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The Twins introduced in the present day that infielder/outfielder Niko Goodrum has been reassigned to minor league camp, indicating he received’t be on the membership’s Opening Day roster. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reviews that Goodrum has triggered an project clause and that the Rays have curiosity in him.
Goodrum signed a minor league cope with the Twins in December. An project clause, also called an upward mobility clause, requires the signing staff to supply the participant to the opposite 29 golf equipment. If any of these golf equipment expresses curiosity, the signing membership has to resolve between including the participant to their roster or buying and selling them to the membership. If not one of the golf equipment have an interest, then the participant would stick with the unique signing membership.
The Rays are recognized to like versatility and Goodrum can actually present that. He’s a switch-hitter and might transfer throughout the sphere, having performed every of the seven positions outdoors of the battery. He’s additionally stolen 46 bases in 59 makes an attempt in his profession. Nevertheless it’s been some time since Goodrum appeared to be a viable hitter within the huge leagues, which makes the curiosity from the Rays considerably shocking.
Goodrum hit .247/.318/.427 for the Tigers over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, adequate for a wRC+ of 98. Which means he was nonetheless barely under common, however that was strong manufacturing for a man who can bounce throughout, doing a number of issues. Nonetheless, his offense has been nowhere close to nearly as good since. He hit .203/.282/.350 over 2020 and 2021, 74 wRC+, then produced a dismal line of .116/.156/.163 in 2022.
He settled for a minor league cope with the Purple Sox final yr and had a strong .280/.448/.440 line in 65 video games for his or her Triple-A membership. He opted out of that deal in the summertime and signed with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, slashing .295/.373/.387 in 50 video games for them with out hitting a house run, buoyed by a .389 batting common on balls in play. In Spring Coaching with the Twins, he has a line of .103/.257/.138 in 35 plate appearances.
The Rays have misplaced just a few place gamers currently, thinning their depth. They knew way back that Taylor Walls wouldn’t be an possibility resulting from his offseason hip surgical procedure however spring accidents may even result in Josh Lowe, Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca beginning the season on the IL.
The projected lineup is closely right-handed, with Brandon Lowe and Richie Palacios the one lefties who appear more likely to get common taking part in time. Goodrum is a switch-hitter however he’s really been higher from the suitable facet in his profession. He has a line of .303/.369/.447 in opposition to southpaws for a 121 wRC+ however a .199/.274/.369 line in opposition to righties, which ends up in a wRC+ of simply 72.
That makes him lower than a great match for a membership that already has loads of right-handed bats however maybe the Rays are nonetheless interested by including him as a flexible bench piece to maneuver round as wanted. Although he hasn’t had an important exhibiting this spring, he did draw walks in 17.1% of his plate appearances. That typically aligns with the 23.1% stroll fee he had in Triple-A final yr and the 11.4% stroll fee he had within the KBO.
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