Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow is amongst this offseason’s high commerce candidates. He’s set to make $25M in his ultimate season earlier than free company. That’d be the biggest single-year wage in franchise historical past.
The Rays dedicated to that quantity not way back, signing the 6-foot-8 hurler to an extension in August 2022. Even with varied subsequent accidents to their rotation, Tampa Bay might transfer Glasnow to usher in cheaper expertise.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted Tuesday night {that a} pair of rival executives imagine the Rays will pull the set off on a Glasnow deal this offseason. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal supplied the same sentiment in an look on Foul Territory (X link).
Rosenthal prompt Glasnow may very well be the likeliest of the group of high starters who’re steadily talked about as commerce candidates — additionally together with Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber — to maneuver.
If the Rays did pull the set off on a deal this winter, it’d must be to a membership with reliable playoff aspirations in 2024. There’s little purpose for groups just like the Nationals or Rockies to amass a star pitcher with one yr left on his deal.
An buying crew would should be keen to accommodate a $25M wage. It’s laborious to ascertain Tampa Bay making a commerce of this magnitude inside division.
That narrows issues down considerably however nonetheless leaves varied potential suitors. Let’s determine some suits (listed alphabetically). All wage projections are courtesy of Roster Useful resource.
- Angels: The Angels arguably stretch the definition of “reliable playoff aspirations,” particularly if Shohei Ohtani indicators elsewhere. They’ve made clear they’re not going to rebuild in any case. Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Griffin Canning are strong rotation items. They’re not true No. 1 arms, although, one thing Glasnow would offer.
- Astros: Houston will likely be with out Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. into the center of the season. Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier make for a robust high three. Hunter Brown and J.P. France tailed off a bit as their rookie seasons wound down. Glasnow suits on paper, though it’s unclear whether or not the Astros would tackle his wage. GM Dana Brown has downplayed the monetary flexibility at their disposal.
- Braves: Atlanta made a run at Aaron Nola earlier than his seven-year contract to return to Philadelphia. The Braves subsequently added Reynaldo López on a three-year pact and indicated he might return to the rotation. That doesn’t preclude them from exploring clearer upgrades to hitch Max Fried, Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton within the center to higher a part of the employees. The farm system has thinned however president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t shied away from aggressive strikes on the commerce market to assist an elite core.
- Cardinals: St. Louis has sought three beginning pitchers this offseason. They’ve added two veteran innings eaters on one-year offers, bringing in Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson on consecutive days. That raises the ground however nonetheless leaves them in clear want of a top-of-the-rotation arm. St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged the crew has but to dig deeply into commerce prospects (link via Katie Woo of the Athletic). That’ll change now that they’ve added some stability with out a ton of upside on the open market.
-
Cubs:
Marcus Stroman declined his participant choice for 2024. That leaves the Cubs with a entrance three of Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon. There’s clearly room for an additional high-end starter. Chicago isn’t far off this previous season’s Opening Day payroll however initiatives round $25M under their franchise excessive mark. They’re about $50M south of the bottom luxurious tax threshold. - Diamondbacks: Taking over a $25M participant isn’t typical working process for the Diamondbacks. But it’s one thing they might take into account this winter on the heels of a World Sequence run. Arizona’s $103M projected payroll is round $13M south of this previous season’s mark. It’s almost $30M under their franchise excessive. Including one other starter to hitch Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt is a transparent precedence.
- Dodgers: The Dodgers are going so as to add a pair beginning pitchers. Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urías hit free company. Kershaw’s return timeline is unsure after shoulder surgical procedure. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May will miss half or all of subsequent season. Walker Buehler is again however coming off a second Tommy John surgical procedure. Behind him are a couple of second-year hurlers (Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Emmet Sheehan) and swingman Ryan Yarbrough. Any of the highest free agent or commerce candidates on the rotation entrance make sense.
- Giants: San Francisco’s projected payroll sits at $148M, about $40M shy of this yr’s mark. Logan Webb is an ace. The remainder of the rotation is in query. Alex Cobb is coming off hip surgical procedure. Anthony DeSclafani and Ross Stripling had accidents and/or underperformance in 2023. High prospect Kyle Harrison remains to be unproven. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been reluctant to make free agent splashes for beginning pitching. A Glasnow commerce would add an affect arm with out the type of long-term rotation dedication to which this entrance workplace has been averse.
- Mets: The Mets are seemingly to usher in a number of starters. Kodai Senga and José Quintana are the one locks for the Opening Day rotation. It’s debatable whether or not they’re positioned to half with noteworthy younger expertise so as to add a rental with the crew coming off a 75-87 season. New York has made clear they’re not punting the 2024 season fully, although. Including a high-end starter is one step of many required to place themselves again within the dialog with the Braves and Phillies within the NL East.
- Padres: San Diego is all the way down to Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish after seeing every of Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Nick Martinez hit free company. The Padres are reportedly trimming payroll, which might rule them out on a $25M arm, however president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has by no means been afraid to maneuver issues round to accommodate affect expertise. The Snell commerce with Tampa Bay has been probably the greatest strikes of his tenure.
- Rangers: The defending champions might lose Jordan Montgomery to free company. Jacob deGrom received’t be prepared till the season’s second half. Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and Andrew Heaney remains to be a superb beginning 5. They might nonetheless take a swing for Glasnow, constructing a possible playoff rotation consisting of Glasnow, deGrom, Scherzer and Eovaldi as they attempt to repeat.
- Reds: Cincinnati’s scenario is just like Arizona’s. The Reds aren’t massive spenders however may very well be in place for a lofty one-year wage for a No. 1 starter. They’re projected at $52M for subsequent season, $30M under this yr’s Opening Day mark. The younger place participant group put the Reds on the perimeter of postseason competition. Including a starter to steer a employees that additionally consists of Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft and Andrew Abbott is the subsequent step.
