Matt Duffy is slated to be the Rays starting third baseman, with newcomer Yandy Diaz also seeing time at the hot corner. Diaz figures to split his time between third, first and “eventually” the outfield, according to manager Kevin Cash. In terms of further offseason additions, pitching remains an eternal area of concern, though Cash is confident with the group they have now, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Signing a closer is not out of the question, but the trio of Jose Alvarado, Chaz Roe and Diego Castillo are likely to earn opportunity in the ninth. The Rays have consistently taken a depth approach to roster building, and it seems likely they will continue to avoid over-reliance on any one individual player (save maybe Blake Snell, who accepted his Cy Young award at the BBWAA award winners annual banquet this week). Topkin suggests an interesting trade target for the Rays in Ben Zobrist, and though it’s only speculation, Zobrist certainly fits the profile. If the Cubs are indeed listening to offers on the second baseman/outfielder, a return to Tampa would be one of the more intriguing matches. The acquisition of Zobrist (or a different veteran) would alleviate some urgency from less proven assets like Austin Meadows, Avisail Garcia and Ji-Man Choi, who as of now are being counted on to produce consistent offense in an AL East without much margin for error. Some rumblings from the depths of the AL East…
- All signs point to a long process of development and roster building for new Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde, but it starts with the complex process of getting to know and evaluate the 58 guys scheduled to report to spring camp. Hyde hasn’t seen the Orioles live in action since July of 2017 with the Cubs, so it’s a lot of new names and faces for the first-time skipper. His plan: emphasize the simple. Per baltimorebaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff, Hyde’s philosophy starts and ends with a focus on the fundamentals, with sound defense and baserunning, and with a “workmanlike” and “positive” approach. Of course, striking the balance between workmanlike and positivity is much of the battle with a young squad sure to face its share of adversity, but as Hyde himself puts it, “that’s part of development, also.” Hyde is no stranger to rebuilds from his time with the Cubs – experience he will surely draw upon as he whittles the roster down to 25 by Opening Day.
- There may be further additions to camp in coming weeks for Hyde to consider, per the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli. This winter has unfurled another late-developing free agent market, making for an especially slow offseason for a bargain-bin hunter like the Orioles. Still, GM Mike Elias is keeping his eye on some short-term additions, especially on the pitching side. They do not anticipate adding any multi-year free agents, but bringing in a veteran or two on one-year contracts makes sense for a team without much flippable talent currently on hand. There are innings to be had in Baltimore, for sure, though without much urgency, Elias is taking his time evaluating the available options. It’s not a sexy approach, and it’s certainly a data point on the increasingly complex debate about team spending, but it’s good to see the Orioles taking a long-term outlook to building up their talent base under a new regime.
DarkSide830
wow, did noy notice until now how good Duffy was last year.
T_Rexx2
Ops+ of 104, so roughly league average.
chasecrane888
2.4 war is better than Average boys.
tuckshop25
I mean a league average player typically produces around 2.0 so I guess technically better than average, yes
louwhitakerisahofer
Use statistics to prove your point… he was 20% better than a league average player.
Philliesfan4life
Rays are a sleeper for the al this year imo, A young rotation led by Snell.
thegreatcerealfamine
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Rays finish runner up in the East this year.
Philliesfan4life
I won’t either , If it wasen’t for a bad start last year they might of finished second in the east or won the second al wildcard.
Ejemp2006
If it weren’t for a great finish, Rays would have been last
Michael Chaney
Not with the Orioles in that division
xXabial
Yankees
TB
Sox
Baltimore
jays
Rwm102600
As an Orioles’ fan, you have them ranked too high in those standings. Lol.
Philliesfan4life
I still have the red sox winning the east , Yanks & Rays could battle for second.
jbigz12
The orioles have no talent on their roster. If we finish ahead of tor it’d be a miracle. We have about 5 guys on our entire team that are major league caliber starters. I’m including the bullpen and starters in that figure.
ColossusOfClout
RS will take a step back from the best year in the history of the franchise.
MLBTR Commenter
Not really going out on a limb to call a 90-win team with the Cy Young winner a sleeper
matt4baseball
M Duffy was not only very good Def/Off he was a stable positive force/influence for all our rookie players. I really hope Zorbist comes back to the Rays! he was one the classiest Players with the Tampa and MLB. However he costs to much for our owner and it’s probably just here say.. I’m concerned with the FO choice to arbitrate with Tommy Pham over a million $s since he is our best hitter. Why?
batty
The Rays are sneaky good.
dimitrios in la
I have the O’s winning the division this year.
Christopher_Oriole
Can I have some of what you’re having?
bobtillman
Not trying to out-MLBTR, but I see Duffy in San Diego by Opening Day, dependent of course on the Padres’ waltz with Manny. It fits; Rays have other options: D-Rob, (who has to play SOMEWHERE), Diaz, Arroyo in the minors, etc. And Duffy would add some contact-approach to SD’s lineup.
And of course he makes about 3M, with further arbitration coming. We all know that’s the metric in Tampa Bay.
Not a bad player, Duffy, though powerless and an essentially “meh” defender. But you could do worse. You won’t miss the playoffs because Matt Duffy is in your lineup.
matt4baseball
Duffy deal won’t happen unless they are made a unreal offer. Infield, SPs and OF is locked and loaded for a 2018 repeat, We have very strong but very young BP and that would be our weakest link. The Yanks have spent more $ on just their bullpen than the Rays spent on their whole 2019 team. I do believe with (Ps Honneywell and DeLeon) back we will come in 2nd in the AL east and a Wild card.
bronxbombers
I think it’ll be in order
Yankees
Rays
Red Sox
PopeMarley
Red Sox 96-66
Rays 94-68 First Wild Card
Yankees 89-73
gomerhodge71
Yanks will win at least 95, probably more. I’m guessing NY, Tampa, Boston.
jbigz12
I’m just curious why anyone believes the Red Sox who won 108 games and cruised thru the playoffs are in danger of being beat by TB? The team who replaced CJ cron with Avi Garcia and Jake Bauers for Yandy Diaz. Not to mention you’re going to be relying on guys like Joey Wendle to keep it up and Austin Meadows to produce in his rookie season. Boston is vastly superior and I don’t think it’s close.
Nego
Yeah a lot of love for the Rays and a lot of hate for the Sox.
The only key piece they lost is Kimbrel and it wouldn’t shock me if they end up bringing him back. Even if they don’t, bullpen is really easy to build on the fly and I’m sure they will address it eventually.
Sale and Snell basically cancel each other out. The Rays best player via WAR last year was Joey Wendle. The Sox had 4 guys outproduce that and the league MVP heading into his age 26 season coming off a double-digit WAR season.
TB has a great system but even in an optimal year they’re at best a 2nd WC team. The only thing they really have going for them in that regard is no other teams are trying to compete.
jbigz12
Yeah, it’s become the popular thing around here to hate on the Sox and get really excited about the rays but count me out. You’re talking about an offense that is clearly inferior. A rotation that is clearly inferior. Only place they might take the win is the bullpen at this point. Rays will play great defense and run well but come on Boston is a better squad hands down.
matt4baseball
Let me assure you, Boston and the Yanks wanted no part in playing the Rays from August on! last time the rays swept Boston in Boston and the games weren’t close! Did you watch the games?Yanks and Oakland lost their last 2 series at their home as well. The Rays will be there and have a chance to win it if they would bring in a big bat like they promised! Guess we have to do it with 1/4 of the money again….
PinstripedPride
ROFL Yankees are too good to drop that much
SKbreesy
The Yankees were also going to run away with the season during the second half, then they were so good they were gonna crush Boston in the divisional series…
Samuel
@ PinstripedPride;
We can compare stats all day long, and they’ll show that the Rays shouldn’t be talked about in the same breath as da Yankees.
However……
MLB is not fantasy baseball. It’s a sport played by human beings on the field. Strategy matters. Pitching matters a lot; as does executing fundamentals each half inning.
The Yankees have Aaron Boone as Manager and Larry Rothschild as Pitching Coach.
The Rays have Kevin Cash as Manager and Kyle Snyder as Pitching Coach.
Huuuggggeeeee advantage —> Rays.
luclusciano
Not sure they are vastly superior. Kelly and Kimbrel are huge losses(assuming they do not get Kimbrel back. To lose your closer and set up affects a lot of close games.
jbigz12
They won 108 games with a very average joe Kelly. His ERA was 4.39 in the regular season. I think they’ll manage without him. And they haven’t lost Kimbrel yet. I doubt he goes anywhere else. And why would I think they’re vastly superior? For all the reasons listed below and the fact that the rays finished 18 games behind them last season as well. People are acting like the rays were right there with the Red Sox last season and that was not the case at all.
davidcoonce74
Red Sox had a pythag of 103-59 last season, and outperformed that by five wins. So they were a great team statistically and in execution (usually marginal changes in pythag wins, in either direction, is because of high-lverage performance, namely bullpen performance.) Unless they just can’t find anyone to close games – and most teams can find someone to throw one inning at the end of games in their system – they probably have the pieces to trade for a more established arm at some point if it became a huge problem. But if you look at Kimbrel and Barnes their numbers, besides hits allowed, were virtually identical – same innings, same walks, same Ks – like, exactly the same in all those categories, Barnes gave up a couple less homers. No real reason to think he couldn’t do what Kimbrel did in 2018 and for a fraction of the cost.
jbigz12
No one is making an unreal offer for Duffy. His value may never be higher. Given the alternatives they have for 3B in Diaz and Robertson id probably shop him if I were in charge. The rays clearly lack a power bat at 1B or DH. They’d be a lot better off with Diaz/Rob at 3rd and a power bat at 1B. For all these people hopping on the TB hype train they’re still being their typical cheap selves. If they really were in this position to contend you’d think they’d do a little more than Morton and Avi Garcia.
Traderbaby03
Pitching wins championships. Presently, the Yanks and TB have better pitching staffs than Boston. When Honeywell, DeLeon and later Banda come back from TJ injuries, the Rays will have the best pitching staff in BB. If the Rays are in it in June when Honeywell and hopefully DeLeon are due back to be pitching for the MBL Rays, expect Tampa to shop for veteran(s) with playoff experience knowing they are in the driver’s seat and playoff bound.
jbigz12
The rays have a better pitching staff than Boston? Really getting hyped up on a bunch of rookies and Tyler Glasnow? They have two proven pitchers on their entire staff and one guy with one good half of a career there. That’s ludicrous to say that’s better than Porcello, EO, Price, Sale, and Erod.
petrie000
You still gotta outscore the other guy to win, and Boston’s offense is really good at scoring runs…
Nego
Banda has a career 5.13 ERA. De Leon has a 6.86 ERA. Honeywell hasn’t pitched an inning in the bigs, and is coming off Tommy John. I struggle to see how these 3 can make the Rays the best pitching staff in baseball, even in an absolute best case scenario from all three.
jdgoat
I don’t know what they’re going to be, but Banda and De Leon have pitched in a combined 16 games. Who cares what their ERA’s were, you can’t base anything off of those numbers.
Nego
But there’s nothing to really show that those guys will magically make the Rays staff the best in the league. Even when their prospect shine was the brightest they were fringe top 100 guys, now add in serious arm injuries for all three – there’s no way to reasonably be able to expect anything out of them this year. Let alone pencilling into the ‘best staff in baseball’
luclusciano
Yeah man – I’m a Yankees fan, but neither them nor the rays match up to the starting 5 on Boston. Well, at least the 3 starters, I still think Eovaldi is a fluke. The Yankees bullpen is superior, but history has shown is that just a superior bullpen does not win World Series.
kc38
The starting 5 in Boston???? Oh my lol. Sale and then used up trash. Boston fans crack me up
davidcoonce74
Yeah, the Yankees had the best bullpen of all time in 2018 (amazingly, the Padres had the sixth-best bullpen of all time in 2018) by WAR; the other stuff matters too. The Yankees don’t have a Sale-like ace and that does matter; Sale himself was woth as much WAR as the Yankees top two starters, and that was in an abbreviated season. As easy as it is to criticize Porcello and Price, they were well-above-average starting pitchers in 2018, both being hurt by homers and obviously the postseason struggles of Price. The homers in Fenway are always going to be a problem, but those guys aren’t really the big issue for the Red Sox. But I presume it will be a dogfight again between the two teams; they match up pretty well on paper aside from the bullpen depth.
bobtillman
It’s easy to dump on the Sox, and love the Rays. But, really……
1. The Sox remain the best team in MLB with ZERO indication they won’t in fact get better. HUGE financial individual incentives, the natural progression of their young core, and oh ya, some guy named Pedroia might be back. This is a team that could EASILY win 115 games.
2. The Rays are fun to watch, but ask yourself: exactly what Ray starts on the Sox? Or for that matter starts on the Yanks. Pitching? Ya, Snell (who will likely regress) and more ifs than a box of Cracker Jacks. And their “vaunted” front office traded themselves out of the playoffs in 2018 (Span. Dickerson, Colome) and may have already done the same this year; Mallex Smith may have matured into an All Star. If they haven’t done it already, it’s the Rays; they will.
3. The Yanks aren’t disappearing. Theirs is a very good team that would EASILY win any other division. Their issue is that as far as they are ahead of the rest of MLB, they’re that far behind the Sox.
I’m really not a Sox lover, but anybody who doesn’t realize that theirs is the best team MLB has seen in a LONG time is just silly. Between them and the rest of MLB, It’s a geometric difference, not an arithmetic one; a qualitative difference, not just a quantitative one.
luclusciano
Not being silly, but number of wins is the import part, not the quality of play.
jbigz12
Alright bob the Sox are the favorites but this is way over the top. Your closer right now is who? Ryan brasier? Kelly and Eo gave you absolute magic in the postseason but is that something you’re going to get again? You already lost Kelly and maybe Kimbrel as well. I agree wholeheartedly that the Red Sox are much better than TB and slightly better than NY but in no way are they some kind of super power that is miles ahead of the league. That is complete nonsense.
kc38
I’m glad you think trading mallex is the thing that’s gonna make the rays miss the playoffs lol. Oh boy you need help bob
matt4baseball
There’s at least 4 maybe 6 starters that are better. Keirmayer over bradley, Duffy over Devers, Snell over Price and the others, and maybe Tommy pham over the over rated A Benatendi, Zunino (4 war) over who’s the catcher?, Oh! Wendell over Pedroia, Nunes?
kc38
Rays had an absolutely terrible beginning of the season. After the all star break check the records and teams stats and see the rays in top 3 in about all categories. Boston beat up on the losing teams which is how it should be and the rays didn’t. But when it came time the rays were very very competitive with Boston and Ny including a sweep of Boston and 3 of 4 from Ny in September. Boston’s rotation is suspect and have no bullpen. Yankees rotation is above average but all with question marks as to health and effectiveness. Rays are the most sound team in the division with consistency and defense. Their bullpen is okay but the opener thing just totally changes how you can evaluate these teams side by side. And I still truly believe rays acquire Realmuto after not making any big big moves like they clearly hinted. Rays may not be the flashiest but farm is extremely deep and sometimes being the one to make the routine play everyday and timely hits wins the race. With Morton and snell and Glasnow and the bullpen has god pieces people won’t recognize unless you’re a Rays fan I think many people are gonna be surprised. Winning 90 games after a horribleeee start and trading away key pieces mid season is impressive
matt4baseball
I agree, What Bob doesn’t consider is Pitching, defense and with timely hitting will win 2 out of 3 games. With our 3 starters and the successful opener/follower formula the Rays created along with (3) 95-100mph 2nd year closers/bullpen. i honestly believe we have the best pitcher lineup and 2nd best defense in AL east.. With a little luck and no injuries The Rays can possibly win the division or home field WC.