Rays Lose 24-Year-Old Catcher To Division-Rival Orioles

The Tampa Bay Rays cycle through catchers quickly at the major league level, and sometimes, that heavy turnover trickles down to the minors.

Twenty-four-year-old Willy Vasquez was an international signee for the Rays in 2019, and he progressed as far as Double-A, where he'd been for the last two seasons. But after the season, he was eligible to elect free agency and seek opportunities with other ballclubs.

On Wednesday, Vasquez landed with a new club, and it happened to be one of the Rays' division rivals.

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Willy Vasquez joins Orioles on minor-league contract

According to the transactions log on his official roster page, Vasquez signed a minor-league deal with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. He has been initially assigned to Double-A Bowie, and in all likelihood, will not be given a chance to compete for a big-league roster spot, considering he has yet to appear in a game at Triple-A.

Vasquez had some very solid offensive seasons in the low levels of the minors, but since arriving in Double-A to begin last year, he's produced a meager .606 OPS in 536 plate appearances, which likely stalled his progress in the Tampa Bay system.

Certainly, of all the teams in the Rays' division, the Orioles least needed catching help at the big-league level. They've got Adley Rutschman as their four-year starter, and extended top prospect Samuel Basallo shortly after his call-up at the end of this season.

But Rutschman is a free agent in two years, and every team needs more catching depth than ever these days. The sport only continues to become more physically taxing as it gets more athletic, and teams are leaning away from having one catcher start virtually all of their games if they can avoid it.

None of this is to say that Vasquez is guaranteed or even likely to appear in the majors for the Orioles, but one can see the vision behind bringing him in, especially if Baltimore likes his defense.

The Rays, meanwhile, will simply hope that if they ever see Vasquez in the opposing dugout, he doesn't punish them for letting him walk after six years in the organization.

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