MLB: Rating the front offices of the AL East
By Bill Felber
Tampa Bay Rays
Matt Silverman, president; Erik Neander, senior VP of baseball operations and general manager
+2.8 games
In the Rays’ successful effort to supplant New York atop the AL East standings, the team’s front office certainly did its part. Team execs only made a modest 22 personnel moves since the end of the 2019 season that influenced the course of the club during 2020, of which 13 improved the Rays’ short-term fortunes.
None of those moves was especially profound, but three stood out, all of three to the good. In January the Rays acquired outfielder Randy Arozarena and veteran Jose Martinez from St. Louis in exchange for a couple of minor leaguers. Martinez did little and was dealt away, but Arozarena batted .281 with a 1.022 OPS in 23 games. That translated to a +0.6 Wins Above Average.
One month later the Rays signed lightly regarded free agent pitcher John Curtiss to supplement their highly regarded staff. Like Arozarena, Curtiss was hardly a revelation, but he did go 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 17 appearances. That added another +0.6 WAA to the team’s profile.
A mostly veteran cast, the Rays added only one rookie of note in 2020, that being pitcher Josh Fleming. But he went 5-0 with a 2.78 ERA in his seven appearances, contributing a final +0.6 WAA.
The cumulative impact of the front office’s labors in 2020 was to raise the Rays’ profile by 2.8 games. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but in a 60-game MLB season it was among the best performances by any major league front office.
The annual short-term performance rating of the Rays front office since Neander was appointed GM prior to the 2017 season:
Season Games
2017: – 0.6
2018: +5.8
2019: +8.5*
2020: +2.8
*This was a greater improvement than the margin by which the Rays qualified for post-season play.