Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Kiermaier extended

Links

• The Rays signed Kevin Kiermaier to a six-year, $53.5 million contract extension. Marc Topkin has details and quotes.
• Jason Hanselman broke down the deal.
• Dave Cameron talks about the extension, as well as the problems with arbitration.
• The Rays made their first round of cuts, optioning some players, reassigning some to minor league camp, and releasing Dana Eveland.
• Rays Radio has audio from Kevin Cash on the cuts.
• While the Rays tied, Matt Andriese was sharp in his start yesterday, and Rays Radio has audio.
• A prospect spotlight on Justin Williams.
• Good work by Jason Wilson on measuring quality of pitches. For what it’s worth, I’m not 100% sure combining into a single QOP number is the best place to go with this, but I expect that all or parts of what they have with QOP can be used to adjust pitcher projections, and that doing so will make those projections better.
• Taking a page out of the Rays playbook, Rob Rogacki says that Dylan Bundy should throw more high fastballs.
• Former-Ray Ernesto Frieri is trying to get a spot with the Yankees.
• For those following the Cuban player human traffic drama, agent and trainer Bartolo Hernandez and Julio Estrada were just convicted of human trafficking.