The Rays are among the many groups which have reached out to the representatives for Jacob deGrom, reports Andy Martino of SNY. They be part of the Rangers, Yankees and incumbent Mets as golf equipment identified to have some quantity of curiosity, though there are certainly various different groups within the bidding.
For sure, Tampa Bay represents a protracted shot within the race for any prime free agent. The Rays persistently run payrolls within the backside 5 to 10, and it’s unattainable to examine them profitable any all-out bidding battle in opposition to both New York franchise or a Texas membership that has quickly pushed its payroll upwards and appears decided to land affect pitching this winter. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic unsurprisingly writes that Tampa Bay officers aren’t bullish on their probabilities of signing deGrom.
Nonetheless, there’s no hurt for the Rays in touching base with the four-time All-Star’s camp. deGrom is a Florida native and a Stetson product, and there’s been some hypothesis he might welcome a possibility to return to the Southeast. To be clear, the pitcher himself hasn’t publicly aired any geographic preferences. The Rays additionally provide a extra clearly aggressive roster than the Rangers, though it’s debatable whether or not they’re higher positioned to contend for a World Sequence than the Yankees, Mets or different groups that might enter the bidding just like the Dodgers and Giants.
The Rays opened the 2022 season with a payroll simply south of $84MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster Resource estimates their 2023 commitments round $68MM at current, so there ought to be a little bit of room for president of baseball operations Erik Neander and his employees to reinforce the roster. Including a participant like deGrom would require blowing this yr’s franchise-record spending stage out of the water, although, with MLBTR predicting the two-time Cy Younger winner to land a document $45MM common annual worth over a three-year time period.
The projected $135MM assure could be the second-largest expenditure in franchise historical past, coaching solely the $182MM extension signed by shortstop Wander Franco final offseason. That was unfold over 11 years, whereas a deal for a 34-year-old ace would contain a lot greater salaries over a shorter time period. Tampa Bay was reportedly keen to supply Freddie Freeman a deal within the $150MM vary final winter, however even that may’ve been dispersed throughout six to seven seasons. Tyler Glasnow, who signed an extension in August, is slated for a $25MM assure in 2024 that’ll mark the biggest single-season wage the group has paid.
