The Rays signed Montes to a minor-league contract Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Montes split the 2024 season between Triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies organization and with Japan's Yomiuri Giants. Capable of playing shortstop, second base and third base, the 28-year-old Montes got a cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2023, posting a .560 OPS in 18 contests.
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The Rays signed Montes to a minor-league contract Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Montes split the 2024 season between Triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies organization and with Japan's Yomiuri Giants. Capable of playing shortstop, second base and third base, the 28-year-old Montes got a cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2023, posting a .560 OPS in 18 contests.
The Rays signed Jimenez to a minor-league contract Monday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports. Per Hector Gomez of Z101Digital.com, Jimenez will earn $2 million if he makes the Opening Day roster, with an additional $2 million bonus waiting if he gets to 500 at-bats. Jimenez, 28, slashed only .238/.289/.336 with six home runs over 98 games between the White Sox and Orioles in 2024. He's reached 100 games played just twice in his career and hasn't hit 20 home runs since his rookie season back in 2019. Jimenez did still have a 49 percent hard-hit rate this past season and represents a no-risk, moderate-upside play for the Rays on a minor-league deal.
The Rays signed Gerber to a minor-league contract Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Gerber, 27, spent the 2024 season in the minors in the Yankees organization, holding a 2.43 ERA and 40:17 K:BB over 33.1 innings across four levels. The righty reliever made 17 appearances with the Mariners back in 2020 but has battled a multitude of injuries since then.
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said on Dec. 10 in an interview on MLB Network that he expects McClanahan (elbow) to throw "150-ish" innings in 2025. McClanahan missed the 2024 season following August 2023 Tommy John surgery but has been able to go through a normal throwing program this offseason. The left-hander threw 115 innings in 2023 and had a career-high 173.1 frames in 2022 between the regular season and playoffs, so a rough goal of 150 innings in 2025 seems reasonable. It's not yet clear how the Rays plan to manage McClanahan's workload, but it could involve some early removal from starts and/or extra rest in between outings.
The Athletics traded Boyle, Jacob Watters, Will Simpson and a compensatory draft pick to the Rays on Saturday in exchange for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. After showing a lot of promise as a prospect in 2023, Boyle wasn't quite able to live up to the hype in '24, accumulating a 6.42 ERA and 1.72 WHIP over 47.2 innings while missing a month of the season with lower-back problems. He'll now attempt to turn things around following a change of scenery, though there's no guarantee the 25-year-old begins his Rays tenure in the big leagues.
Franco's (personal) trial has been postponed from Dec. 12 to June 2, Juan Recio of ESPN.com reports. A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled that several key witnesses were not located in time to proceed on the originally schedule date. Franco -- who is facing charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking -- is on MLB administrative leave.
The Rays signed Brentz to a minor-league contract Dec. 7. Brentz hasn't been the same since coming back from Tommy John surgery, most recently posting an 11.40 ERA while walking 52 over 30 innings between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in the Royals organization. The lefty did show promise in his rookie season back in 2021 and the Rays will try to coax that back out of him.
The Rays agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million contract with Jansen on Friday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports. Murray notes that Jansen turned down multi-year offers from other teams, preferring to bet on himself on a one-year pact after a down 2024 campaign which saw him put up a .658 OPS over 92 games between the Blue Jays and Red Sox. Injuries have been a problem for Jansen, whose career high in games (107) and plate appearances (384) was established back in 2019. However, he's been an above-average offensive catcher for most of his career, particularly from 2021-23 when he put up an .805 OPS.
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