Rays Blog

The Rays bolstered their bullpen with a trade with the Marlins.  They sent catcher Jake Jeffries and in exchange, they got Burke Bandenhop.  I like Badenhop and he should do better then his numbers warrant because the Rays should give Badenhop a nice upgrade behind with their defense.  He went 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA and he also threw some innings for the Marlins Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans.  Badenhop is the last guy left from the megatrade in 2007 that sent Miguel Cabrera to Detroit.

Badenhop is arbitration eligible so his pay is TBD.  Jeffries split time between Single-A and Double-A. He hasn’t shown a lot of power and he probably would have been no better as a backup for the Rays over the next few years.

The Rays locked up late season callup and top prospect Matt Moore to what will hopefully end up being an eight year deal.  They get Moore for five years at $14 million and there club options for 2017, 2018 and 2019 that would up the overall amount of the deal to just under $40 million.

These deals always have their downsides but Moore is a potential stud.  By the end of the five years, he could be a $25 million pitcher by then.  The Rays are getting him in those last three option years for just $13 million a year and if Moore goes down to injury, then they don’t take the option.  It also gives the team cost certainty and they’ve locked up a few of their stars in this way.

Right now, Moore is the MLB.com’s third best prospect.  Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are the only guys ahead of him.