NS. PETERSBURG – The Rays cleared some space in their infield as well as on their list and payroll by swapping all-star infielder Joey Wendle for the Marlins on Tuesday.
The return is Kameron Misner, a 23 year old outfield player. Misner was the No. 35 overall pick on the 2019 draft, splitting between High-A and Double-A in 2021, hitting .253 with 12 homers, 59 RBIs and a .788 OPS, and being named the No. 21 prospectus by the Marlins classified mlbpipeline.com.
The Rays had to clear a spot on their 40-man roster to include pitcher Corey Kluber, and the Wendle swap saved them a planned salary of $ 4 million and opened up season for potential Taylor Walls and others.
Ahead of Tuesday’s 8:00 p.m. deadline to write contracts, the Rays agreed on a $ 3.2 million deal with first baseman Ji-Man Choi, one of their 14 remaining arbitrators. Choi was forecast at $ 3.5 million by mlbtraderumors.com.
Kameron Misner destroyed two baseballs at full throttle today. Just look. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/LPmVnLLsl0
– Josh Norris (@ jnorris427) November 10, 2021
The 31-year-old Wendle has been an important player for the last four seasons and something of a team leader for the Rays since he was taken over in December 2017 in what appeared to be a small deal with the A’s who had designated him for the mission.
Wendle has often received praise from the Rays for his performance on the field. He played well in second base, shortstop and third base, hitting .274 with 25 homers, 151 RBIs and a .744 OPS.
And also, as he did, with a work ethic and professionalism that the Rays hoped others would emulate.
Wendle was an injury-related replacement for the American League All-Star team that season and a finalist for a Gold Glove Award at the third base. In 2018 he finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year election.
Although Wendle preferred to avoid the attention, he was often teased by manager Kevin Cash and was pretty good at returning it in an unobtrusive way.
This story will be updated.
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The post Rays swap all-star Joey Wendle for marlins first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/rays-swap-all-star-joey-wendle-for-marlins/
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