The Rays opened up a few roster spots Sunday when they shipped infielder Christian Arroyo and reliever Hunter Wood to Cleveland in exchange for minor-league outfielder Ruben Cardenas.
The next two days — as we approach the July 31 deadline — will be telling for both Tampa Bay and Cleveland – a pair of teams in the American League wild-card hunt.
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Let’s analyze the latest deal.
Why the Indians made the trade
The Indians front office prides itself on turning other teams’ trash into its own treasure. OK, it’s probably more like turning other teams’ gently used players into its own moderately productive major-leaguers. If this trade reminds you of the Indians’ heist of Oscar Mercado from last summer, it’s because it fits a similar framework.
The club isn’t banking on Arroyo offering much this season — he’s on the 60-day injured list. But he’ll likely be one of several candidates, along with Yu Chang and any other future trade acquisitions, to replace Jason Kipnis next season. They’ve recently targeted position players with some minor-league success or pedigree who ran out of opportunities or whose clubs ran out of patience: Daniel Johnson, Jordan Luplow, Mercado. Arroyo was a top-100 prospect as recently as last season. Perhaps the Indians can unlock the 24-year-old’s potential.
Wood will head to Triple-A Columbus, though he is another reliever who could offer a lift later this year or next season. Who knows what the future holds for veterans like Dan Otero, Tyler Clippard, Oliver Pérez or even guys without options, such as A.J. Cole and Tyler Olson? There will be some roster casualties in the coming weeks as Danny Salazar and Corey Kluber rejoin the fold — and if James Karinchak earns a promotion, or if the Indians swing another trade. It always helps to have a stash of big-league-ready arms. Wood throws his fastball in the mid-90s and relies on a slider that averages about 86 mph.
Who is Ruben Cardenas? And why did the Indians deal him?
The Indians selected Cardenas in the 16th round of the 2018 draft. He had posted a .284/.343/.475 slash line for Class-A Lake County, joining forces with Will Benson and Tyler Freeman to give the Captains a formidable trio in the middle of the lineup in the first half. The Athletic’s Emily Waldon recently profiled the 21-year-old Cardenas.
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The outfield remains a sensible position for the Indians to target on the trade market this week or this winter, but Mercado, Johnson, Luplow and Jake Bauers are all young. They clearly deemed Cardenas expendable as they attempt to balance the farm system. Their upper levels needed some talent, but the lower levels are full of intrigue. Meanwhile, the Rays have shown the ability to get the most out of their prospects — they have the league’s No. 1 farm system, according to Baseball America.
Why the Rays made the trade
Arroyo will forever carry with him his Tampa roots, but the Rays decided to finally move on from the “other” piece of the Evan Longoria trade.
The biggest thing that hurt Arroyo, outside of his inconsistency, was his inability to stay healthy. He appeared on the Injured List three times last season with Triple-A Durham and is currently on the 60-day IL with a right forearm issue. Even if Arroyo could have gotten back to full strength again this season, he fell down the depth chart during his time away from the club. Matt Duffy is finally back from his hamstring injury, and rookie Mike Brosseau has been a pleasant surprise since being called up in June. Both Duffy and Brosseau are right-handed bats, just like Arroyo, and they’ve been producing at a higher clip, not to mention other right-handed-hitting infielders Yandy Diaz, Daniel Robertson and Willy Adames.
Before the forearm injury, though, Arroyo never found consistency at the plate, and he had a few questionable moments playing at third base. One American League scout who saw Arroyo multiple times before he got hurt said Arroyo could be a solid bench player for Cleveland but noted that he still has a lot of potential he needs to tap into to become a more consistent player at the big-league level.
Dealing Wood was a more surprising move considering the Rays need bullpen help, but the club also needed a 40-man roster spot to add Sogard, and Wood is out of options after this season. Teams never like to move on from home-grown products (Wood was drafted by Tampa Bay in the 29th round of the 2013 draft), but considering how the Rays use their pitchers between Durham and the big-league club, the more options a player has, the better suited the club will be. The 25-year-old Wood will add some youth to a veteran-heavy Cleveland bullpen.
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The Rays also are getting some international signing money from the Indians.
Odds and ends
The Rays’ first move on Sunday was trading Ian Gibaut, who was originally designated for assignment last week to create a 40-man-roster spot for Duffy, to the Rangers. Gibaut showed promise after returning from a spring training injury, and he made his major-league debut on July 12 against the Orioles (allowing two runs with two strikeouts in the final two innings), but the front office decided he was the odd man out in the latest roster crunch.
The return from Texas remains unclear, but Tampa Bay will likely get a minor-leaguer or cash considerations. The Gibaut deal was the second trade the Rays have made with the Rangers over the last two weeks; Tampa traded away prospect Nick Solak for reliever Peter Fairbanks on July 13.
(Top photo of Christian Arroyo: Kim Klement / USA Today)