Tampa Bay Rays
INF, Starlin Castro
The Rays always run a tight ship in terms of not offering up any contracts even remotely large in size, but the team may need to open its coffers a bit to shore up a potential costly weakness.
Tampa Bay needs a right-handed hitter but most of all the team needs a third baseman as they don’t have much at the position on the depth chart other than Joey Wendle who hit just .231 in 75 games this past season.
Castro offers a consistently high average (.270 AVG or better in each of the last 3 seasons) and 15-20 home runs from the right side, while also playing above-average defense at three different infield positions (3B/SS/2B). After spending the last two seasons in Miami, the Rays could keep the 29-year-old in Florida on a multi-year deal.
Contract Prediction: 3 years, $24 million
St. Louis Cardinals
OF, Marcell Ozuna
The Cardinals have been quiet this offseason with the re-signing of Adam Wainwright standing as the team’s most notable move thus far. The Redbirds still need an impact bat and could also use more starting pitching if we’re being thorough.
It seemed probable that Ozuna would be taken off the market rather quickly after declining his qualifying offer from the Cardinals, but that hasn’t been the case. St. Louis should take advantage of the fact that the 29-year-old is still available and, like Wainwright, re-sign the man.
With 30-HR power and able to still provide respectable defense in left field, Ozuna could be the final piece needed to complete the Cardinals 2020 lineup. The only problem is that he’s most likely still looking for a rather large payday; however, perhaps his price has fallen somewhat, being that there hasn’t been any takers.
Contract Prediction: 3 years, $60 million