Rays infielder Taylor’s Walls has a right hamstring problem and will start the season on the 10-day disabled list, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. That will probably lead Carson Williams for being the Opening Day shortstop, though Topkin notes that the Rays are open to outside additions as well.
The Rays entered camp with Walls and Williams as the top picks for the opening day job. Walls is the more experienced of the two, having appeared in 480 games for the Rays over the past five seasons. He doesn’t give anything away with the bat, as he’s hit .195/.286/.298 in his career. His defensive grades are mixed, with 52 Defensive Runs Saved in short but 14 Outs Above Average, but the Rays are clearly leaning in the right direction based on how they continue to commit to him. They paid him $2.45MM this year.
Williams has a chance to produce more than that in the long run but is still not guaranteed. He is 22 years old, turning 23 in June. He made his debut in the majors last year, playing in 32 games. He hit five home runs but hit at a poor 41.5% clip while drawing walks in 5.7% of his plate appearances. His minor league track record has been somewhat similar, though with more walks. In 111 Triple-A games last year, his 12.4% walk rate was excellent and he hit 23 home runs but at a career-high 34.1% strikeout rate.
The skills are there but Williams is clearly still young and raw. No professional hitter had a strikeout rate higher than 32.3% last year. He’ll have to drop the punchouts and it’s a work in progress. Understandably, the Rays feel he could use more polish in the minors, as they optioned him to Triple-A Durham earlier this week.
Walls’ injury may change that plan, at least temporarily. It’s unclear how long Wall will be out. If the problem is very minor, he may only miss a week of the season since IL sessions can be pushed back by three days, even early in the schedule.
Until the walls return, the depth of the stop will feel light. Hopes Jadher Areinamo, Gregory Barrios again Brayden Taylor they aren’t too far off but neither have played at the Triple-A level yet. Ben Williamson He only played third base for the Mariners last year but has some minor league shortstop experience. He appears to be a bench player in the big leagues and could be a backup to Walls or Williams.
As Topkin said, the Rays may be looking for outside help. Maybe they can find someone they like enough to demote Williams back to Triple-A, but adding minor league depth behind Williams would also be a possibility. Not many teams want to trade starter-caliber shortstops this time of year but some fringe guys may be available in the coming days. As teams skip camp and make their final roster decisions, some will trigger exits and become free agents while others will make the waiver wire.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a look at some of the league’s upcoming exit scenarios. Orlando Arcia, Paul DeJong, Kyle Farmer again Dylan Moore are the other guys with the most recent shortstop experience on that list, although Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that DeJong plans to not start his outing. It is reported that Moore will set up his own. Boys love it Leo Jiménez, Brett Wisely or Tsung-Che Cheng may end up being discontinued in the coming days. The Rays acquired Wisely and Cheng in the offseason but later lost both in subsequent moves.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
