2019 MLB Season: Ranking the AL East General Managers
By Bill Felber
1. Erik Neander, Tampa Bay Rays, +7.9
Two moves, neither of them heralded, made Neander’s off-season.
In December, Neander signed Charlie Morton to a three-year, $45 million deal to co-headline the Rays rotation behind Matt Snell. Snell is having only a so-so- season, but Morton has produced a 9-2 record and a league-leading 2.36 ERA in 18 starts. That translates to 2.4 WAA.
He also tied up promising infielder Brandon Lowe through 2026 with a contract that costs only $1 million this season, but which eventually will rise to $11.5 million. Lowe has justified the team’s faith with a .276 average, 16 home runs and a 1.8 WAA.
His overall +4.9 WAA in free agent signings/re-signings is bettered only by Brian Cashman’s +5.0.
Neander swung a pair of three-way trades over the winter, and both are bearing fruit.
A December deal with Cleveland and Seattle brought Yandy Diaz to Tampa at a cost of Jake Bauers. Diaz has been worth +1.0 WAA to Tampa while Bauers has a -1.6 WAA for the Indians.
A separate three-way trade involving Texas and Oakland netted the Rays reliever Emilio Pagan (+1.0 WAA) at a cost of lightly used reliever Kyle Bird.
Overall, Neander made moves impacting 21 current or former Rays since the end of the 2018 season, and two-thirds of those moves have so far worked to the team’s benefit.