Tuesday is the deadline to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 Draft by placing them on the 40-man roster, which means some teams are going to have to find ways to clear a little room. That’s particularly true for those organizations that operate with low budgets and are thus far more reliant on young, cost-controlled talent. One such team is the Rays, whose projected 2024 payroll of $126 million would be $42 million more than they’ve ever carried.
That likely means parting with an expiring deal or two in order to cut costs, perhaps as soon as possible with another deadline coming later in the week.