The Rays have launched designated hitter/outfielder Harold Ramirez following final week’s DFA, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Occasions. He’s now a free agent who can signal with any membership.
Ramirez at all times appeared prone to find yourself on the open market after his DFA. As we famous when he was designated for project, the 29-year-old’s mixture of offensive struggles and comparatively notable wage obligation made him a digital lock to cross by way of both outright waivers or launch waivers. And since he surpassed 5 years of main league service time earlier this season (and thus gained the proper to retain his wage even upon rejecting an outright project), there was no actual distinction between the 2 sorts of waivers in his case.
The Rays will stay on the hook for the stability of Ramirez’s $3.8M wage. There’s about $2.19M of that sum left to be paid out as of this writing. A brand new staff would solely owe Ramirez the prorated league minimal for any time spent on the large league roster (about $426K from now by way of season’s finish, or simply shy of $4K per day). That sum could be subtracted from what Tampa Bay owes Ramirez, however the Rays are caught with the numerous majority of his wage regardless.
Tampa Bay explored trades involving Ramirez each on the offseason’s non-tender deadline and once more throughout Spring Coaching however didn’t discover a deal to its liking. That got here regardless of a giant 2022-23 exhibiting that noticed Ramirez slash .306/.348/.432 in 869 journeys to the plate, with a specific knack for pummeling left-handed pitching. Robust as that offensive output was, Ramirez lacks defensive worth — he’s a poor defender within the outfield corners and at first base — and is a free-swinger who not often attracts a stroll. He’s been primarily a delegated hitter with the Rays.
The 2024 season has been a problem for Ramirez. He’s hitting .268, a wonderfully positive mark, however has coupled that with an unsightly .284 on-base share and a punchless .305 slugging share. He’s hitting .310 in a small pattern of 58 plate appearances towards lefties however has just one stroll and a .379 slugging share in these matchups. Successfully, Ramirez has been a singles-hitting, short-side platoon designated hitter. Due to his lack of walks and energy, his total offensive output has been 27% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+.
Given these struggles, it’s in no way stunning that no staff wished to commit practically $2.2M to Ramirez by putting a waiver declare. However now that he’s a free agent who’d price the prorated minimal, Ramirez turns into a much more attention-grabbing flier who ought to draw broad-reaching curiosity — particularly from groups who’ve been missing manufacturing towards left-handed pitching.
Speculatively talking, every of the Reds, Nationals, Rangers and Cardinals rank within the bottom-third of the league by way of each DH manufacturing and manufacturing towards left-handers. However, given the low price of acquisition now related to Ramirez — who will be managed by way of the 2025 season by way of arbitration — it’s straightforward to make a case for almost all of groups taking a no-risk roll of the cube on his right-handed bat.
