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AL East: A mid-term front office assessment of all five teams

By Bill Felber

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman speaks to the media prior to the start of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 08, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman speaks to the media prior to the start of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 08, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Isaac Paredes. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Isaac Paredes. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Tampa Bay Rays front office +1.3

The new Neander-Bendix leadership team has made 32 moves impacting the 2022 season with a net impact on the Rays of +1.3 games of WAA. If that doesn’t sound like much, hey we’re only halfway through the season and a front office that can boost its personnel profile by two or three games per season has done something.

Of those 32 moves, only 14 worked out to Tampa Bay’s benefit; 16 were negative and two were neutral.

Here are the five most impactful.

Nov. 3: Michael Wacha was granted free agency. On Nov. 27, Wacha signed with the division rival Boston Red Sox, for whom he has to date produced a 6-1 record and 2.69 ERA in 13 starts encompassing 70 innings.  On April 22, Wacha lasted 5 innings against the Rays, allowing two earned runs but just three hits and emerging with a 4-3 victory. He has produced a 1.5 WAA to date for the division rivals.

April 5: The Rays shipped outfielder Austin Meadows to Detroit in exchange for Isaac Paredes. In 118 plate appearances Paredes has produced a team-leading 11 home runs and a .903 OPS. That translates to +1.2 WAA.

April 23: After a brief introduction in 2021, utility player Vidal Brujan was called up in late April and has seen steady duty since being recalled in mid-May. But it has not been productive duty. Brujan is hitting just .160 through his first 144 plate appearances, generating -1.0 WAA.

March 17: The Rays signed Jason Adam just after the conclusion of the lockout; he had been given free agency by the Cubs the previous November. Adam has given the Rays’ bullpen a boost, working 31 innings with a 1.47 ERA and a +0.8 WAA.

Nov. 14: In what appeared at the time to be a consummately minor deal, the Rays shipped pitcher Louis Head to Miami for a minor leaguer. Head has pitched in 23 games for Miami and he has not done well, as his 7.23 ERA and -0.8 WAA attest. Paradoxically, shipping such an under-achiever off to another team actually works as a benefit to the Rays’ ledger.

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