The Rays have placed catcher , left-handers and , right-hander , infielder , and outfielder on outright waivers, reports. The wave of transactions clears some space on Tampas 40-man roster, and also acts an e sentially an early set of non-tender decisions, as five of the six players (all except Gray) were and project to make a combined $8.4MM in 2024. Thats not an insignificant sum for a smaller-payroll team like the Rays. Even if the club has said to a higher than usual payroll in 2024, some cuts were inevitably coming from Tampa Bays large arbitration cla s, both for financial reasons and for simple roster maintenance reasons. Todays cuts take the clubs projected payroll for 2024 (per ) from just under $130MM down to just over $121MM. That figure, of course, is still around $42MM higher than the clubs payroll in 2023. Bethancourt, 32, was the clubs primary catcher for much of the 2023 campaign. Though he was a capable defensive option behind the plate, Bethancourt posted disappointing numbers on offense with a slash line of just .225/.254/.381 in 332 trips to the plate. That line was good for a wRC+ of 74, which ranks 28th among 31 catchers to make at least 300 plate appearances in 2023. Late in the season, Bethancourt was supplanted as the clubs top option behind the plate by 26-year-old backstop . Given this, its of little surprise that the cost-conscious Rays would look for a cheaper option than Bethancourt to back up Pinto in 2024. Bethancourts glove work should still see him garner interest as a potential depth option behind the plate alongside other veteran free agents like and . Beeks, 30, made his big league debut with the Red Sox back in 2018 but recorded just 6 1/3 innings of work for the club before being shipped to Tampa Bay. Upon joining the Rays in late July, Beeks posted a 4.47 ERA and roughly matching 4.45 FIP in 44 1/3 innings of work. He largely replicated that league average production over a full season in 2019, with a 4.31 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 104 1/3 innings of work. Beeks pitched well in the shortened 2020 campaign with a 3.26 ERA and 1.79 FIP but made just 12 appearances before having his season cut short by Tommy John surgery. Upon returning to the big leagues in 2022, Beeks enjoyed the best season of his career with a 2.80 ERA and 3.49 FIP acro s 61 innings of work. Unfortunately, the 2023 campaign proved to be the worst of Beekss career; despite his FIP (3.82) staying relatively similar last season, Beeks saw his ERA balloon up to 5.95 in Alan Trejo Jersey 42 1/3 innings of work this year. Still, as a left-handed relief option who enjoyed considerable succe s on the mound as recently as last year, the 30-year-old hurler should find plenty of interest from clubs on the open market, though perhaps not at the level of the $1.8MM salary he was projected for in arbitration. Fleming was a fifth-round pick by the Rays in the 2017 draft and impre sed during the shortened 2020 campaign, which was his rookie season. The then-24-year-old southpaw posted a 2.78 ERA in 32 1/3 innings of work that year, though a 4.40 FIP indicated that Fleming may have had some good fortune on his side in those numbers. In 2021, Fleming was given a larger role as he opened the season as a member of the clubs rotation and started off strong with a 3.39 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 13 appearances through the end of June. Unfortunately, the wheels came off for Fleming from there, and his final 13 appearances saw him post an atrocious 8.05 ERA with a 4.49 FIP in 38 innings of work. That tough end to the season carried into Flemings performances in the big leagues the past two seasons, where he combined for a 5.40 ERA and 5.16 FIP in 86 2/3 innings of work. That being said, Flemings relative youth and past succe s could make him an interesting depth option for pitching-needy clubs on a minor league pact this offseason. Though a member of the Rays organization in 2023, Sulsers only big league appearances with the club came back in 2019, when he made his big league debut for Tampa with seven scorele s appearances. Since then, Sulser bounced between the Orioles, Marlins, and Diamondbacks organizations before returning to the Rays in 2023 after a difficult 5 1/3 inning stint in Arizona that saw him post a 6.75 ERA. Though Sulser didnt return to the big leagues this year after re-joining the Rays, he did pitch well in 18 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level for the organization, with a 3.86 ERA and a decent 22.4% strikeout rate. The best season of Sulsers career came in Baltimore back in 2021, when the righty posted a 2.70 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 63 1/3 innings of work. Now on the open market ahead of his age-34 season, Sulser will join a market deep in veteran depth options as he looks for his next team. Gray, 27, made his MLB debut with the Rays earlier this season. Though his cup of coffee in the major leagues last just five plate appearances, he managed to notch two hits in that limited time, including a home run. Aside from his first foray into big league play, Gray hit decently well at the Triple-A level this year, with a .235/.312/.485 slash line at the level this year. While primarily a shortstop, Gray has experience at every position on the field except for catcher and center field, which when combined with his solid numbers at Triple-A and his impre sive (though very brief) first showing in the majors could make him an attractive depth option to clubs on a minor league deal this winter. Tapia, 29, spent the first six seasons of his big league career with the Rockies, slashing .280/.325/.396 in 439 career games with the club, though those numbers translate to a wRC+ of just 77 thanks to the inflated offensive environment at Coors Field. Prior to the 2022 season, the Rockies and Blue Jays got together on a deal that swapped Tapia to Toronto in exchange for , and Tapia found himself performing solidly as a platoon bat and fourth outfielder for the club. In 433 plate appearances with the Blue Jays in 2022, Tapia hit .265/.292/.380 with a wRC+ of 91. That performance wasnt enough for Tapia to find a big league deal last winter and left him to bounce between three clubs throughout the 2023 season. In 169 plate appearances between Boston, Milwaukee, and Tampa, the 29-year-old took a step back at the plate with a .236/.317/.338 slash line with a wRC+ of just 80. Tapia figures to look for another minor league deal this coming offseason. Sam Hilliard Jersey