ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The American League champion Tampa Bay Rays signed right-hander Michael Wacha to a $3 million, one-year contract on Friday to fill a void in the rotation with the departure of Charlie Morton.

The 29-year-old Wacha has a 60-43 record with a 4.01 ERA over eight seasons. After seven years with the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA with the New York Mets in 2020.

Wacha is 4-2 with a 3.34 ERA in six career postseason starts, five coming as a rookie in 2013 when the Cardinals won the National League pennant. He was a National League All-Star in 2015.

Morton signed a a $15 million, one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves last month after Tampa Bay declined his $15 million option. The 37-year-old joined the Rays in 2019 and helped Tampa Bay reach the playoffs the past two seasons. The right-hander was 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA during this year’s postseason.

The signing also comes one day after the Rays announced that right-hander Brent Honeywell had arthroscopic elbow surgery that is not expected to affect his 2021 season.

BLUE JAYS: Each time Toronto Manager Charlie Montoyo has made a pitch to free agents this offseason, there’s one topic he’s known will come up.

“The number one question is if we’re going to play in Toronto,” Montoyo said Friday. “That’s rightly so. Our answer is, ‘Yeah, we’re hoping so.’”

So far, it’s hope and not certainty for the Blue Jays, who have yet to receive clearance to host games at Rogers Centre. Although Canadian officials allowed the Blue Jays to host their summer training camp in Toronto last July, a request to play regular season games north of the border was denied. That left the Blue Jays scrambling to find a solution just days before the season opener. Toronto played on the road for more than two weeks before moving to Buffalo, New York, the home of their Triple-A affiliate.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the U.S.-Canada border remains closed for nonessential travel. The Toronto Raptors have relocated to Tampa, Florida, for the upcoming NBA season.

In a Dec. 11 conference call, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro shared Montoyo’s optimism about playing games at Rogers Centre in 2021 but said he won’t demand a firm answer from Canadian officials before his team meets in Dunedin, Florida, for spring training.

INDIANS: Manager Terry Francona praised the organization for trying to “do the right thing” with a name change that was inevitable – and necessary.

On Friday, Francona complimented the team’s decision to drop its name after 105 years, a switch that came after months of internal discussions, meetings with numerous groups and one that will signal a new beginning for the AL club.

“I am proud of the fact that we are going to do something that is correct,” Francona said on a Zoom call from his home in Arizona.

The team announced its decision on Monday, ending a process that began even before owner Paul Dolan’s announcement in July – hours after the NFL’s Washington team dropped its controversial name – and said the club would do a thorough review of its name.

METS-RANGERS TRADE: New York is sending minor league right-hander Ryder Ryan to Texas as the player to be named in a trade for infielder Todd Frazier on Aug. 31.

Ryan is a 25-year-old reliever who last pitched at Double-A Binghamton in 2019 because the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season. He was 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings with the Rumble Ponies.

Ryan was left unprotected for this month’s Rule 5 draft and was not selected. New York announced the completion of the deal Friday.

Frazier batted .224 with two home runs in 14 games after being acquired by the Mets. He became a free agent after the season.

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