Rays address shortstop need via trade

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays continued to shuffle their roster on Friday by completing a pair of trades.

First, the Rays sent outfielder Luke Raley to the Mariners for versatile infielder José Caballero, who might be in line to start at shortstop on Opening Day. Tampa Bay immediately picked up another left-handed-hitting outfielder to fill Raley’s spot, acquiring Richie Palacios from the Cardinals less than an hour later for veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge.

TRADE DETAILS
Rays get: INF José Caballero
Mariners get: OF Luke Raley

Rays get: OF Richie Palacios
Cardinals get: RHP Andrew Kittredge

Both moves fit into a theme of the Rays’ offseason activity. Just as they did in the Tyler Glasnow trade with the Dodgers, the Rays dealt more proven parts of their club for younger, less established players but maintained the balance of their roster. It’s the path they believe they must take to remain competitive in the present and future.

The addition of Caballero provides the Rays with some stability at shortstop while Wander Franco remains under MLB investigation and top backup Taylor Walls recovers from offseason surgery on his right hip. Franco’s status moving forward is unclear, and president of baseball operations Erik Neander acknowledged that Walls’ timetable makes it “unlikely” he’ll be ready for Opening Day, although his rehab is going well.

“[Caballero] certainly, we believe, can play shortstop. With some of the uncertainty around that position, that certainly has some appeal to us,” Neander said. “If we didn’t believe that [he could play shortstop], it’s not a trade that I think would have made a whole lot of sense. With that in mind, he’s going to have a shot to go out there and take that job out of the gates.”

The 27-year-old Caballero made his big league debut for the Mariners last season and totaled 2.4 WAR in 104 games, according to Baseball-Reference, thanks to his slick defense (8 outs above average, according to Statcast) and baserunning (26 steals in 29 attempts). He wound up slashing just .221/.343/.320 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 280 plate appearances.

Caballero spent most of his time in Seattle at second base, starting 53 games there. But he played 21 games at shortstop, a position he manned more regularly in the Minors, and he’s bounced around to third base and left field as well.

“A very, very good baseball player. Incredible baseball IQ. Hypercompetitive. He knows who he is, what he is and how to get the absolute most out of his abilities,” Neander said. “He’s a versatile infielder that is a very good defensive player at multiple positions.”

Meanwhile, moving Raley would have left the Rays without a left-handed bat to balance their lineup, but picking up Palacios provided another solution.

A third-round pick by Cleveland in the 2018 Draft, Palacios struggled in the Majors in 2022 and didn’t hit much for Triple-A Columbus last year, either. But he thrived after a June 16 move to St. Louis, batting .299/.418/.459 in 40 games for Triple-A Memphis then hitting .258/.307/.516 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 32 games for the Cardinals.

The Rays can still roll out a starting outfield of Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri and Josh Lowe, with the recently acquired Jonny DeLuca serving as a backup at all three spots and Palacios as a left-handed-hitting complement to DeLuca.

Palacios provides Tampa Bay with flexibility in two ways: He has also played the infield, and he has a Minor League option remaining.

“Richie will get to come in and earn a spot,” Neander said. “[He] sees the ball exceptionally well, has great at-bats, doesn’t swing and miss very often, high-contact hitter and I think is learning how to impact the baseball a little bit more, so we’ll see where it goes.”

But those additions came at a cost for the Rays, as Raley was a valuable contributor last year and Kittredge was an All-Star bullpen linchpin in 2021.

After spending most of his first season in the organization at Triple-A, Raley broke out last season by hitting .249/.333/.490 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs in 118 games. He played all three outfield spots and backed up Díaz at first base, and his work ethic and all-out hustle made him an easy player for teammates and fans to root for.

Kittredge, 33, returned from elbow surgery late last season and put together a 3.09 ERA with one save in 14 appearances. He was at his best in ’21, recording a 1.88 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings over 57 appearances while pitching in every inning from the first to the 11th. He had been eligible for salary arbitration this offseason; the Rays now have 10 arb-eligible players remaining on their roster.

“Hard decisions to let go of guys that we not only appreciate their talent, but everything that they bring to our clubhouse and how they represent the organization,” Neander said, “but trades we felt were in the best interest of the organization as we move forward.”