceable 4.02 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 6/5 K/BB ratio across 15 2/3 innings of work. He’s the definition of a low-risk lottery ticket.

If Springs can get healthy and stay that way, this will likely turn out to be a steal for the A’s. Still, this is a 32-year-old with career-high inning totals of 135 in 2022 and 112 in 2017. He’s never been over 85 innings otherwise. Upon returning from Tommy John last summer, had a 3.27 ERA in seven starts and then went back on the IL with elbow fatigue. His fantasy stock definitely takes a hit with the organization change here, though he figures to be worth using in mixed leagues while healthy. He’ll slot into an A’s rotation set to include Luis Severino and JP Sears. Mitch Spence and Osvaldo Bido seem like the favorites for the last two spots, with Joey Estes, J.T. Ginn and Lopez also in the mix.

Lopez might be the biggest beneficiary of this deal, as he figures to have a much greater opportunity in Sacramento than he ever would with the Rays. The 26-year-old lefty has spent most of the last two season at Triple-A Durham, posting a 3.54 ERA and a 193/92 K/BB in 168 innings. He doesn’t offer much in the way of upside, but he might be able to stick as a fifth starter/middle reliever.

We’re not sure whether the Rays place greater value on Boyle or the 36th overall pick in the draft, but those were the two biggest gets here. Boyle has a fantastic arm that has rarely proven capable of throwing strikes. He seemed to make great strides initially after the A’s acquired him from the Rays at the 2023 trade deadline, but he took a couple of steps back last season in totaling a 6.42 ERA and 40 walks in 47 2/3 innings in the majors and a 5.12 ERA and 39 walks in 45 2/3 innings in Triple-A. The Rays will probably have him start games in Triple-A initially, but if he’s going to make an impact, it seems more likely to happen as a reliever.

Sampson, a 15th-rounder in 2023, hit .282/.378/.482 in a 2024 season spent mostly at high-A Lansing. The A’s gave him a bit of a look at third last year, but he seems pretty well locked in at first, and unfortunately for him, he’s on his way to an organization with two clearly better first base prospects in Xavier Isaac and Tre’ Morgan.

Watters, a 2022 fourth-round pick out of West Virginia, had a 5.23 ERA and a 56/33 K/BB in 63 2/3 innings last season, most of them coming in high-A ball. He wasn’t considered one of the Athletics’ better pitching prospects, but the Rays must see something they like.

The A’s are going to roll the dice on an obviously talented lefty, but one with injury questions after returning from Tommy John surgery last year and getting shut down with additional elbow issues at the end of the season. They could afford to deal from their rotation depth with Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen back. Boyle adds to that depth, though he’s more likely to be helpful as a reliever.