The Tampa Bay Rays made several moves with their roster the last few days ahead of the deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the 40-man roster.
Catcher Dominic Keegan, infielder Jadher Areinamo and right-handed pitcher Alex Cook were all protected. Somewhat surprisingly, infeilder Cooper Kinney, who was selected ahead of the team’s current top prospect Carson Williams in 2021, was not protected from the Rule 5 Draft.
To make room for them, the Rays had to remove some players from the 40-man roster to clear space. Veteran outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley were both designated for assignment last week as a result.
Both players were non-tendered as well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t be back with Tampa Bay.Â
Rays interested in bringing back Jake Fraley
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According to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times, the team is open to bringing back Fraley if they can sign him to a more affordable deal. His arbitration projection was set at $3.6 million, a number the team was not willing to pay.
It is easy to see why the Rays wouldn’t want to pay that amount of money, but have an interest in bringing him back into the fold. With the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds last season, he had a 0.3 bWAR with a .241/.332/.382 slash line with six home runs and nine doubles in 217 plate appearances.
In desperate need of some upgrades in the outfield, Fraley has shown that he is capable of producing at a great clip. For his career, he has a 100 OPS+, which is the league average.
But, when compared to the kind of production Tampa Bay received from their outfielders last year, that would be a massive upgrade. Power and run production are two things the Rays are looking to add to their outfield group, and Fraley can provide that.
Rays outfield could use an upgrade
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He has a career .735 OPS, which would have been the best amongst outfielders on the team in 2025. Rookie Jake Mangum had the highest at .698, with the entire positional group failing to reach the .700 plateau.
Fraley has consistently made an impact on the field with his legs as well. Defense and base running are two things that the franchise puts an emphasis on, which could be part of the reason they are interested in bringing back the veteran at a lower price tag.
He possesses a strong arm, but hasn’t been a great defender overall thus far in his career. But a strong arm can be a useful asset when deployed correctly.
What Tampa Bay will be keying in on is whether they believe he can be that 100 OPS+ kind of performer again. If they see enough, he could be an affordable option to upgrade the positional group.
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