Sept. 20: The Rays have formally selected Baz’s contract and created space on the 40-man roster by transferring Archer from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. That will formally end the season for Archer, who is battling renewed discomfort in his problematic hip. Tampa Bay opened a spot on the 28-man roster for Baz by placing righty Andrew Kittredge on the 10-day IL due to tightness in his neck.
Sept. 18: Top Rays prospect Shane Baz will make his Major League debut on Monday against the Blue Jays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Baz was the third piece acquired along with Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow from the Pirates in the now infamous Chris Archer trade. The 22-year-old’s stock has risen since the trade, though the former first rounder has always shown tremendous promise.
In the Tampa development engine, he has become a refined starting prospect at the top of an impressive farm system. He was the Rays’ top prospect on Baseball America’s midseason report, and he’s the top prospect by MLB.com’s rendering as well. Baz won a silver medal alongside current Ray David Robertson while with Team USA at the Olympics in Japan.
He is not currently on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding roster move will be necessary. While Baz isn’t technically postseason-eligible right now, he could theoretically be added to the postseason roster through a petition to the Commissioner’s office as an injury replacement. That process has often been exploited in the past, and the Rays have shown a willingness to throw young hurlers into the postseason fire (see McClanahan, Shane).
Besides, while the Rays own the best record in the American League, they have the most dynamic (read: unpredictable) pitching staff. Practically speaking, it’s entirely unclear who might get the ball in a potential opening round playoff series, so there is at least a possibility that Baz could pitch his way onto the playoff roster. Because playoff roster changes cannot be made mid-series, the only opening he’d likely snag would be as a starter. Best case, he could make maybe three starts before the year is out — if the Rays view this promotion as an actual audition for playoff baseball.
The prospect of Baz as a playoff weapon isn’t all that far-fetched when you consider his dominance in the upper levels of the minors this season. He made seven starts in Double-A with a 2.84 ERA, striking out 49 in 32 2/3 innings. After earning a rapid promotion to Triple-A, Baz went back to work with a 1.76 ERA over 10 starts totaling 46 innings with a 64-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those eye-popping numbers certainly must make the Rays consider giving him an opportunity to help the parent club right now.
The rookie southpaw McClanahan is the only sure thing to be in the playoff rotation right now, and he’s currently on the injured list. Drew Rasmussen is making a strong push to be a postseason starter as well, having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his past six starts since joining the rotation. Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Wacha, and Luis Patino round out the rotation for now, though the Rays are likely to use at least one rotation spot (and maybe more) for bullpen days come the postseason.
He is eligible for playoffs if he replaces a player on IL. You should know that if writing here
They’ll find a way lol
In organization so can be a option just not a guy like if we’re to sign Puig.
Hope you applied for that writer job they posted recently!!
He’s eligible if he replaces a player on the IL AND the commissioner approves on petition, which is what he said. You should know that if you actually read the article.
A player is eligible if he is in the organization by August 31.
He has to be on the 40 man by aug 31 to qualify but I think the exception comes in if he is in your system by the 31st he can be eligible with special circumstances, or least that’s how I interpreted the rule and I could be wrong on that
Why you gotta do that to the blue jays
The archer trade is the gift that keeps on giving for the Rays
Oddly enough, Baz will likely get Archer’s spot on the 40 man roster as well.
So does your mother
The infamous Chris Archer trade. The trade that keeps on giving.
Don’t know what Archer should think being in the same dugout as these guys now. Kind of cool that you brought back that much talent but at the same time we all know this trade because archer didn’t perform
I didnt keep track/remember. Did everyone involved in that decision at Pittsburgh get fired?
Seems like they cost the franchise enough they shouldve been.
Yes they did! And good riddance
Yes, I think it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. So, while infinitely painful, maybe it helped clean house. Remains to be seen if it leads to better days.
As i recall the trade, they couldnt fix Glasnow (Tampa fixed him in 10 minutes), they were down on Meadows, but i was so upset they “threw in” Baz. There was no reason to include him in the deal. They literally could have got Syndergaard or some other better/younger pitcher than Archer.
They got rid of everyone but the guy that really needs to go and that’s the owner but only mlb can fire him unfortunately for the bucs there going to be stuck at bad to mediocre bb until nutting passes or sells
Guy is going to be better than any of the pieces of the Rays got in that trade, imo. Meadows is turning into a Joc Pederson-lite. Glasnow won’t be back until his age-29 season and barely has 400 innings pitched since 2016. If Baz can get his command down, he can be an ace.
Or stay healthy and you never know about that.
Sorry, how many 100-rbi seasons has Joc had? Or are you one of the “rbi dont mean anything” yokels?
You are so far off on that comparison. Rough year last year, much better this year. I see you comment on here a lot, but assume you are not watching the Rays. But you should know better.
I watch the Rays a lot. They’re my second favorite team behind the Pirates. Heck, I’ve been rooting for them to win more than the Pirates this year lol. He’s got a lot of RBI’s, but the Rays have 7 guys wth an OBP above the league average in at least 250 plate appearances. Meadows is one of 43 total batters this year with at least 250 plate appearances with men on base. Not saying he’s not been clutch. He has a 155 wRC+ with RISP and .909 OPS in high leverage situations. But he’s batting .230/.312/.451 with a 109 wRC+. Pederson, from 2015 to 2019, hit .234/.339/.479 with a .348 wOBA, and 120 wRC+. Maybe turning into wasn’t the right phrasing. Maybe he’s been a Joc Pederson-lite this year.
Just saying he’s been given more opportunites to drive in runs more than the average player. I really don’t think it’s fair to hold a stat aganist a player that relies a lot on their surrounding line-up, or compare players using that stat. Any batter can have 90+ RBI’s if they have the right guys batting in front of them and can give them enough opportunities. Pujols had 101 in 2017 even though he had a sub-.700 OPS and 80 OPS+ mostly because Mike Trout and his .442 OBP would hit in front of him. In 2019 you had Rougned Odor and Pujols (again) tied with Carlos Santana and ahead of MVP candidates Marcus Semien and Ketel Marte in RBI’s. Rays don’t have an OBP machine like Pujols did. But Arozerena, Choi, Franco, and Diaz all have OBP’s hovering around .350. Wendle and Walls’ OBP’s are slightly above average. Kiermiaer has been decent recently.
@Sideline: mlb1225 is one of the best posters here, and he’s spot on with the Joc comparison if you look at his hitting lines and not solely RBIs, you yokel.
mlb1224 really is a great poster. Unbiased and informed
Rbis don’t mean anything. Any intelligent mlb fan knows this. Rbis are all about opportunities.
As a Pirate fan I wish Baz nothing but success. It isn’t his fault that the Pirate front office panicked and made one of the worst deals anyone can remember. Baz was always going to potentially be the best talent out of the 3.
If you want to find the silver lining in thst trade, it forced the front office to be cleaned out. The Pirates are in a much better spot today with at least the hope they’ll be able to build a competitive team moving forward.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting once called those bozos the best management team in professional sports.
I forgot about that. He called them that because they signed Pedro Alvarez who was a Scott boras client.
#TBMTIB
Wouldn’t he have had to have been on the 40 man roster prior to roster expansion to be playoff eligible?
No can’t if was signed as a Free-Agent since September or if acquired by Trade after July 31st.
Unfortunately I don’t think Glas will pitch in a Rays uniform again. Next years staff is shaping up nicely.
Rasmussen
Patino
McClanny
Baz
Romero/Seymour
Dont forget chirnois,mckay, honeywell for #5. All have issues but could be good
My favorite pitching prospect in the Rays system is Seth Johnson. Converted position player to a pitcher. Super fresh arm who pumps 100mph+ and is learning to control it. Secondary stuff is close. Watch out for this dude. Hopefully he finishes 2022 in Durham.
There have always been players who hit better with runners on base. To think that its totally random and its solely because those runners happen to be on base that he has a high number of rbi is ignoring the numbers you just presented. A 155 wRC+ with risp. The reason he is in the lineup where he is likely to have men on base, is precisely because the manager and staff realize this. Austin Meadows has driven in 75 beyond himself (Rbi-HR)(100-25). Guerrero, Jr who is in the MVP race, hits for a higher ave., and has better hitters ahead of him in the line up has only driven in 58 beyond himself (104-46). I would rather see him at the plate with the bases loaded than Meadows, against my team. How you can have 550 abs in the heart of Toronto’s lineup and only drive in 58 of the runners during that time is baffling. It might make you think its because of something beyond randomness.
@stymeedone your post reminds me of yadi great player because of his glove and his work with a staff but also seems to get that “clutch” hit and tbh I’ll take a guy that hits like crap but is awesome when it counts.
Imagine having all the tools you need to figure out clutch isn’t a thing, and still thinking it’s a thing.
Imagine having all the tools you need and not realizing that in science, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It’s never been proven clutch is not a thing, just like it’s never been proven it is. You cannot say definitively that it is or is not.
I do agree with the Joc Pederson comparison however. Maybe not the “lite” portion but overall good comparison. Why I would say he is not “lite”; from 2019-21 Meadows has a higher average, more hrs, more rbis, higher obp, slg%, OPS, and OPS+. His Rbat+ is 11 higher currently and they share similar rOBA’s. There’s not really any stat that would show Meadows as the “lite” version of Joc but more so Tampa’s very own version of Joc.
Typically, terms like “lite” mean the player is similar but worse than their comparison. Maybe this is why the other guy seemed to take such offense to the term.
Neal Huntington is currently discussing how the Archer trade and refusing to deal Felipe Rivero were solid moves to keep the Pirates window open, while the barista is telling him, “Sir, this is a coffee shop, are you going to order something?”
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
In honesty, not trading Vasquez was killer. But if he gets traded and everything comes out, would the Dodgers have had any recourse to reverse the trade? Probably not I suppose unless they could prove the Pirates knew something (don’t think they did).
Julio francos death certificate is ready to be signed
Worst 11 game winning streak in MLB history.
Awesome! I hope Baz does well. The infamous Archer trade continues to pay dividends for the Rays.
Archer was awful for the pirates and might have been the worst pitcher on their team before he got hurt.
Glasnow was incredible in spurts last year and the start of this year. Sadly, he’s probably not going to pitch for the Rays again. Even if it was Glas for Archer straight up, the Rays win the trade as they at least got some great innings from Glasnow.
Then we have Meadows, who is a really solid middle of the order guy. Maybe not going to be a superstar, but certainly an above average MLB hitter./occasional all star. Throwing in this guy makes the trade lopsided.
Then we finally come to Baz, who has the most upside of the 3 now. He very well could be an Ace, but even if he is just an average MLB starter, it makes the trade truly unbalanced with a chance of still being one of the worst of all time.
Its been 2 years since the trade. Proves one thing. You are nothing but an idiotic moron troll
The Dodgers traded less for Scherzer AND Turner than the Pirates did for Chris Archer lol
Lol you idiot
Big time mad.
It continues to amaze me that the Rays keep this amazing record when 3 of their regular starters have a negative WAR!
Rays have botched the Baz move.
1. If they put him on the 40 man 3 weeks ago he would be elig. without a special injury petition to the commish. Now the commish could deny the request.
2. Why would they start him tonight and give the Jays — a likely 1st rd foe– a free look at him before playoffs. Maddux refused to pitch vs Div. foes during ST ditto Schilling.
They should hire you, clearly the front office is clueless and in need of your many years of expertise… but i admit i would have started him against the tigers or friday against the marlins. But still i trust them more then i do you….ps the commish WONT deny the the request
PS: Why take the chance?
Why give Tor hitters a free look?
If their screw ups start to over take their good moves i will complain. Intil then i will trust they are smarter then you or me
I do not claim to know more, but on this one I can not see the point. If someone knows a valid reason for the timing of this move, I am always happy to learn
Call neil on the post game show. It would be interesting to know. But i still trust them
What’s the #, I’m watching the gm now.
He sneezed last week tweaked his back. So they pushes back his start.
Diaz! Diaz! Diaz!
The Rays broadcast crew just mentioned that a factor in knocking Ray out was that they got to see him in his last start. Dennis Eckersley mentioned on the weekend that if the BoSox get a one gm playoff with Tor they should start Sale because Tor hasn’t seen him this yr.
So again I ask why give Tor a free look?
Because TB can’t face Toronto in a one game, winner take all scenario. They would get at least a 5 game series with them, so the ‘no-look’ factor is not nearly as important as it would be in a one game series.
Really, how many 5 gm series are decided by one gm?
Maddux, Schilling & Eckerslely as well as, the Tampa broadcast crew have all stated that an extra look can be the deciding factor — so why give it up?
It’s the same with the 40 man spot– the commish may grant playoff elig.– but why risk it being denied?
I don’t believe, if he even gets added to the roster, that he would be a starter. It’s my thought that it would be similar to when we did the same exact thing with Price in 08, Moore in 11, and McClanahan making his debut in the post season last year. Basically, lets get a look at this guy before next year and he could potentially be an innings eater for bp games or if a starter has a bad game.
McClanahan, Rasmussen, Patino, and Yarbs will continue to be starters with BP games mixed in.
Gm 4 at Fenway — Do you want to start Yarbs or Baz?
You are nuts…NO YARBS!
Have you seen what the BoSox have done to Yarbs this yr? Even the outs were crushed.
one of the worst trades of all time has come full circle
I can’t believe he was part of the Chris Archer trade too! Has to be a Top 5 worst MLB trade of all time, especially if Baz pans out in the majors. Glasnow, Meadows & Baz for Archer? Beyond terrible.
Has it caught Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee? Think we’ve still got a ways to go there, but Phillips did most of his damage after the Indians made another bad trade.