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Stunning news has broken tonight as reports are ringing in that the Tampa Bay Rays are close to signing catcher, Wilson Ramos to a two year deal that would give him up to $18.25M over two years and a guaranteed $12.5M.
The Rays stated their primary goal this off-season would be to address their catching situation and by adding Ramos they have certainly done that. Ramos, 29, had the best year of his career in 2016 and seemed primed to be one of the most sought after players on the market, however, a late season injury derailed those plans as Ramos now has to settle for a lesser deal with the Rays in hopes of rebuilding his value.
Over his career, seven years, Ramos has slashed .269/.313/.430 with 83 HR, 22 of those came in 2016. He has also accrued 10.3 fWAR, again with 3.5 of that coming this past season with the Nationals.
Ramos’s injury was a torn ACL that required surgery to his knee so he is still rehabbing and probably won’t be ready to return until June, meaning the Rays still will have to go with their current tandem of Curt Casali and Luke Maile until that time. Also, with his signing, that brings the Rays 40-man roster back to being full.