Rays add veteran depth to their bench/infield.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Saturday morning began with a couple of roster moves for the Rays. It began with the acquisition of INF Trevor Plouffe from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. It concluded with moving RHP Matt Andriese to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.
Plouffe, an eight-year MLB veteran, spent the first seven with the Minnesota Twins from 2010-2016. This year, the Athletics signed him to a one-year, $5.25M deal. The Rays will take on over $2M of his remaining contract. While primarily a third baseman, he can also fill in at first base. The Rays don’t plan to add him to the 25-man until Monday when they begin a six-game home stand welcoming the Cincinnati Reds to Tropicana Field. At that time, another roster move will have to be made to make room on the 25-man squad.
Not the happiest of birthdays.
The former first round pick of the Twins was DFA-ed by Oakland on Thursday – his 31st birthday. In 2017, he’s played in 58 games hitting .214/.276/.357 with seven home runs. He brings a .294 avg against LHP with him to a Tampa Bay team that has struggled against southpaws in 2017.
The Rays are in the middle of a four-game series against the Tigers in Detroit this weekend. They’ve dropped the first two games and conclude the series Sunday before coming home.
