Tampa Bay Rays: Which 15 Players to Protect in an Expansion Draft

It wasn’t that long ago when the Tampa Bay Rays were siphoning off players from other teams to stock their roster in the 1997 expansion draft. Today we take a look at who the Rays would protect in a hypothetical draft right now.

The Tampa Bay Rays had an eventful expansion draft in 1997. There were intriguing moments baseball historians love to recall with 20/20 retrospective vision such as selecting Bobby Abreau and then flipping him to Philadelphia for shortstop Kevin Stocker. It’s an interesting way to shake up the baseball world.

Portland, Montreal, Nashville, these are just a few cities that have been vocal about wanting a major-league team. There are so many great players all over the world and TV contracts are seemingly worth more than the GDP of entire countries. It seems like a good time to expand.

According to Forbes, even the “small-market teams” like the Rays brought in $264 million in revenue with an operating income of $68 million in 2019.

MLBTradeRumors.com recently asked the question, who should the Rays protect in the event of a surprise expansion draft?

We are going to base this list on the previous expansion draft’s rules.

• You get to protect 15 players in the first round then add three more in the second round and another three in the third. Today, we will try and project who the Rays would project in such a scenario.
• Players with a no-trade clause or 10-5 rights must be protected.
• Players with no prior major-league experience are not eligible to be drafted, unless…
• Players signed at age 19 or older can be drafted if they have at least three years of minor-league service time.
• Players signed at age 18 or younger can be drafted if they have at least four years of minor-league service time.

So, Wander Franco is automatically ineligible since he has only played two years in the minor leagues.

There will be some very tough decisions made since the Rays are stacked with so much young talent. Let’s quit talking and get to work.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Charlie Morton

Charlie Morton‘s contract does not include a no-trade clause. In this scenario, we are trying to win in the 2020 season. Morton is projected to be a vital piece in the Rays’ potential championship run. Despite being the highest-paid player on the team, he is still considered to be a steal when compared to his peers.

He finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last season. The two guys that finished ahead of him (Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole) are set to earn more than double Morton’s $15 million. He’s a lock.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Blake Snell

Blake Snell’s 2018 was one of the great pitching seasons in history. He’s 26-years-old and already has a Cy Young under his belt. He’s on a team-friendly contract and it’s a no-brainer to lock him down.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Austin Meadows

Austin Meadows emerged as an All-Star and even got some MVP attention last season. I’d say he was the prized piece in the Chris Archer deal, but there’s this other guy… Even still, Meadows is one of the few everyday players on the Rays. He gets on base, hits for power, and can swipe a few bags. He can hit leadoff or hit in the three or four-hole.

At age 24 last season, he posted an OPS+ of 143 and led the team with 33 homers, 29 doubles, seven triples, and 12 stolen bases. He’s another no-brainer. In another easy call, we lock down Austin Meadows.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Nick Anderson

It’s hard to believe Nick Anderson was a rookie last season. He walked into the major leagues like he owned the place. He was like “if I can pitch in the independent leagues, then I can pitch here.” Anderson cemented himself as one of the top relievers in the world. His disgusting strikeout rates are comparable to the incomparable Josh Hader. Anderson was so good, the Rays traded their saves leader from last year and appear to have handed the reigns to the game’s next superstar reliever. Nick Anderson is locked down.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Brendan McKay

McKay is one of the top prospects in the game of baseball. He is ranked as the 14th-best overall prospect by Baseball America for the 2020 season. He’s a two-way player but his arm is his golden goose. He debuted in the majors last season and struggled in just 49.0 innings. In 172 minor-league innings he has a remarkable 1.78 ERA. You can’t risk losing one of the top prospects in an expansion draft.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Vidal Brujan

Brujan stole 48 and 55 bases respectively the past two seasons. He’s generally regarded as the Rays third-best prospect and ranked as the 45th-best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. He carries a lot of value and despite being signed prior to age 18, he has five years of minor league service time. He’s a good candidate to be swiped in an expansion draft so we’ll protect him.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Hunter Renfroe

Renfroe blasted 33 homers with the Padres last season, but perhaps equally as impressive was his 22 defensive-runs saved. If the Rays can help him make a few adjustments, he could be a superstar in the next couple of seasons.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Nate Lowe

Lowe blasted his way out of the 13th round of the draft and into our hearts. In 2018 he slammed 27 homers and drove in over 100 runs in the Rays’ minor league system. He gets on base with the best of them and can play both first and third base. In two seasons in AAA-Durham he slashed .282/.401/.497. If he’s left unprotected he would likely end up in the middle of the lineup for a lucky new expansion team. We can’t allow that to happen.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Randy Arozarena

Arozarena possesses a blend of speed, ranginess, and surprising power. Last season with the Cardinals, Statcast clocked Arozarena as one of the fastest players in the majors. Here are some of the names he found himself among.

• Kevin Kiermaier (29.4)
• Mallex Smith (29.4)
• Randy Arozarena (29.4)
• Ronald Acuna Jr. (29.4)
• Mike Trout (29.2)

On top of that, the kid slugged .593 in Triple-A last season. The Rays have had their eye on him for a long time and now that they have him, they aren’t letting go.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Jose Alvarado

We give him a pass for last season as he was dealing with some family issues. That is all resolved and the expectation is that he returns to 2018 form. When he’s on he’s one of the absolute best left-handed relievers in the game of baseball.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Colin Poche

He’s a special reliever. He’s got future closer written all over him. I’m locking an elite-level player down over Chirinos and Yarbrough. Especially with all of the starting pitching talent in the pipeline. This will also lock down three elite-relievers in the league’s best bullpen from 2019.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Yandy Diaz

Diaz had a breakout 2019 season that has been well documented. Yandy has always been a guy who hits it as hard as anyone, but he hits it on the ground. This has been productive as a contact hitter. While he put the ball in the air a lot more last season, he still posted a GB% over 50. His flyball rate went up but his average and on-base went down. He did hit for more power than he has ever done at any level. He’s no lock, but the potential is there. The main reason I chose Yandy as the final pick is right-handed hitting.

The Rays are absolutely loaded with versatile left-handed hitters that can play all over the field. Brian O’Grady, Nate Lowe, and Yoshi Tsutsugo are all capable of playing more than one position with O’Grady and Tsutsugo playing both infield and outfield. The Rays were already in need of a right-handed bat when they traded for Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena from the Cardinals. I kept Yandy over Jose due to his ability to play defense at both first and third.

Remember, they can only take one player from us in the first round. These are the 15 I would protect. What would you have done differently?