Derek Norris

Derek Norris commits to Rays on one-year deal

The Tampa Bay Rays will sign free agent catcher Derek Norris, reports Yahoo Sports Tim Brown.

What It Means:

The deal will be for one year, says the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin, but with Norris being arbitration-eligible in 2018, the Rays will have control for two years. According to Robert Murray of FanRag Sports, Norris chose a smaller contract with Tampa Bay due to the opportunity for more playing time, with Wilson Ramos (knee) still out for a few months.

Norris was pretty abysmal from the dish in 2016, turning in career-lows with a .186/.255/.328 slash and .252 wOBA across 458 plate appearances. His 30.3 percent strikeout rate was the highest of his five seasons in the big leagues.