We might be in the early days of 2017, but, we are in the heart of the Major League Baseball offseason. Since Spring Training begins in just over a month from this writing, teams are continuing to sign players that can help them. The Tampa Bay Rays are one of those teams that are continuing to bring in new guys to get set to compete in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.
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One of the more recent moves they have made was they signed former Astros outfielder, Colby Rasmus, to a one-year deal at a five thousand dollars base salary. Just looking off of the contract itself, its becomes a low-risk, high reward type of deal. It is a low-risk type deal because they didn’t pay him much, but the hope from the Rays is that Rasmus continues to be the offensive piece that he has been for the last several seasons.
Tampa Bay fans should be excited for the Rasmus signing because he can help the Rays incredibly. Unfortunately, 2016 was a down season for him, but it is now being reported that he was dealing with some physical problems. Also, Rasmus helps in more than one way. He will end up playing one of the outfield corners when the Rays are opposing right-handed pitching. He will also get some time as the team’s Designated Hitter and backup center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. It is always a valuable thing for any organization to have a player that can fill more than one area of need.
Overall, this was a great signing for both Colby Rasmus and the Tampa Bay Rays. He is coming in with the potential of becoming a team leader and become a big contributor to the Rays. Also, he adds the fact that being a veteran he can help the younger guys on the roster. On the side of the Rays, this signing is great for them as they didn’t have to pay much and the hope is that he goes back to the player who hit 25 homers, like he did in 2015.