With the Rays 15-inning marathon loss yesterday, their 2022 season has officially ended. Heavily impacted by the injury bug, including Wander Franco, Tyler Glasnow, Shane Baz, and Mike Zunino, the Rays managed to piece together their fifth consecutive winning season, leading to their fourth-straight playoff appearance. Beginning with a strong April and May going 38-21 (.571 win percentage), by the end of the season the Rays were fighting to hold onto a Wild Card berth, going 14-19 in September and October regular season games, finishing their last eight regular season games 1-7 before being swept by the Guardians in the Wild Card series.
Reliever Pete Fairbanks’s departure from yesterday’s game was likely due to a circulation issue, or possibly Raynaud’s syndrome, in his fingers per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’s the latest injury for Fairbanks, who has dealt with a right rotator cuff issue, right shoulder inflammation, and a right lat strain since the 2021 season. Making his 2022 debut in mid-July, the righty pitched a 1.13 ERA in a limited 24 innings. On the heels of this strong regular season performance, he was selected to Rays postseason roster, but could not record an out due to the finger injury.
Transitioning to the 2023 season, the Rays have a few notable free agents including starter Corey Kluber, outfielder David Peralta, and catcher Mike Zunino. Kluber joined the Rays on a 1-year, $8MM contract and pitched to a respectable 4.34 ERA in 164 innings (31 starts). The 36-year-old pitched his first full season since 2018 with a below-average 20.2% strikeout rate, but an excellent 3.1% walk rate. Peralta began the season with the Diamondbacks, slashing .248/.316/.460 before being traded to the Rays where his numbers dropped to .255/.317/.335. The Rays picked up Zunino’s $7MM club option for the 2022 season after his strong 2021 season, but the catcher underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in July, ending his 2022 season early. The power-hitting catcher was having a cold start to his season, posting a meager .148/.195/.304 line in 115 at-bats.
Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is also likely to become a free agent, with the Rays holding a $13MM club option for his 2023 season that they will most likely decline. Kiermaier’s 2022 season ended in early July with a hip injury, with the righty posting a substandard .228/.281/.369 slash line in 206 at-bats.
In addition to these free agents, the Rays currently have 19 players who are arbitration-eligible entering the 2023 season, including bullpen forces Jason Adam, Nick Anderson, and Colin Poche. It is very likely that the team won’t retain all 19 players but will instead opt for non-tendering some of them.
As a whole, the 2022 Rays were marked by a surprisingly weak offense. Likely affected by injuries to key bats, Tampa slumped to a collective .239/.309/.377 batting line in 2022, a far cry from the .250/.327/.424 slash line the team put up during the 2018-2021 seasons. Interestingly, the Rays’ catching fell flat after a strong 2021, likely due to the absence of All-Star Zunino.
Tampa’s 2022 catching core, primarily composed of Francisco Mejia, Rene Pinto, and deadline addition Christian Bethancourt, posted a combined measly .224/.248/.373 line. Comparatively, Rays’ catchers slashed .234/.309/.494 in 2021. This team primarily relied on Zunino who broke out and batted a strong .216/.301/.559 in 2021. With Zunino becoming a free agent following the conclusion of the 2022 season, the Rays may opt to bring the veteran back or search for a new slugging backstop for the 2023 season.
Moving sixty feet, six inches from the Rays’ backstop to the mound, once again injuries severely impacted Tampa Bay’s performance. Starters Glasnow and Baz both dealt with elbow injuries that resulted in Tommy John surgery. At an individual level, only one pitcher made over 30 starts, Kluber, and only four pitchers made over 10 starts. Additionally, similar to Zunino, Kluber is a free agent at the conclusion of the season.
These injuries forced Tampa to continue to rely on their bullpen, with starters pitching the fewest innings in the league (753) to the third-lowest ERA (3.45) and the bullpen pitching the most innings in the league (682 2/3) with a low 3.36 ERA, stranding a hefty 74.3% of base runners. While this strategy worked for the majority of the season, by the end of the season Tampa’s bullpen was beginning to crack. Over their last 51 1/3 innings, the Rays’ bullpen ERA increased to 4.38 ERA, and they only stranded 67.6% of base runners.
Nevertheless, the Rays will look to retool this winter and update their roster in hopes of reaching the playoffs for the fifth-straight season.
If the Rays made the postseason with everyone hurt and underperforming, what will happen when they are healthy?
Nothing. They will still lose to the Astros and Mariners.
Bingo.
The good part about running baseball operations for the Rays is a lack of expectations. They have accountability from within, but fans and media around the game marvel when they play competitively in the AL East, but they always have that built in excuse when they come up short. Much easier job than running a team like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, etc.
Yep. They are good enough to make the playoffs but good enough to go all the way. 1 run in two games says it all.
They limped into the playoffs though, the Rays went 3-9 in their last 12 including a five game losing streak to end the season and 14-18 from September 1st til the end of the season. If the Orioles don’t go 15-18 in the same stretch the Rays might not have made the playoffs at all
Once they locked up playoff spot and could not get home field they just played out the string..they brought up scrubs from AAA to pitch ect.
They took their foot off the gas once they made the third WC spot and forgot how to put the foot back on the gas. Cash told them it was time to stop sucking but they didn’t get the memo.
They were 2 wins away from the title a mere 2 years ago, I would respect them more than the f’n ringless Mariners who pretty much havent even made the playoffs for the entire 2000’s so far.
Why do the Mariners always have so much respect? Watch the tidal wave of hype around them and they will fail once again, because they are a cursed franchise and will never win. 116 wins and a 1st round loss? Nah you should fold after that.
Same can be said about the Sox (04) and Cubs (16).
The Mariners at one point were a class organization (though maybe not in recent years) they are also Baseball’s only team to never play in the World Series. Many of us loved Junior and Edgar and then on to Ichiro. Its hard to make that connection with Rays players because they don’t stay long enough
The media loves the Nariners due to the fact they are a fun team, enjoy the game and can be dangerous in the playoffs. You might want to check your facts also before slamming a team. The 2001 Mariners did not lose in first round. Beat Cleveland in ALDS and lost to Yankees in ALCS.
“can be dangerous in the playoffs.” – they have ZERO titles, why tell outright lies like this?
Interestingly the Mariners are 17-17 in the postseason. Being titleless doesn’t mean they can’t be tough
Astros good chance, mariners maybe…when they make the playoffs again in 20 years
Make the playoffs and lose again. You can’t win in October without stars. They don’t have any other than McClanahan
So, basically, call them the the Raykees.
I mean, what do you define as a “star”? Tyler Glasnow could be that if he stays healthy. So could Brandon Lowe if he can put together 150 games. Same with Wander Franco.
You dont follow the team do you? Franco, Randy, Glasnow are stars also. .maybe B lowe if 39 hr when healthy count. The rest of line up yes they SUCK
We’ll never know bc it’ll be mostly a different team next year. I didn’t expect much with them having the lowest active roster payroll in the playoffs yet again.
Dear Author – For any mention of Rays end of season notes consider Brandon Lowe was lost for 80% of this past season. He hit 39 HR’s in 2021. He was replaced by Walls who provided zero offensive production.
Unlike thier ability to piece together an effective pitching staff, not having Wander and Lowe getting 600 PA’s and healthy for the playoffs really limits the offensive ceiling of the team.
Also its “Rays” not “Ray’s”
Was anyone else surprised they didn’t have Walls sac bunt with the leadoff guy on first and no one out in the top of the 15th? He hit .172 in over 400 at bats…
The problem is these losers dont even know how to bunt, and they dont teach them comming up!!!
That may have been affected by his failure the previous time he was asked to bunt.
Not surprised, Cash doesn’t understand the concept of bunting, one reason the Rays cannot win in extra innings. People think Cash is some great manager, and he has done well to win as he has, but he is a slave to modern baseball methods–if analytics sheet says don’t bunt, he doesn’t bunt; if the analytics experts say take a guy out after facing a lineup twice–even if he is shutting them down–he takes the pitcher out. He cannot manage on his own, and it drives Rays’ fans nuts. Of
Course Walls should have bunted (one could ask why he was even on the playoff roster–great glove, but hello–Rays need offense!!!), but the fact he didn’t, and that the team manufactured nothing over 24 innings, does not surprise any of us.
(Yes, I am still bitter about game six of 2020 ws)
Should have had Mejia try to squeeze in the 15 th as he looked scared as crap up there
The ball Meija hit had an xBA of .760. Sometimes you just gotta tip your cap to the defense, Myles Straw runs down everything
Christian Bethancourt had a 1.9 WAR and a slash line of .252/.283/.409. Mejia is only 26 and managed 1.4 WAR. There are certainly teams with much weaker catching options even if Zunino never again repeats his 2021 season. The more important injury was to Brandon Lowe, which put more pressure on Franco to play a big role. But having to pencil in weak links like Choi and Yan Diaz at the corners, and no corner outfielder with any punch just make them a weak hitting team by definition. They need someone to pair with Arozarena in the middle of the batting order, someone like Nelson Cruz or Austin Meadows in his brief heyday. My guess is they spend the money in the off-season to get a reliable offensive presence, but on the cheap as always. They need to hope for Brandon Lowe to return to form, and for help from the Triple-A champion Durham roster. Players like Mastrobouni and Aranda are likely to get longer looks as well as Josh Lowe. Keeping Glasnow healthy would be a huge start to fixing the pitching., They will continue to struggle just outside the winner’s circle until they fix the larger issues that have plagued the franchise from the beginning.
“Yan” Diaz had a slash line of .296 / .401 / .423 / .824 as a lead off hitter, and doing that he was one of the best in MLB. Hardly a “weak link”. His defense at times was poor, although no where near as poor as Choi’s often was.
I’m a big fan of the small market teams that use analytics to help them innovate and mesh that with baseball knowledge – how to exploit the rules to the teams advantage and how to use the players on their roster on any given day to best take advantage of their strengths. So I usually watch the Rays, Brewers, Guardians – and this year the Orioles quite a bit.
Because of the lockout / negotiations which led to too many games in too short a period that didn’t allow for time off to rest players adequately, almost all teams had major injuries. The Guardians and Orioles got around that by resting their players throughout the season even when they were healthy.
I cut back radically watching the Brewers and then the Rays the first few months of the season. It wasn’t injuries or players having bad seasons. Some of it was defense – neither team was playing consistently clean baseball as they had for years. Some of it was smart baseball missing at times – stealing, hitting behind runners offensively and making strong defensive plays to pick runners off or stop them from taking an additional base. Some of the players on both teams got lazy.
While it’s fun to dissect the individual players in 2022, for both the Rays and Brewers it simply appears that both teams sort of hit a wall. The Rays played well later in the season and made the playoffs. They maximized what they had. Both organizations FO’s are among the best in MLB (along with 2 of the 3 best managers in MLB…the other being Terry Francona), and I have no doubts that even if all or some of 2023 has to serve as a transitional year, both franchises will be strong contenders in 2024 at the latest. In the Rays case, I look for them to make a number of moves this offseason, and right through 2023.
Samuel, when you say the Rays will make a bunch of moves…do you mean MLB free agents, or retreads who may or may not contribute? Peralta was awful. Bethancourt hits the ball hard, but swings at everything. Siri is fast and has a great glove, but looks absolutely lost at the plate most of the time. I could find multiple examples from any offseason or regular season. Truth is, the Rays FO will go on the cheap As they always do, and hope a guy excels (e.g. Harold Ramirez). They don’t spend money, they don’t sign big free agents (except for Charlie…then they let him go, like fools), and they fail quite often. Yes, they may make moves, but few if any will move the needle. Ask a Rays fan.
Sideline Redwine;
I think that they – along with the Brewers – will go on a ‘Rebuild on the fly’ as Cleveland did a few years ago when they traded Lindor. They had some guys in the lower and mid minor’s from good drafts, and picked up some more youngsters in low-key trades. Right now the Ray’s farm system is ranked around 8th. This is very good.
Put this in perspective – the Rays went through a major rebuild starting in 2014 and began to come out of it in 2017 (Cash was hired for the 2015 season). They’ve been competitive for 5 years. They’ve hit bit of a wall but are hardly in a position where they have to go through a major rebuild. Just a step back to get some youngsters developed and onto the ML roster.
Again, the Guardians did 2 years and now are one of the best young teams in MLB along with the Orioles.
As for Cash’s use of stats – that’s what the Rays organization wants in a manager. He drove me crazy earlier in the year flip-flopping Walls and Franco between SS and 3B daily. Those are 2 totally different positions to play, with throws being made from different arm angles. Neither player could get in a rhythm, and were making errors and bad plays constantly. Then there was the thing about Vidal Brujan – playing him every day at multiple positions. Problem was that Brujan couldn’t play any of those positions and was costing the Rays on the field. That was bad enough, but he also couldn’t hit. Finally someone pulled the plug and he was sent back to the minors.
The Rays do things differently than any other team in MLB – including teams that rely heavily on analytics. Oftentimes it works. Have to take the bad with the good. Fact is that along with the Astros (who use different systems) they’ve revolutionized MLB over the past 15 or so years. They’ve been at the cutting edge and are being copied more each year by other teams.
Seems like they should take their shot on a bounce back from a true power bat: JD Martinez, Gallo, etc
Bellenger!
I watch more Rays games than some of the players. I love Mejia, but he is awful. Throw a low and inside breaking ball and you can strike him out any time.
War is a man-made number, it’s not a statistic. Watch the games and get back to me. He should probably be non-tendered.
Yes, he’s a bad catcher and inconsistent hitter. Am surprised they got this far with him.
They’re usually good at getting something out of so-so catchers. They’ll be looking for a few projects this off-season.
In hindsight they should have tried to trade some of their AAA depth such as Mastrobouni to the Cubs for either Contreras or maybe Happ.
The Rays don’t trade cheap young talent for expensive veterans.
…and maybe this is part of the problem. They stockpile players, then only a few find success…good luck trading Walls, Brujan, JLowe for anyone who could actually help. Each has shown to be overmatched, but if they were traded last offseason who knows what players they could have gotten in return.
At some point, to win, you need to spend money. Moneyball was a fun movie, it led to zero titles.
Technically every team does 2002 Moneyball. Every team has a significant amount of player research teams, so there’s no team overlooking players because they have a low BA and high OBP. Modern day moneyball is about who has the best player development and scouting, along with the best prospect utilization.
Sideline Redwine;
Come ‘on – they don’t have money to spend and you know it. Heavens, they tried to play half their games in Montreal.
What saves them are not just analytics. What saves them is that MLB is a young mans game – and they excel at taking young players that look lost, then working with them and and getting the most that can be gotten out of them for a year or three. Seldom see a Rays player cut loose that does as well or better with their next team(s). (Adames is an exception, but they had Franco and Walls ready to play SS so they got back 2 pitchers.)
Might well be the most fascinating team to follow in professional team sports.
Since when is a .216 average considered “strong”? Are you kidding me? That’s Kingman territory.
Because he hit 33 home runs as a catcher, tied with Gary Sanchez in 2017 for the third most home runs in a single season by a catcher since 2010 and one of just five seasons since ’10 where a cathcer had 30+ dingers and 100+ games caught. It’s also the 5th most by a backstop in the last 20 seasons.
.216 is pretty average for a catcher. The league average catcher in 2021 hit .226/.304/.391. Zunino batted .216/.301/.559. On top of that, he had +7 defensive runs saved. There are zero teams who would complain about getting Dave Kingman offense from behind the dish, especially if they can provide decent defense with it.
Either way, Zunino and Brandon Lowe made up nearly a third of the total home runs the Rays hit in 2021 (72 between the two). This year, they hit less than 15 combined. That’s at least 57 fewer runs scored and probably upward of 100 run scored since not every HR was a solo shot.
Okay. If .216 is the bar, no wonder interest in MLB is declining and fans dressed as empty seats abound. .216 is .216. Lipstick on a pig.
You’re judging a catcher by what they’re doing with the bat when it’s very much a defensive position. Zunino had +7 defensive runs saved and +8 framing runs in 2021. Guys like McClanahan and Glasnow were much better when pitching to Zunino than they were when throwing to Mejia in ’21. Most of the time, any offensive production you get from your catcher, it’s icing on the cake when they’re a good defender, which Zunino is and was in 2021.
The fact of the matter is he could have batted .180 but if he provided Gold Glove level defense and 30+ home runs, he would have still started. Look at like half of the catchers around the league. The ALDS-bound Guardians started Luke Maile and Austin Hedges behind the dish, and they make Zunino look like Babe Ruth reincarnated. Tomas Nido and James McCann combined for a total of 139 starts behind the plate for the Mets. Astros started Martin Maldonado for over 100 games. It’s not putting lipstick on a pig. It’s a Gold Glove caliber catcher crushing the fifth most home runs by a catcher since 2002.
Batting averages are only getting worse every year too. The most recent juiced ball era led to teams looking for power hitters who don’t care about striking out. Now the deadball from 2020 to present, is only magnifying their flaws while turning previous HR into warning track pop flies.
The Guardians might be starting a new trend.
The trend will reverse somewhat with the new shift rules.
Because batting average is only one metric?
If a guy catches 100 passes for 1200 yards but only has a couple touchdowns, that is still success. Rodman couldn’t score–but was one of the best players in the NBA in his prime.
.216 will get you all sorts of praise these days. .125 is the new Mendoza line. If you hit over .210 and have an OBP of .275 you are considered a monster!
Now that the cardinals are out and I’ve completely dominated the comments with my astute takes, I have nothing left to prove here. It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my retirement.
Good. You’re one of the least funny trolls here. At least Samuel has Autism or some other learning disability, what’s your excuse?
Banned
World series level pitching, line up full of utility/ platoon/ roll players. 4 straight years of this crap, Saturday was the straw that broke the camels back. I hope the so call geniues that run the front office feel the same way, im not planning to go
back to games unless big changes to the line up this off season. BTW why did we dump Nate Lowe in favor of j man choke? Better, younger, more upside and cheaper no one ever explained that.we could have used that bat this season
They just need guys to stay healthy. Both Zunino and Lowe combined for 72 home runs last year and hit fewer than 20 combined this year. Wander Franco has 30/30 potential, but struggled to string together a healthy season. They need to sign or trade for a third baseman, move Yandy over to 1B, or make Parades the 3B and sign a DH. Get Lowe and Franco back to full strength and it’s not a bad line-up either.
Josh bell 3yr 36 million 1st base. Contraeous 3 yr 45 million catcher. With randy, yandy, wander, lowe in line up and our pitching thats a world series team…and they can afford it. KK,Z MAN,J MAN, KULBER ect being gone free up enough money
Mlb1225, plan on Yandy being traded. Paredes needs to learn to hit to the oppo field. Margo is a fourth OF who started hot. Need health to be sure, but need a catcher.
Heck, start Mead in majors next year, give one of the minor league middle infielders a shot at 2nd, move Lowe to first or OF. Put Bradley in the rotation w Glas, Shane, Ras, and Springs. And actually go get a closer (they can be had on the cheap). Honestly, some solid core players, but to really win there is a lot of work that needs to be done w
That lineup. Randy, Wander, Harold, and BLowe are about the only guys who should have spots wrapped up (unless Yandy is kept).
You could add Cronenworth to this initial post. Brosseau would have come in handy. Heck, we could each list ten guys doing well for other teams who started as Rays.
I feel your pain. I, too, am tired of the lack of action. Peralta is a great guy who would have been a solid addition six years ago…did anyone think he would actually move the needle??!
But they never gave N lowe a chance!. Also with Fireheisen ,fairbanks,Adam ect i would not waste money on a closer.we need two good every day players/hitters(140 plus games)played.spend the money there. I will say it again Josh bell, and contrasas.
Had to be bittersweet for Kluber to be on the mound watching Cleveland celebrate after all the good years he had there.
I expect a lot of roster turnover as there is no way the Rays tender even half of their arbitration eligible players contracts
God i hope you are right!!!
Longo wants to come back, 1yr 5 million split time Dh/3b there is no downside.
If this team can avoid rhe injury bug, they enter 2023 in pretty good shape. A rotation of Glasnow, Rasmussen, McClanahan and Springs with Chirinos possibly returning looks very strong.
They can go with an infield of Diaz, Lowe, Franco and Mead. Paredes can also play the corner. Randy, Margot in 2 spits. Adding a bat like Renfroe makes sense.
Aranda and Ramirez DH.
That leaves C, where Z might return.
Or, it’s the Rays- they might trade a bunch of these guys. You never know!
Bottom line, they have a lot of talent in their system!
Renfroe?!? No thanks. We tried that once, and they’re still trying to remove the stench he left.
Yeah, you’re right. He’s only gone on to average .258 with 30 homers over the past 2 years. Better to emphasize that 150 AB’s 3 years ago.
Ok, point taken. Dude was horrible in TB, and it left a lasting impression. It sux even more bc of his recent successes.
Given that only one of the rays “starters” exceed 500 abs and one more 400 I think making the playoffs was pretty damn good
It’s going to be a crazy offseason for the Rays: too much depth for too few roster spots, and they need to find bats.
Rays definitely missed the absences of B. Lowe, Franco & Zunino the most. For 2 months the Rays were definitely a team fielding a majority minor league roster. I would decline KK’s option, non tender both Anderson & Choi. Along with not resigning Kluber & Peralta the Rays should have about $30 million freed up to address their arbitration class & sign a few FAs. Adding at least one Infielder & Outfielder to the mix to improve the offense should be the focus. Scour the market for 1 or 2 depth options especially Infielders for competition on the bench would be a good move as well. Adding another catcher by trade to get a slightly better bat into the lineup & for depth.
There is one thing for certain: the Rays will do so something that no one expects.
Consider this……
For the last number of years the Rays were constantly calling up fresh arms from their high minors affiliates as they overused their bullpen….successfully.
MLB changed to rules going into 2022 limiting call-up’s specifically in response to what the Rays were doing. Afraid other teams would be doing it. Fans were losing interest in their local teams because they couldn’t keep track of who was on the roster day-to-day.
That rule change hurt the Rays in 2022.
The problem with this site is that it relies so much on generalized publicly available statistics…and posters use them as well in their comments.
But when stats for a player or a team change, one has to understand that the variables gong into the algorithm may have changed, and that’s what’s generating the numbers that reflect something over a period of time. Players have responsibilities on a team. Teams have different philosophies /systems….and those may change. Players adapt or they don’t get playing time. Changes in the bottom line numbers generated often have little to do with the player or the team doing better or worse – it has to do with them being required to perform differently.
Part of the problem is that they barely trust their starting rotation to go much more more than 5 innings a turn. Some of that is because pitchers in general start getting lit up once a lineup has seen them a 3rd time in a game. That said, the Rays have always had their starters on a quick hook no matter how good they are. This eventually overtaxes the bullpen, then by the time the games get really meaningful, your best relievers are fatigued and more prone to make mistakes.
The quick hook and tons of relievers has been their MO for the last 7 years. It works. Their problem this year was that all of their power hitters were injured.
Stringing 5 singles together is fun to watch, but doesn’t score many runs and doesn’t happen often enough to be a successful strategy.
Shane, Springs & Rasmussen all haven’t pitched 200 innings in their starting roles up until this season so the Rays were definitely watching their pitch load. Kluber has been limited the previous seasons due to injury as well. A top 4 of Glasnow, Shane, Springs & Drew is very formidable. If the Rays can add 2 bats to this lineup on top of a bat for the bench along with not being in the top 10 on the IL they will have a much better Offense in 2023.
5th starter, Bradley, patino, yonny, or resign kluber for 4-5 million ( its a 5th starter dont have to be great, just decent). YES 2 BATS!,catcher,1st base. They have the money 20-30 mill comming off, KK, J MAN, Z MAN ECT. Dont need to find a bench bat, we have 7 or 8 guys who are good enough for bench bat (not good enough for every day) Aranda,Paradees,J lowe,margot,Betencourt,walls, Bruhan,meade,masto, ect ect. All these guys are good enough if you dont expect them to play more then 2/3 times a week
Braun struggled. Walls was over used. Issac as the season progressed saw his average go down (+ you take away his 2 week hot streak & his overall home runs don’t look that great). Adding 1 or 2 veteran INFs even on minor league deals ensures you might get a nice bounce back season from a veteran. Potentially adding 2 or 3 new bats to this lineup will help alot. Josh Lowe should also help make up your top 5 OFS for next season. Trading for a established OF even as a 3rd/4th one should be made. Again KK & Choi should not be brought back
Fire sale? Fire sale. With a bunch of key players suffering injuries, several more hitting free agency, and the team not interested in paying most of their players in general, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tear it down to the studs and start a rebuild. Looks like their window is closing sadly, since they barely limped into the 6th seed. They’ve had one helluva run the last 4-5 years though. Multiple 90+ win seasons (100 wins last year), playoff berths from 2019-22, two division titles (2020, 2021), and won the AL pennant in 2020.
Hilarious take!
???
Nothing could be further from the truth.
They will probably feature the best rotation in baseball next year and expect to get key players back from injury all while having a deep talent pool at Durham, many of whom have already gotten their feet wet at the MLB level.
That’s not to say they won’t make changes, as they have proven to be totally unpredictable, but the odds are quite good that they will be a playoff team again next year.
Yes i totally believe they will make playoffs next year but without big changes to line up its one and done, not to mention..THEY ARE A VERY BORING TEAM TO WATCH, great pitching or not
Bill Veek once said “it’s way more profitable for me to have a super competitive team that misses the playoffs than win the World Series. I don’t have to give out raises then”.
B Lowe isn’t as good as you all remember. He should be traded first. Disappears in October every year anyway. Wouldn’t have helped against the Guardians.
There was an 6-8 week period in May-July where the lineup had 4-6 guys all batting under .190.
Everyone praises the analytics department, but they swing and miss (pun intended) on the offensive side of the game. Rather than getting a ton of platoon guys, maybe use analytics to help acquisitions hit better or develop position players to hit to all fields off from both RH and PH pitching?
Note: KK had been a liability at the plate until 2021 October and the first half this. year. Frustrating to see him start to figure it out only to go under the knife. Hope he does well wherever he lands.
100 percent correct a team full of roll/utility/platoon players CANT win. Garvey, Lopes,Russell,Cey. 150 games a year for 10 years together! Get a set lineup of atleast 6 guys that play same position every game bat in same order and mix in your ult players at the bottom of the order. As for trading Lowe now that would be dumb,you don’t trade an asset when it’s at it’s lowest value
It’s pretty simple why the Rays are consistently good enough to make the playoffs but always seem to fall short once there. During the regular season there are enough average or worse teams who are consistently beatable with great pitching and defense and timely hitting. When the playoffs roll around EVERY team has solid pitching but the difference is the Yankees/Dodgers/Astros have multiple game changing superstars in their lineups. Meanwhile the Rays think throwing .176 Taylor Walls out there will get the job done. Until the front office realizes they must invest serious money for 2-3 allstar caliber hitters, the Rays will continue to be good but not a World Series contender.