Jonathan Aranda Could See More DH Duties
11 months agoTampa Bay Rays designated hitter Jonathan Aranda could see additional playing time at designated hitter for the club in 2024 now that Luke Raley is in Seattle. Aranda doesn't play the outfield, but he's a left-handed hitter, and the Rays want to create an opportunity for Aranda to prove himself after he dominated Triple-A pitching the last few years. Given Aranda's defensive limitations, it will be hard for him to crack the Rays' infield, so his best path to more playing time will be DH duties on a more regular basis. Tampa could also look to create more of a role for Curtis Mead, MLB Pipeline's No. 34 overall prospect. The 25-year-old Aranda has 43 homers in the last two years at Triple-A Durham, but he's hit just .212/.311/.346 in 190 big-league plate appearances the last two seasons. There's intriguing power potential in his bat, but his lack of positional versatility merely will make him a bench bat for fantasy managers in 2024 drafts.
Source: MLB.com - Adam Berry
Source: MLB.com - Adam Berry