One of the heroes of the Houston Astros 2015 playoff run, Colby Rasmus, has decided to join the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason on a one-year deal as he tries to prove he’s far from finished. Rasmus will get $5 million in guaranteed money, and could receive up to $2 million in incentives. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports was first to report the finished deal.
rasmus has a deal with rays. good fit, AL sources say. @Ken_Rosenthal said close
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 9, 2017
colby rasmus gets precisely $5M guaranteed plus $2M incentives on rays deal. @Joelsherman1 on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 10, 2017
Tampa Bay Rays Pick Up Colby Rasmus
Rasmus has been around the major leagues since coming up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009. Since then, he’s served time with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Astros, and is a career .241 hitter with 156 homers. After hitting 25 home runs in the 2015 regular season, Rasmus quickly became a fan favorite and clubhouse-leader at age 28, but will be taking his talents to Tampa in 2017.
Since the playoff run, however, Rasmus has slowed down, though not due to a lack of effort; injuries and the procedures that came after limited him to just 107 games in 2016, and his batting average plummeted to a meager .206. Despite surgeries relating to his hip and core, he attracted attention from several teams this offseason, including the Oakland Athletics.
Rasmus is expected to make a full recovery during Spring Training and should be a key contributor in left field for the Rays this upcoming season. There is talk of him also splitting duty at designated hitter. It should be an interesting season for Rasmus, as he joins a young team expected to compete for the American League pennant in 2017.
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