The Rays have been granted a fourth option year on infielder , according to a report from . Typically, players have three option seasons with one used each season during which the player spends at least 20 days on optional a signment in the minor leagues. A player is considered to be on optional a signment when on a clubs 40- Christin Stewart Jersey man roster but sent to the minor leagues while not on a rehab a signment. Aranda, 27 in May, was added to the clubs 40-man prior to the 2022 season and has been optioned to the minor leagues in each of the past three campaigns, with at least 20 days in the minors each season. Under normal circumstances, that would leave him out of options headed into the 2025 campaign, meaning the Rays would have to expose him to waivers before attempting to return him to the minor leagues. Occasionally, however, teams are granted a fourth option year on certain players, typically due to the player mi sing significant time with injury. that players with le s than five full profe sional seasons (defined as at least 90 days on a major or minor league active roster) are eligible for a fourth option year. That applies to Aranda, who played full-season ball for the first time during the 2021 season. Fourth option years are typically granted to teams on players who have mi sed significant time due to injury during their option years, which also applies to Aranda after he spent three months on the IL last year between multiple trips to the injured list. The fourth option year affords the Rays additional flexibility regarding their positional mix this year as they look to bounce back from a difficult 2024 season. , , , and are the only players locked into Opening Day roster spots for the Rays who cannot be optioned to the minors, though that group will also include non-roster slugger if he makes the team out of camp. With a number of intriguing youngsters in the upper levels of the minors like infielders and as well as outfielders and Jake Magnum, its easy to imagine the Rays trying to maximize their roster by shuffling between those youngsters and their optionable major leaguers. Aranda is now included in that group, and with just 333 big league plate appearances under his belt to this point in his career its certainly feasible that the Rays utilize that fourth option year in the event he faces the sorts of struggles that many players do early in their big league careers. Thats not to say Aranda doesnt figure to be a key part of the clubs lineup, of course. The infielder currently figures to serve as the clubs Opening Day DH given the presence of Diaz and Lowe at first and second base respectively, but his solid .234/.308/.430 slash line (113 wRC+) in 44 games for the Rays last year was promising even for that role. More exciting than Arandas slash line was the improvements he made relative to 2023, as he cut his strikeout rate from 30.1% to just 22.4% while also hitting for more power has his barrel rate jumped from 5.3% to a fantastic 16.5%. That ma sive barrel rate would have been fifth in the majors last year if he had enough plate appearances to qualify and may not be entirely sustainable over a full season, but its simultaneously easy to imagine last years .264 BABIP coming up significantly given that it was a drop of more than 60 points relative to 2023. Kirk Gibson Jersey