Tuesday was the deadline for MLB teams to add prospects on their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule V Draft in a few weeks. It also was the deadline for players to accept the qualifying offer.
As a result, a lot of players that saw significant MLB playing time in 2022 were designated for assignment and some of them were even some of them were a bit surprising.
Here are the five most surprising MLB players that were designated for assignment on Tuesday by their respective clubs.
5 most surprising MLB players that were DFA’d on Tuesday
Outfielder Raimel Tapia- Toronto Blue Jays
Former Blue Jays outfielder Raimel Tapia has shown glimpses of being a good contact hitter during his MLB tenure. In 2020, for example, he was an everyday player for the Colorado Rockies and he hit .321 in 51 games for them.
He regressed some in 2021 (.273 AVG) and he regressed again in 2022 with the Blue Jays (.265 AVG) in 128 games. The Blue Jays weren’t very aggressive with Tapia’s true main tool: his speed. He stole 20 bases for Colorado in 2021 but with Toronto in 2022, he only had 10 stolen base attempts.
In reality, he should be a fourth or fifth outfielder but considering that they traded Randal Grichuk for him just before the start of the season and played him in 128 games, it is a bit surprising that the Blue Jays DFA’d Tapia.