Rays mark reunion with veteran catcher short after release

Francisco Mejia’s return to the Rays organization will be a brief one. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reports that the Rays released the veteran backstop, who’d signed a minor league deal in late February. Mejia is once again a free agent.

The 28-year-old Mejia signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the winter but was granted his release early in camp after the Halos apparently changed their plans behind the dish. He returned to the Rays a few days later in hopes of winning a roster spot with the club for whom he’d suited up over the three prior seasons.

Mejia only tallied 19 plate appearances in big league camp with the Rays but hit well in that small sample, going 6-for-18 with a pair of doubles, a walk and two strikeouts. Mejia was in the mix for some catching time alongside Rene Pinto, competing with fellow non-roster invitee Alex Jackson in that regard. 

Wednesday’s acquisition of Ben Rortvedt altered the Rays’ plans, however. Rortvedt opened the season as the second catcher alongside Pinto, pushing Jackson to Triple-A alongside journeyman Rob Brantly. With Mejia again left as something of an odd man out, he’ll head back to the market in search of new opportunities.

Once one of the game’s top all-around prospects, Mejia has yet to hit at the major league level despite piling up more than five years of service time between Cleveland, San Diego and Tampa Bay. He touts an excellent .306/.350/.519 batting line in 633 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, but despite showing promise in his first season with the Rays, he’s just a .239/.284/.394 hitter in nearly 1100 MLB plate appearances.

Mejia’s defense has also been panned over the years. He’s long been graded as a below-average framer, and his ability to control the running game completely evaporated last season. In 2023, he threw out just four of the 42 runners who attempted to take a bag against him. Statcast also ranks him as one of the least-effective catchers in the game when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt.

Despite the lack of big league success, Mejia is a switch-hitter with an impressive track record in Triple-A who’s still just 28. Catching help is always in demand around the league, and while a team certainly isn’t likely to plug the former top prospect right onto its big league roster, he should find opportunities to join someone’s Triple-A club and work his way back to the big leagues.