*Photo from Reuters*
With so many of their left handed reliever depth having left the team, the Tampa Bay Rays decided they needed more. The Rays and LHP Brooks Raley have agreed to a two year, $10 million deal, with a $6.5 million option and $1.25 million buyout for 2024, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays have confirmed the deal.
The Rays have lost lefty relievers Cody Reed, Dietrich Enns, Adam Conley, and Ryan Sherriff so far this offseason, and they have lefties Jeffrey Springs, Colin Poche, and Jalen Beeks returning from injury. Raley's signing will be a boost to left handed relief depth for manager Kevin Cash, and he could potentially be better than the other 3 options he'll have.
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said of Raley that "The chance to get someone we feel is an upper-echelon lefty to pitch out of the 'pen and really solidify that group was important. We didn’t want to only rely on pitchers coming back from injury. We’ll see how everything else sorts itself out, but this is somebody that, if we’re making this type of commitment out there in the 'pen, it’s because we see a lot of potential impact and somebody that’s going to be critical for us to win games and hold them down late."
Before the 2020 season, Raley had been pitching in the KBO in South Korea from 2015 to 2019, with his last major league experience having been in 2013 with the Chicago Cubs. He had appeared in 4 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2020 before landing with the Houston Astros, where he remained until this offseason, now with a new deal in Tampa Bay.
Last season with the Astros, Raley finished the regular season with a 2-3 record with a 4.78 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, punching out 65 hitters while walking 16, finishing with 49 innings pitched in 58 relief appearances, picking up two saves. In 8 playoff games last season, Raley had a 0-0 record with 5 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings pitched.
Across 4 major league seasons, split between 3 teams, Raley has a 3-6 record with a 5.62 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, with 3 saves to his name and 17 games finished, throwing 107 1/3 innings in 88 relief appearances and 5 starts. In 14 career playoff games, Raley has a 0-1 record with a 5.11 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, throwing 12 1/3 innings, all in an Astros uniform.
Neander said of Raley's pitching that "We looked at the progression over the last couple of years and really liked what we saw, the repertoire itself, the command, the depth of the repertoire. In the most simple terms, it’s a lefty that strikes out a lot of hitters, he throws strikes and doesn’t walk many hitters, and he hasn’t been hit hard."
Raley is not a fireballer, he won't blow you away with his velocity. His cutter averaged just under 88 mph last season, and his fastball at 91 mph. But what he lacks in velocity he makes up for in control and command. His curveball and fastball finished with elite level spin rates last season, with his changeup and cutter being thrown in as well. He had the 3rd lowest hard hit rate in the majors last year, so he's a weak contact pitcher. He also finished with the second lowest exit velocity against him.
Raley will be a 4th lefty reliever in the Rays bullpen, which is set to include Poche, Beeks, Springs, Pete Fairbanks, Andrew Kittredge, Nick Anderson, JT Chargois, JP Feyereisen, Ryan Thompson, and Matt Wisler.
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