Nine non-tendered free agents who could help the Rays

Hey everyone!

The non-tenders are in and it's like seeing the first sales catalogs for Black Friday as numerous players from the league have been released from their contracts and some of those players may of be of some interest to the Rays, who tendered contracts to all eligible players.

So, let's browse the newly released catalog and see what shiny deals are to be had

Chris Carter - OF/1B/DH

Pretty much a home run or strikeout guy, Carter provides little to no defense. He was projected to make $5.6 million in arbitration and despite his impressive home run numbers (90 over the past three years), the Astros decided not to tender Carter a contract. He averaged 30 home runs over the last three years, but saw his wRC+ drop from 122 to 101 last season.

Pedro Alvarez - 3B/1B/DH

Alvarez is basically a lefty Chris Carter, as he strikes out a ton, while providing lots of power. He's hit 111 home runs over the past four seasons, but with the no-DH national league, he is forced to play defense which destroys his value, causing him to fall out of favor with the Pirates, who declined to offer him arbitration as he was slated to make over $8 million in 2016. Alvarez is league-average against lefties, but batted a 116 wRC+ vs RHP's last season.

Cesar Ramos - LHP

Not really interested in him coming back, but it's interesting that he was non-tendered after having the best season of his career in 2015. He's only slated to make $1.7 million in 2016, nonetheless the Angels decided it was too much and made the decision to send Ramos on his way. He sported a three-year best 2.75 ERA and five-year best 3.02 FIP last season.

Henderson Alvarez - RHP

This guy threw a no-hitter a couple of years ago, but now a shoulder injury has ended his time with the Marlins. Alvarez is just 25 years old and he's had a couple of impressive seasons, and was even the team's opening day starter in 2015. Unfortunately, he only pitched in four games for Miami before suffering the shoulder injury that will keep him out until at least May of 2016. Accordingly, the Marlins declined to offer him arbitration, as he was slated to make a hefty $4 million (aka Alex Cobb money).

Tyler Flowers - C

Drew has already covered this, but you can never have too many catchers in the organization with great framing so Flowers could possibly find his way to Tampa.

Ike Davis - 1B

On a team with Logan Morrison and James Loney, there's not much of a fit for Davis. He has long been a rumored name of interest for the Rays and now that he is on the open market, they may swoop in and retrieve him. He had the worst season of his short career last year with Oakland, posting negative WAR, but some of that could be injury-related. He's had a couple of solid seasons in the past and would be worth a minor league invite.

Steve Cishek - RHP

Cishek was an excellent reliever for the Marlins from 2011-2014, but got off to a poor start in 2015 and quickly found himself on the outs with the Miami organization. He would be dealt to St Louis in July, and was of decent use for the team; nonetheless, the Cardinals non-tendered the former closer. He could be a solid buy-low candidate for the Rays and a possible Hickey reclamation project. Cishek tallied 39 saves in 2014.

Mike Minor - LHP

Minor was once one of baseball's top prospects but he's suffered mixed results during his time in the majors and missed all of the 2015 season due to left shoulder surgery. For the past couple of years, the Rays have picked up pitchers recovering from surgery in hopes of finding a valuable option for their pen or rotation, and Minor fits this role. He may have plenty of suitors, but the Rays have Hickey, which is a huge bargaining chip.

Greg Holland - RHP

One of the H's in the Royals patented shutdown bullpen, Holland had the unfortunate but now not uncommon misfortune of having to undergo Tommy John Surgery toward the last days of the 2015 season, meaning that he'll miss all of 2016. With a projection to make over $11 million in  what would have been his final season of team control, it was an obvious non-tender, but a difficult choice for the Royals to make. The Rays would hope to offer him the Jonny Venters plan.