The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays
 

https://sm.mashable.com/t/mashable_i...s_kgv8.620.png

Yep, it's time to start a third Rays dynasty. This one is going back to Opening Day 2022 and I'm starting with same 40-man roster and Opening Day roster subject to any deals I might make. Right now I don't plan to recap each game like I do in the 2020 and 2021 dynasties but instead update by week and make special mention of any outstanding performances and moves I make. I may even do more simming than actual game-playing, at least in the early going of the season to catch up with things.

Here are the preseason predictions, which aren't too bullish on us outside of Drew Rasmussen:

https://i.imgur.com/2rWEizG.jpg

I am making one big trade which will be unpopular with the fans but inevitable to clear $11.5M:

https://i.imgur.com/tY6lKrC.png

Welcome to Tampa Bay, Lars Nootbaar! St Louis was the only team offering prospects for him, so I took them up on it. Nootbaar will go on the active roster and be a backup, although he make take at-bats from Brett Phillips against lefties.

Opening Day was dreadful:

https://i.imgur.com/0j1SMcE.png

Lot of hits, a lot of LOB on the offense while Shane McClanahan was all over the place.

About a week later we did this with some of the $11.5M we cleared off the books by trading Kiermaier:

https://i.imgur.com/boSmZ4T.png

Conforto gets his 1-year, prove-it deal, and we get a legit power hitter for the lineup. We sent Lars Nootbaar to Durham to make room and moved Yonny Chirinos to the 60-day IL.

How we're doing through the first full week ending April 17:

https://i.imgur.com/mtF7iLH.png

Team record: 5-5.

Looked like a totally lost weekend in Chicago until Brandon Lowe came off the bench with 2 out in the 9th to hit a pinch-hit grand slam off Liam Hendriks to give the Rays a thrilling win.

MLB Standings/Leaders in the early going:

https://i.imgur.com/nZsHeWy.png

Rays stats:

https://i.imgur.com/mtaU18V.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/o6FDPZS.png

Week 2: April 18-24, 2022
 

https://i.imgur.com/ppExraR.png

A good week for the Rays as they go 4-2 and improve to 9-7. Both losses came courtesy of the bullpen as on the 19th the loss to Chicago came after Brandon Lowe hit another clutch homer, a 2-run shot to give them the lead in the top of the 9th before Jeffrey Springs gave up 3 in the bottom of the 9th. In the other loss to Boston they had a 3-2 lead after 6 before JT Chargois gave up 3 runs. We had injuries galore with Wander Franco suffering a herniated disc which will put him out for 5 more days but not enough to IL, Manuel Margot sprained an ankle which did send him to the IL and we called up Vidal Brujan, and most significantly Josh Lowe broke a bone in his elbow and he's out 4 1/2 months. Lars Nootbaar was recalled in his stead, leaving up temporarily with Brett Phillips as our only true CF.

https://i.imgur.com/qjrCs8h.png

https://i.imgur.com/bdFCOu5.png

https://i.imgur.com/dTIQB5J.png

April 26-28, 2022: vs Seattle (3)
 

Now that I've caught up (and passed) reality, I'll post this series-by-series, but I'm not going to write up recaps like in the 20 & 21 dynasties. At the end of each week, I'll post standings and stats like I did in the previous two posts.

April 26: W 8-0. WP-McClanahan (1-1, 3.43, 5.2 3 0 0 1 7). HR-Zunino (4). Y.Diaz 3-4, 3 RBI.

April 27: W 7-1. WP-Rasmussen (3-0, 3.27, 5.2 3 1 1 2 11). HR-Conforto (1). Choi 2-4, 2B, RBI.

April 28. W 8-3. WP-Fleming (1-1, 5.23, 3.2 1 1 1 1 2). HR-Zunino (5), Y.Diaz (1). Yandy was 3-5 with 4 RBI while Corey Kluber had to leave in the 2nd with a minor injury which will not keep from his next start but now he's only thrown a total of 12 IP in 4 starts after leaving early with injuries twice.

Record: 12-7, 3 behind the red-hot Yankees who have started 15-4.

April 29-May 1, 2022: vs Minnesota (3)
 

April 29: 4-3 W. WP-Springs (1-1). Starter-Yarbrough (5 3 1 1 1 3). HR-Zunino (6), a solo walk-off in the bottom of the 9th.

April 30: 7-12 L. LP-R.Thompson (1-1). Starter-Patino (5 5 3 3 1 3). HR-Conforto (2), a 3-run shot. Bullpen was dreadful as all four relievers were hit hard.

May 1: 2-0 W. WP-McClanahan (2-1, 6.2 6 0 0 0 10). S-Kittredge (4). HR-Conforto (3). Wander Franco, who returned to action today, had an RBI single in 6th to break up scoreless duel with former Ray Joe Ryan.

Record: 14-8. Next up: We head out west starting with 3 in Oakland.

Transactions: With roster expansion ending May 1, we got back down to 26 by optioning P Ryan Thompson and IF/OF Vidal Brujan to AAA Durham.

https://i.imgur.com/v2sqdE2.png

https://i.imgur.com/0c8IzJw.png

https://i.imgur.com/sLb9KKv.png

April Players of the Month: AL-Mike Trout, NL-Cody Bellinger.
April Pitchers of the Month: AL-Gerrit Cole, NL-Brandon Woodruff.

I put the injury setting on high (modern MLB) and well there have been a lot of significant injuries around MLB. Nathan Eovaldi (3-4 weeks), Dylan Bundy (rest of season), Carlos Carrasco (torn UCL, done for year), Zack Wheeler (4-5 months), Eduardo Rodriguez (6 months), Brandon Belt (4 months), Carlos Rodon (out for the year), John Means (4-5 months - just like real life).

May 2-4, 2022: at Oakland (3)
 

I probably shouldn't set the injury frequency to "players are made of glass" since there were two more major injuries in MLB, both of superstars in the NL East. Atlanta has lost Ozzie Albies for the season with a torn labrum and the Phillies lost JT Realmuto for the year with a torn PCL. Also the Dodgers gave Trea Turner a massive 7/260 extension.

Game 1: 5-1 W (13 innings). WP-Feyereisen (2-0). Starter-Rasmussen (6 2 1 1 3 11). HR-B.Lowe (6). Arozarena's 2-run double in the 13th broke the tie.

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP-Kluber (1-1, 7.2 4 1 0 1 3). HR-Phillips (1), a 3-run shot.

Game 3: 3-5 L. LP-Yarbrough (0-2, 6.1 9 5 5 0 3). Rays' highlight: 2-run double from Mejia.

Team record: 16-9, two back of the Yankees. Next up: 4 games in Seattle.

May 5-8, 2022: at Seattle (4)
 

Game 1: 1-5 L. LP-Patino (2-1, 4 7 4 4 1 7). Rays were dominated by a Ray named Robbie to the tune of 9 3 1 1 1 12.

Game 2: 4-3 W. WP-McClanahan (3-1, 7.2 3 3 3 3 6). S-Kittredge (5). HR-Nootbaar (1), Mejia (1), W.Franco (2). Wander's homer came off former Ray Diego Castillo.

Game 3: 2-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (4-0, 6 5 1 1 3 7). S-Wisler (1). Randy Arozarena's 2-run single supplied all the offense.

Game 4: 5-3 W. WP-Kluber (2-1, 5 4 3 3 4 6). S-Kittredge (6). HR-Walls (2), H.Ramirez (1). Kittredge loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th but got Mitch Haniger on a fly ball caught right in front of the fence to end it.

Team record: 19-10, now in first place, 2nd in the power rankings. Next up: The west coast swing concludes with 3 in Anaheim against the Angels, where they'll face Shohei Ohtani on the mound and at the plate in the first game.

https://i.imgur.com/29RZbx0.png

https://i.imgur.com/BQLlkNa.png

These hitting numbers are fairly ugly, and Michael Conforto has yet to provide any kind of offensive spark - instead he's hitting like Kevin Kiermaier without Kiermaier's defense. The pitching is great, however:

https://i.imgur.com/dC7M3VL.png

Transactions: We made two moves before the game on May 8: Manuel Margot was activated from the IL and Josh Fleming optioned to Durham to give us 13 and 13 on the roster again. And Shane Baz was sent to Durham on a rehab assignment where he'll get a couple of starts and if all goes well he'll likely take Ryan Yarbrough's spot in the rotation.

May 9-11, 2022: at LA Angels (3)
 

Game 1: 5-6 L. (LP-Yarbrough 0-3, 5.2 9 5 5 1 5, 2 HR). HR-Margot (1), Phillips (2). Matt Wisler gave up a 2-run homer to Jack Mayfield in the 6th to break a 4-4 tie, after the Rays scored 4 in 6 off Shohei Ohtani.

Game 2: 2-6 L. (LP-Patino 2-2, 3 6 5 5 2 2, 2 HR). HR-Walls (3). We were dominated by Noah Syndergaard (7 3 2 0 2 10). People who talk like pirates enjoyed the Syndergaard-Nootbaar matchup.

Game 3: 3-1 W. (WP-Feyereisen 3-0, Starter-McClanahan 5.2 4 1 1 3 6). S-Kittredge (6). Ji-Man Choi, starting against a lefty only because Yandy Diaz was tired, ended up hitting a pair of RBI doubles, twice driving in Manuel Margot who was 3-3.

Team record: 20-12, 1/2 game behind the Yankees. Next up: An off-day then we return to St. Pete for 3 against the Jays.

We made a trade!

https://i.imgur.com/Bix82HD.png

Now if you read the OOTP23 general discussion forum, you'll see I started a thread about how the Phillies were incredibly eager to get rid of Bohm, willing to take literally anyone in the organization. This is some kind of glitch, so while I wasn't willing to take advantage of it to that extent, I did send a package of players who could potentially help Philly but that we wouldn't miss that much and to make sure they didn't trade him to a rival. Hunt was one of the key players acquired in the Blake Snell trade a couple years back and is rated 70 for catcher defense, while Doxakis and Montgomery have a good shot at the majors. Blair is kind of a fill-in guy.

Bohm will be a regular for us, DHing against righties and playing 1B against lefties. We had been playing the light-hitting Taylor Walls at 3B with Yandy at 1B against lefties but that was sub-optimal. Despite this Bohm made his Rays debut at 3B with Yandy tired in the third game of this series, and he contributed the insurance run in the 3-1 win with an RBI double. To make room for Bohm, Lars Nootbaar was optioned to Durham and we had a spot open on the 40-man so nobody needed to be waived.

Also Shane Baz was hit hard in his first rehab outing, so he's going to need at least one more start if not two.

Some interesting MLB trades: Giants sent Wilmer Flores to the Twins for Tyler Duffey and prospect Royce Lewis, and the Cardinals sent Dakota Hudson and a prospect across I-70 to the Royals for Adalberto Mondesi.

May 13-15, 2022: vs Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: 8-7 W (13). WP-Chargois (1-1), starter-Rasmussen (5.1 6 5 4 1 11). HR-Choi 3 (4), B.Lowe (7), W.Franco (3). What a remarkable game. Ji-Man hit his second homer of the game in the 9th to tie it, and after Toronto scored in the 10th, Wander went deep with 2 out to tie it again, and then Choi, who had 4 hits in total, walked it off with his 3rd tater of the game in the 13th. Yandy Diaz started a brawl after being hit following Choi's first homer and is suspended three games. Isaac Paredes is up from Durham to take his place.

Game 2: 5-6 L. LP-Feyereisen (3-1), starter-Kluber (5 5 4 4 4 5). HR-B.Lowe (8). Jeffrey Springs gave up a 2-run shot to Alejandro Kirk, Kirk's second of the game, in the 8th to lose it for the Rays.

Game 3: 10-5 W. WP-Yarbrough (1-3, 5 7 5 5 3 1). HR-H.Ramirez (2). Harold Ramirez had a slam to cap a 6-run first which Ryan Yarbrough almost gave back before Alec Bohm's bases-clearing double restored a healthy Rays advantage while Isaac Parades had 3 hits and an RBI.

Team record: 22-13, back in first 1/2 game up on New York. Next up: 3 more at home against Detroit.

Notes: Shane Baz was hit hard again in his second rehab start so another one he will get, and the Rangers traded closer Joe Barlow to the Reds (who unlike real life are off to a good start at 20-16) for a couple of prospects.

https://i.imgur.com/km4kD61.png

https://i.imgur.com/pk0PU0w.png

https://i.imgur.com/ycoVIAh.png

https://i.imgur.com/FXjAoFo.png

May 16-18, 2022: vs Detroit (3)
 

Transaction: Yandy Diaz comes off the restricted list, Isaac Paredes is optioned to Durham.

Game 1: 3-8 L. LP-Patino (2-3, 4.2 3 5 5 3 8, 2 HR). Ji-Man drove in all 3 runs with a pair of doubles.

Game 2: 2-4 L(13). LP-Wisler (0-1), Starter-McClanahan (5 6 2 2 3 7). HR-B.Lowe (9). Wisler gave up a 2-run HR in the 13th, his 5th of the year already, although in his defense we burned through the pen and had to use him at 47% rest.

Transaction: Optioned Jason Adam to Durham, recalled Josh Fleming. We desperately needed a fresh arm with only Brooks Raley not fatigued after the last couple of nights.

Game 3: 7-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (5-0, 7 1 0 0 0 8). HR-Zunino (7), Conforto (4). We needed length with the pen fried and Rasmussen provided it, no-hitting Detroit through 6.

Team record: 23-15, 1 up on the Yankees. Next up: A much-needed off day to rest the pen, then 3 games in Baltimore.

May 20-22, 2022: at Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: 6-8 L. LP-Kluber (2-2, 1.2 7 5 5 0 1). HR-Zunino (8), a slam in the 9th that made the final respectable.

Game 2: 6-8 L. LP-Yarbrough (1-4, 4.1 12 8 8 3 3). HR-Phillips (3), W.Franco 2 (5). Just like yesterday, a 2-run Wander homer in the 9th made the score closer than it really was.

Game 3: 4-2 W. WP-Patino (3-3, 6 3 2 2 1 7). S-Kittredge (8). HR-Arozarena (3), B.Lowe (10). Arozarena's solo homer in the 6th broke a 2-2 tie.

Team record: 24-17, tied with the Yankees atop the AL East. Next up: An off-day then 2 at home vs Miami.

Transaction: After his latest beating we optioned Ryan Yarbrough to Durham and recalled Ryan Thompson. When Yarbrough's turn comes up, we'll recall Shane Baz, who looked very good in his third rehab start at Durham, to join the rotation.

https://i.imgur.com/84BbGbO.png

https://i.imgur.com/afcuegC.png

https://i.imgur.com/ozohF0V.png

May 24-25, 2022: vs Miami (2)
 

Game 1: 4-1 W. WP-McClanahan (4-1, 8.1 4 1 1 0 11). HR-H.Ramirez (3). Shane McClanahan was two outs from a shutout before giving up a homer and Harold Ramirez' 3-run blast in the 2nd was the big hit.

Game 2: 4-3 W. WP-Kittredge (2-1). Starter-Rasmussen (5 4 0 0 2 9). Andrew Kittredge blew the save in the 9th but Harold Ramirez was the hero again with a pinch-hit walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Team record: 26-17, 1/2 behind the Yankees who won 3 against Baltimore. Next up: A big 4-game series with those same Yankees at the Trop with Shane Baz making his season debut in the opener.

May 26-29, 2022: vs NY Yankees (4)
 

Game 1: 1-5 L. LP-Baz (0-1, 5 4 2 2 2 6). HR-W.Franco (6). Shane Baz pitched well in his season debut but wasn't supported by either the bats or the pen.

Game 2: 0-18 L. LP-Kluber (2-3, 3.1 8 10 9 4 3). Things got so ugly Taylor Walls pitched the 9th (and gave up 3 runs).

Game 3: 3-4 L. LP-Springs (1-2). Starter-Patino (4 4 2 2 4 4 on 94 pitches). HR-Phillips (4). Rays had a 3-2 lead after 6 but JP Feyereisen gave up a Joey Gallo homer to tie and a Yandy Diaz error led to the winning run.

Game 4: 3-4 L. LP-Feyereisen (3-2). Starter-McClanahan (4 6 2 2 2 3 on 99 pitches). HR-W.Franco (7). Carbon copy of yesterday's game, Rays went up 3-2 through 6, this time it was Stanton with a 2-run homer to win it as the Rays suffer a sweep.

Team record: 26-21, now 4 1/2 behind the Yankees. Next up: 4 games at Texas.

https://i.imgur.com/VwXxhTV.png

This team can't hit its way out of a paper bag now:

https://i.imgur.com/jczql4L.png

https://i.imgur.com/Y3JXmw8.png

https://i.imgur.com/zqIXm1B.png

May 30-June 2, 2022: at Texas (4)
 

Game 1: 12-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (6-0, 7 7 3 3 1 7). HR-Arozarena (4), Phillips (5), Conforto (5). Cole Winn walked the bases loaded in the 3rd ahead of Arozarena, who hit a slam to send the Rays on the victory.

Game 2: 2-3 L. LP-Wisler (0-2). Starter-Baz (6 4 2 2 1 6). A good Shane Baz start was wasted when the Rays left 12 on base (7 individually by Francisco Mejia) and Wisler gave up his 6th homer in 26 innings this year, this one to Adolis Garcia to break a 2-2 tie in the 7th.

Game 3: 8-5 W. WP-Fleming (2-1). Starter-Kluber (2.2 1 0 0 0 1). HR-W.Franco 2 (9). Kluber left early once again, this time with a dead arm and will go on the IL. Jason Adam is recalled from Durham.

Game 4: 3-6 L. LP-Patino (3-4, 4 5 4 4 2 6). HR-Walls (4). Patino remains consistenly inconsistent.

Team record: 28-23, 5 behind the Yankees who took 2 of 3 from the Angels. Next up: Back home for 3 vs the White Sox.

Players of the Month: AL-Byron Buxton, Twins (.314-9-31), NL-Johan Camargo, Phillies (.376-11-27).

Pitchers of the Month: AL-Nick Pivetta, Red Sox (5-0, 3.12), NL-Joe Musgrove, Padres (5-0, 2.68)

June 3-5, 2022: vs Chicago White Sox (3)
 

Game 1: 2-3 L. LP-Kittredge (2-2, BS3). Starter-McClanahan (5 4 1 1 1 4). HR-Choi (5). Andrew Kittredge blew another game, giving up 2 in the 9th to send us to defeat, although the lack of hitting was just as big a culprit.

Game 2: 1-3 L. LP-Rasmussen (6-1, 5.1 4 2 2 3 5). We had 11 hits (all singles) but couldn't get one when it counted as this team remains mired in an offensive funk.

Game 3: 4-1 W. WP-Baz (1-1, 5.2 4 1 1 1 10). S-Kittredge (9). HR-Bohm (1), B.Lowe (11), Phillips (6). Shane Baz was electric and three homers accounted for all the scoring.

Team record: 29-25. Next up: An off-day then some interleague action as St. Louis visits for 3.

https://i.imgur.com/XeC2Eoi.png

https://i.imgur.com/A4UGLjc.png

https://i.imgur.com/xVLlbqX.png

June 7-9, 2022: vs St. Louis (3)
 

Game 1: 7-9 L. LP-Fleming (2-2, 4.1 7 5 5 1 3). HR-Y.Diaz (2), Bohm (2). Paul Goldschmidt killed us, first with a 2-run homer in the 1st and then with a grand slam off Chargois in the 5th after Fleming loaded the bases. It was 9-2 before a too little, too late rally.

Game 2: 5-4 W. WP-Wisler (1-2). S-Raley (1). Starter-Patino (5.1 6 4 4 1 4). HR-Arozarena (5). Randy Arozarena's homer in the 8th broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Rays the win.

Game 3: 5-6 L. LP-McClanahan (4-2, 6 7 6 5 2 4, 4 HR). HR-Bohm (3). McClanahan couldn't keep the ball in the park and another late rally came up short. Bohm's homer came as part of a 4-5 day.

Team record: 30-27, as we continued our slide into mediocrity. 17 runs over 3 games is usually good for at least 2 wins with our normal pitching, but we couldn't keep the Cardinals in the park. The only good news is that the Yankees were swept by the Twins to keep us still in touch at 5 games back. The bad news is that we go to Minnesota next to face those same first-place Twins.

June 10-12, 2022: at Minnesota (3)
 

Game 1: 3-4 L. LP-Rasmussen (6-2, 5.2 5 4 3 1 7). HR-Zunino (9). The Zunino homer gave the Rays an early 3-1 lead, but Rasmussen couldn't hold it and the offense petered out from there.

Game 2: 5-6 L. LP-Kittredge (2-3, BS 4). Starter-Baz (2.2 4 2 2 0 2) HR-Arozarena (6), Y.Diaz (3). Andrew Kittredge blew yet another save as he was handed a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 9th, put the first two men on, and then gave up a 3-run walk-off homer to Miguel Sano. He's now out of the closer's role, we will go with a committee. Baz tweaked a hamstring and left in the 3rd but he will be OK for his next start.

Game 3: 0-7 L. LP-Fleming (2-3, 4.2 7 4 4 1 1). Fleming wasn't as bad as his line looked as Matt Wisler once again came in and gave up a homer to the first man he faced, this one Carlos Correa with a 3-run shot. The bats had 7 hits + 7 walks and couldn't get a single man home in a pathetic display.

Team record: 30-30, 7 behind the Yankees and barely clinging to a wild card as 6 teams are within 1 game of each other for the 3 spots. They've now lost 4 straight, 7 of 8 and 13 of their last 17 as changes will be coming if things don't turn around soon.

https://i.imgur.com/uBEGxlW.png

https://i.imgur.com/mfoqCSJ.png

https://i.imgur.com/RkxjAFb.png

MLB News: The Red Sox traded C Christian Vazquez to the Mets for a couple of low-level prospects.

Wheeling and dealing
 

The offense has been so bad that it felt the need to make a couple of deals to shake it up:

First the big one:

https://i.imgur.com/TOVlGBp.png

We needed a thumper in the lineup and Bell fits the bill, on pace for a 5-WAR season this year and a switch-hitter we don't have to platoon. This is a rental as he's a free agent at year's end. Fan favorite Brett Phillips goes the other way, and while he created many indelible memories for the club (especially in the 2020 World Series), the fact remains that for all his defensive prowess, he just can't hit. Barnhart and Molina were second-tier (really third-tier) pitching prospects whom the scouts think will be lucky to be spot starters, and we have a lot of minor league depth. My assistant GM didn't like the deal, and it will cost us nearly $6M in salary leaving us $7M to play with, but that's why I get paid the big bucks.

As a result of this deal it was time to swap another fan favorite:

https://i.imgur.com/Z7PKNLz.png

We get a few bucks back by dealing Ji-Man, but most importantly Josh Bell took his 1B job so he was expendable. There wasn't a tremendous amount of interest in Choi around the league, but Seattle's offer of Toro jumped out at me as I've always liked him (traded for him in my 2020 save) and he can play some middle infield as well. For now though he goes to Durham as we're awash in corner infielders with Yandy and Bohm already present. Lars Nootbaar is coming back up from Durham where he hit well to give us another outfielder, and this trade makes Manuel Margot the full-time CF with Randy Arozarena available to slide over when Margot needs a day off.

June 14-16, 2022: at NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: 6-4 W. WP-Adam (2-0). S-Feyereisen (1). Starter-Patino (4 5 4 4 2 2). HR-Zunino 2 (11), B.Lowe (12). Mike Zunino's 2nd homer of the game was a 3-run shot off Aroldis Chapman in the 9th to stun the Yankees and give the Rays the win. Josh Bell was 0-3 in his Rays debut but did walk to lead off the 9th to start the rally. The Rays overcame a 14-strikeout performance from Gerrit Cole.

Game 2: 5-4 W. WP-Springs (2-2). S-Kittredge (10). Starter-McClanahan (5 5 4 4 2 5). HR-Nootbaar (2), B.Lowe (13). The Rays were no-hit by Luis Severino for 6 1/3 and trailed 4-0 but they fought back, tying it on a 2-run Lowe homer in the 8th and winning it when Aroldis Chapman walked Lowe with the bases loaded.

Game 3: 11-13 L (11). LP-Adam (2-1). Starter-Rasmussen (5.2 5 6 6 2 6). After two miracle come-from-behind wins against them the Yankees turned the tables and overcame deficits of 7-3 and then 11-7 in the bottom of the 9th to shock the Rays. It was a total bullpen meltdown, especially after the Rays scored 4 in the top of the 9th to go up 11-7. Aaron Judge's 3-run HR in the 9th tied it and Josh Donaldson's 2-run shot in the 11th won it. Wander was 3-7 with 2 triples, including a bases-clearing one, but also left 7 on base as despite scoring 11 the Rays could have had several more.

Team record: 32-31, 6 behind New York and hanging on to the first wild card by a game over a huge pack.

June 17-19, 2022: at Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: 3-4 L (10). LP-Springs (2-3). Starter-Baz (6 5 2 2 0 7). HR-Conforto (6), Zunino (12). Another blown game by the pen as Zunino put them up 3-2 in the 8th with a homer but Jason Adam gave one up to Trey Mancini to tie it. Manuel Margot had to leave with elbow inflammation, he's headed to the 10-day IL and should be back when eligible. Vidal Brujan is called up from Durham.

Game 2: 7-3 W. WP-Kluber (3-3, 7 6 2 2 0 3). HR-Conforto (7), Nootbaar (3). Wander Franco was 2-4 with 2 RBI, Yandy Diaz had 3 hits.

Game 3: 5-9 L. LP-Patino (3-5, 4.1 8 9 9 2 4). Brandon Lowe had a big game in a losing cause, going 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. Patino is just about out of the rotation; Yonny Chirinos is rehabbing at Durham and will probably take his spot.

Team record: 33-33. Well we've finally dropped to .500 but thanks to the ridiculously compressed AL, we're still a wild card team and as you can see from standings below, only 3 teams in the league have a winning record. Next up: The Yankees visit the Trop for 3. Wheeee!

MLB News: Atlanta acquired Mike Clevinger from the Padres for 3 prospects and the Phillies shipped Corey Knebel to St. Louis for a prospect. Also Brett Phillips, whom we just traded to Washington, suffered a torn ACL and is done for the year.

https://i.imgur.com/a5WlSv8.png

https://i.imgur.com/lg3uord.png

Josh Bell not exactly lighting it up in his first 5 games as a Ray.

https://i.imgur.com/E3e5hNo.png

June 20-22, 2022: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: 2-8 L. LP-McClanahan (4-3, 5 4 3 3 2 7). HR-Zunino (13), Nootbaar (4). 4 different Rays pitchers gave up homers to the Yankees, including Stanton's 3-run blow off McClanahan in the 6th when the Rays led 2-0 at that point.

Game 2: 9-4 W. WP-Springs (3-3). Starter: Rasmussen (4 6 4 4 2 9, 2 HR). A remarkable game in that Jameson Tallion was no-hitting the Rays into the 7th with a 4-0 lead and it all fell apart in a 7-run inning featuring 3 Yankee errors, some walks, and some key hits as Mejia and Wander had 2-run singles in the inning.

Game 3: 2-4 L. LP-Baz (1-2, 6.1 2 4 4 4 10). Baz was burned by a 3-run Stanton homer which decided the game. Josh Bell, who came in 3-28 since being acquired, finally came to life going 3-3 with a pair of RBI doubles. Rays pitchers have now allowed 90 homers in 69 games, 10th-worst in the AL.

Team record: 34-35, still good for the third wild card spot (yay new playoff format!). Next up: Our pitchers won't allow any homers tomorrow because we're off, then the Pittsburgh Pirates come to the Trop for 3.

MLB News: The Texas Rangers put last year's Rookie of the Year contender Adolis Garcia on waivers, and I put in a claim. We'll see how it goes.

June 24-26, 2022: vs Pittsburgh (3)
 

Game 1: 1-2 L. LP-Kluber (3-4, 5 7 2 2 2 4). Wander was 3-4 with an RBI double for the full extent of the offensive offense.

Game 2: 1-4 L. LP-Springs (3-3). Starter-Patino (5 2 1 1 2 10). The Rays wasted the best start from Luis Patino for a while as they still can't rub two sticks (or two bats) together to generate any offense. It was 1-1 until the 8th when Jeffrey Springs imploded.

Game 3: 2-5 L. LP-McClanahan (4-4, 6 5 2 2 2 6). HR-Arozarena (7). All due respect to the Pirates who are now 37-36 thanks to the sweep, but losing 3 at home to Pittsburgh and scoring 4 runs in the process is really a nadir. This team was 26-17 when the Yankees came to town and swept a 4-game series; they're 8-21 since. Josh Bell is hitting 140/213/209 in 11 games since joining the team in case you were wondering how that deal has gone.

Team record: 34-38. As you can see below thanks to the generous new playoff system, we're far from out of it. Next up: A day off, then Milwaukee (and Willy Adames) visits for 2 games.

Transaction: Our waiver claim of Adolis Garcia has gone through and Vidal Brujan was optioned to Durham. Manuel Margot is about to come off the IL as well; the obvious choice to demote is Lars Nootbaar but he's one of the few guys who's hit lately (279/347/500). Also Michael Conforto has been a bust (190/331/340).

MLB News: Some wheeling and dealing around the majors as the Angels made a trio of deals, acquiring SS Jose Iglesias and Ps Brad Hand and Heath Hembree as they shipped out minor leaguers, while we had a surprising intradivisional deal between the Yankees and the Jays with Gleyber Torres heading to Toronto for Julian Merryweather and a 17-year-old catching prospect. The Dodgers also sent a couple of minor leaguers to the Reds for reliever Lucas Sims.

https://i.imgur.com/eleGXmA.png

June 28-29, 2022: vs Milwaukee (2)
 

Game 1: 0-1 L. Not just another loss:

https://i.imgur.com/Y4P6pvH.png

After scoring 4 runs in 3 games over the weekend, the offense hit a new low tonight, wasting a great game from Drew Rasmussen.

Game 2: 5-3 W (10). WP-Feyereisen (4-2). Starter-Baz (7 3 3 1 1 13). HR-A.Garcia (1), Bell (1). They got hits! and runs! and won! Hard to believe, I know. All the runs came on homers, with Adolis Garcia's 3-run inside-the-park job in the 2nd getting them on the board and Josh Bell's 2-run walk-off winner in the 10th, the first for both since joining the club. Would have been a shame to lose the dominant start Baz had.

Transaction: Before the second game we activated Manuel Margot from the IL and DFA'd Harold Ramirez, who actually did hit for us (283/309/405) but we no longer needed him as a platoon 1B with the Bell pickup and no longer needed him as a RH OF bat with the claim of Garcia, who's a much superior defensive OF and can play center.

Team record: 35-39, still 1 game out of the wild card in the messy AL.

June 30-July 3, 2022: at Toronto (5)
 

A rare 5-game series as the originally scheduled 4-gamer is expanded with a Saturday doubleheader to make up one of the games lost to the lockout.

Game 1: 1-7 L. LP-Kluber (3-5, 5 7 4 4 2 5). Kluber really didn't pitch all that badly but the two men he put on to start the 6th were allowed to score. The offense was pitiful again with 3 hits.

Game 2: 3-4 L. LP-Feyereisen (4-3). Starter-Patino (7 3 1 1 0 9). A heartbreaker as Feyereisen put two on in the 9th up 3-1, whiffed Bo Bichette and Vlad Jr, but then gave up a 3-run HR to Gleyber Torres to blow the game and waste Patino's best start of the season. Wander was 2-4 with an RBI.

Game 3: 4-2 W. WP-Wisler (2-2). S-Kittredge (11). Starter-McClanahan (4.2 5 2 2 1 5). HR-W.Franco (10). Finally a win in the first game of the doubleheader. The big hit was a 2-run triple from Lars Nootbaar, while Wander was 3-3 with the homer.

Game 4: 2-8 L. LP-Yarbrough (1-5, 4 4 5 5 1 2). HR-J.Bell (2/20). Ryan Yarbrough was brought up to start the nightcap and he was just as bad as we remembered him when he was up. Brooks Raley left the game with elbow inflammation and will be out the 15 days on the IL.

Game 5: 6-0 W. WP-Rasmussen (7-2, 7 4 0 0 1 9). HR-B.Lowe (14), W.Franco (11). Needed a big game and length from Rasmussen and got it, while Wander capped a huge extended weekend by going 4-5 with the homer, raising his average from .269 to .286 in the series.

Transactions: Aside from bringing Yarbrough up as the 27th man for the doubleheader and sending him back down, we put Raley on the IL as mentioned and optioned Lars Nootbaar back to Durham so we could have a couple of fresh arms for the finale with Ryan Thompson and Calvin Faucher called up. Also we sent Pete Fairbanks to Durham on a rehab assignment, he's been missed in the pen.

Team record: 37-42. Normally I'd be ready to blow this team up right now with that kind of record at almost the midway point, but thanks to the mediocrity of the AL and the third wild card, we're still in the thick of it. Still without some progress over the next week or two I still will likely deal the impending free agents (Bell, Kluber, Zunino, Margot, Conforto, Wisler) although I wonder how much I'll get since they're all underachieving.

Some great news for the future, as we signed this beast-in-the-making in the July 2 international window:

https://i.imgur.com/iRwV3Xg.png

Wander 2.0? He's an OF (and a mediocre one at that), so probably no, but man oh man can we dream on that hitting potential. I almost want to sim 5 years ahead just to see what he becomes. This is some heady stuff from my scout:

https://i.imgur.com/pZRMUsM.png

Elsewhere around MLB there was plenty of wheelin' and dealin' over the holiday weekend with the Yankees getting their shortstop in Nick Ahmed from Arizona for Deivi Garcia and a prospect; the Giants sent Darin Ruf to the Nationals in a 4-player deal; the Cubs dealt former Ray and their current closer David Robertson to the A's for a prospect; and Oakland picked up Jean Segura from the 26-55 Phillies for a prospect as they are trying to make a run at the wild card themselves. Also, Minnesota claimed 1B Rowdy Tellez off waivers from Milwaukee.

July 4-6, 2022: at Boston (3)
 

Game 1: 7-1 W. WP-Baz (2-2, 7.1 5 1 1 1 8). HR-J.Bell (3), Arozarena (8). Baz was dazzling and Arozarena put the game away with a grand slam in the 9th. Bell had a rare 2-hit game since joining the club including a homer.

Game 2: 15-1 W. WP-Kluber (4-5, 6 4 1 1 1 3). HR-Arozarena 2 (10), Zunino (14). The moribund offense has suddenly scored 28 runs in its last 3 games as Arozarena drove in 6 on a pair of 3-run shots and Zunino was 3-6 with a double, homer and 3 RBI.

Game 3: 3-5 L. LP-Wisler (2-3). Starter-Patino (5 8 3 3 3 8). HR-Margot (2). Matt Wisler gave up another critical homer, a 2-run shot to Trevor Story in the 6th which broke a 3-3 tie and sent them to defeat. That's 9 dingers allowed by him in 40 IP this year.

Team record: 39-43, still 1 game out of the wild card in the 10-car pileup that is the AL WC race, which you can see in detail in the next post.

2022 Midseason Review
 

Well it's been a frustrating year so far with a good start (26-17) giving way to a terrible late May and June and a losing record. There are a few green shoots of late with the offense starting to get going but we'll see how real it is. The next couple of weeks will determine whether we stay in the race or dump our numerous free agents-to-be. I'm already shopping Michael Conforto since Lars Nootbaar is ready to do his job somewhat better. Here are the MLB standings and leaders:

https://i.imgur.com/lJC3DZd.png

The wild card races:

https://i.imgur.com/X1IuSYB.png

Yes, with the new playoff format each league would be sending a sub .500-team to the postseason. Our team stats:

https://i.imgur.com/8KyHiOL.png

Talk about a June swoon. And man that's some brutal hitting. The pitching hasn't even been all that special, at least by Rays standards. And here are those "hitters":

https://i.imgur.com/nyGLnwa.png

Yeah it's basically Wander and the Seven Dwarfs or something like that. These numbers are coyote ugly and there's no other way to put it. The pitching:

https://i.imgur.com/80t9rOc.png

Some bright spots here including 4/5 of the rotation and a great year in relief from Jalen Beeks but the rest of the bullpen has been terribly homer-prone, and there have been at least 4-5 late-inning meltdowns which cost us wins. Some good news on that front, though, as Pete Fairbanks is rehabbing at Durham and will be back any day, and we're moving Luis Patino to the pen and giving Yonny Chirinos a crack at the rotation since his rehab time is up. He had mixed results at Durham but he should do about as well as Patino has while moving Patino to the pen will give us a true long reliever in a pen full of 25-35 stamina guys.

July 8-10, 2022: at Cincinnati (3)
 

Game 1: 7-3 W. WP-Beeks (1-0). Starter-McClanahan (4 4 3 3 4 4, 95P). HR-B.Lowe (15). Lowe had a big game, 3-4 with the homer and 3 RBI and Beeks threw 3 one-hit innings in relief of Mac. The news wasn't all good though as Josh Bell sprained an ankle after doubling and will be out a month, complicating our efforts to either get into the playoffs or have a fire sale at the end of the month.

Game 2: 2-3 L. LP-Feyereisen (4-4). Starter-Rasmussen (3 4 2 2 2 5, had to leave after a 69-minute rain delay). Cincinnati got a run off Feyereisen in the 8th to break a 2-2 tie in a tough loss.

Game 3: 9-3 W. WP-Wisler (3-3). Starter-Baz (6.2 4 2 2 1 9, 2 solo homers allowed). HR-Arozarena (11), W.Franco (12). Turnabout today as the Rays scored 7 in the 9th to break a 2-2 tie, capped by Wander's grand slam. He also had a pair of doubles in a big day.

Team record: 41-44. Next up: Back home for 4 vs Boston and we have the amateur draft on Monday.

Transactions: We placed Josh Bell on the IL and brought up Lars Nootbaar, and also optioned Calvin Faucher and promoted Vidal Brujan as I only became aware today that MLB required a 13/13 hitter/pitcher breakdown as of June 1 and we had been going 12/14 recently.

MLB News: The extremely fragile former Ray Alex Cobb is done for the year with the Giants. Also we had a slew of trades, almost as if it were July 31:

https://i.imgur.com/Go4vzEB.png


The Ryu-Kieboom deal and Jose Abreu to Milwaukee seemed the most interesting.

The 2022 Amateur Draft and a trade
 

We'll start with the trade, which germinated from an offer we received from the out-of-it Padres. They wanted a better prospect than we were willing to part with and it turned out they were willing to take two 1/2-star minor leaguers for free-agent-to-be closer Taylor Rogers:

https://i.imgur.com/jreezRI.png

We got them to eat 50% of Rogers' remaining salary as well. Rogers has a sterling 4/33 BB/K ratio in 28 innings with 15 saves but has a bloated 6.43 ERA thanks to a .429 BABIP and 4 homers allowed which belies his 70 movement rating. With Jeffrey Springs struggling in the late-inning lefty role and Andrew Kittredge having his own BABIP issues, Rogers will be a co-closer at the least. To make room for him we optioned Jason Adam to AAA Durham and DFA'd Chris Mazza to open up a 40-man spot.

Now, the draft. Here's how Round 1 went around MLB in case you're wondering where the big names landed:

https://i.imgur.com/QRMxt0N.png

As for our picks:

https://i.imgur.com/zBNqGnO.png



Round 1 - Austin:

https://i.imgur.com/cfpttf3.png

Nothing not to like here. We'll let him play SS in the minors but long-term we're looking at him for 2B or 3B with Wander under contract forever.

Round 2 - Clifford:

https://i.imgur.com/CVjbqTx.png

A bat-first OF prospect committed to Vanderbilt just like Austin, he looks like the part with potential power and patience, although contact could be an issue. We'll take a .250 BA if he adds 70-80 walks and 30 HR to that.

Round 2 - Hylton:

https://i.imgur.com/laS41m9.png

Hylton (pronounced "Hilton" I guess) is a hulking 6'5" 1B who was committed to in-state Stetson and has tremendous power potential.

Round 2 - Jordan:

https://i.imgur.com/wk1g1DV.png

We continue to clean up in the 2nd round with Dakota "Kota" Jordan, a tremendous athlete who's a two-sport commit to Mississippi State for baseball and football. We'll try to get him to concentrate on baseball as he has all the tools except perhaps for contact (OSA's a bit more optimistic at 50 potential).

Round 3 - Messick:

https://i.imgur.com/hBD1F6r.png

This was not a great draft for pitching, but my scout Rob Metzler likes Messick a lot better than OSA so we're trusting his instincts here. Messick's no ace, but looks to be a very deceptive kind of guy who could move quickly.

Round 4 - Hanson:

https://i.imgur.com/xETuYEk.png

Not sure why an infielder with his hitting potential lasted until the late 4th round, but we're not going to argue with it as he could be a steal.

Round 5 - Isaac:

https://i.imgur.com/onsXdkR.png

Since power hitters are the most expensive guys on the open market and we don't have the budget to spend big on them, we have to develop them ourselves and Isaac is a guy with some potential power, even if he may be a marginal 1B and likely DH.

Round 6 - Birdsell:

https://i.imgur.com/rpo8Z57.png

Birdsell is kind of a WYSIWYG pitcher, pretty fully developed out of college. He could be a useful 5th starter or long guy within a couple of years and with our defense and ballpark he could thrive.

July 11-14, 2022: vs Boston (4)
 

Game 1: 5-3 W. WP-Kluber (5-5, 6 3 3 3 1 4). S-Rogers (1). Alec Bohm and Lars Nootbaar each drove in a pair and Taylor Rogers converted the save in his Rays debut.

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP-Chirinos (1-0, 7 4 1 1 0 3). HR-Nootbaar (5). Yonny Chrinos pitched for the first time in the bigs since August 2020 and was brilliant, while another long-term injury guy Pete Fairbanks had a scoreless inning in his return. All 5 runs came in the third on a 2-run Wander single and Nootbaar's 3-run homer.

Game 3: 6-3 W. WP-McClanahan (5-4, 6 3 0 0 2 6). The Rays finally got back to .500 with their 4th straight win. Alec Bohm and Taylor Walls had 2-run singles to lead the offense.

Game 4: 3-2 W. WP-Springs (4-4). S-Rogers (2). Starter-Rasmussen (6 6 2 2 0 3). HR-Arozarena (12). The Rays are back above .500 and in the first wild card spot after a come-from-behind win which saw Arozarena lead off the 8th with the equalizer and then Yandy Diaz's sac fly brought home Lars Nootbaar, who had tripled for the second time today.

Team record: 45-44. Next up: 3 at home vs Baltimore before we hit the All-Star break. Happy times in Tampa Bay again after the 4-game sweep with Lars Nootbaar turning into the impact bat we thought Josh Bell would be as he was instrumental in 3 of the wins.

We also made a trade as we need to both free up a roster spot and a 40-man spot for the return of Peter Fairbanks:

https://i.imgur.com/boiIPot.png

Chargois is a decent reliever but Fairbanks is better, and we could use some catching depth in the system. Morales is more of a hitter than a catcher (35 defense) but can also play the OF and could be a useful utility guy with his 55 pop.

Speaking of trades there were another slew of them in the bigs, including Nate Eovaldi getting dealt by Boston right after he pitched well against us in the series finale:

https://i.imgur.com/hhIZBeZ.png

Guess a 60-28 record isn't good enough for the Dodgers as they went out and dealt prospect Michael Busch to the Padres for Sean Manaea who gets flipped again, the Yankees added catcher Austin Nola and the Nats interestingly traded for Joe Musgrove, Joc Pederson and Paul Dejong as they're 1 1/2 back in the wild card race in the NL.

July 15-17, 2022: vs Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: 5-3 W. WP-Kittredge (3-3). S-Rogers (3). Starter-Baz (5.2 6 3 3 2 8). HR-Bohm (4), Zunino (15). Alec Bohm led off the 8th with a homer to break a 3-3 tie and Mike Zunino provide insurance as the Rays made it 6 straight wins.

Game 2: 1-5 L. LP-Kluber (5-6, 4 6 4 2 3 6). HR-Walls (5).

Game 3: 1-5 L. LP-Chirinos (1-1, 4.1 5 3 3 1 7). Consecutive 5-1 losses drop the Rays back to .500 as they head to the All-Star Break.

Team record: 46-46. Next up: After the break we'll play 3 games in Kansas City.

Standings as we hit the break:

https://i.imgur.com/nh6M68D.png

Wild card races, which are more interesting:

https://i.imgur.com/KtI02gg.png

Rays team stats:

https://i.imgur.com/46O5sdX.png

Batting stats:

https://i.imgur.com/Kd7Vn7c.png

Pitching stats:

https://i.imgur.com/itUvHHb.png

All-Star Break 2022
 

The rosters with 3 Rays making it, all first-timers (Wander, Beeks, Rasmussen):

https://i.imgur.com/EgDyYTt.png
https://i.imgur.com/ooFgZlT.png
https://i.imgur.com/06PdRvZ.png

The Home Run Derby:

https://i.imgur.com/9kIWCp9.png

The game itself:

https://i.imgur.com/Jry8N3B.png

Have an All-Star week, Spencer Torkelson! After winning the Derby, the rookie hit a grand slam off hometown favorite Edwin Diaz at CitiField to give the AL a come-from-behind win. Drew Rasmussen got the surprise call to start the game, and although he allowed a hit and a walk he escaped unscathed. Jalen Beeks had a sharp 1-2-3 6th inning and Wander Franco drew a walk to start the AL's 8th-inning rally.

A "minor" trade
 

"Minor" is in quotes because it involved all minor leaguers but it's a potentially impactful trade for the big club. We dealt here from a position of excess as we have Vidal Brujan and Greg Jones as middle infield prospects and Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe locked up for years to come at the MLB level. So we sent Xavier Edwards back to whence he came:

https://i.imgur.com/9C0Oj6T.png

And picked up a couple of very interesting prospects in return in Mears and Ruiz. Mears is the more talented prospect with upside - he could be a big-time power hitter:

https://i.imgur.com/tL5DHZf.png

Mears was San Diego's 2nd round pick 2019 and is projected to be a big-time power hitter with good patience at the plate, along with being an average to above-average outfielder with average speed. He's not perfect though, and contact and whiffs could be his undoing but as I've said before power is the most expensive thing to buy on the open market and lower-revenue teams like us have to develop it.

Meanwhile Ruiz is no slouch either:

https://i.imgur.com/fGcGsy3.png

He's a fine outfielder who can play some center, a speed demon, and a solid hitter. He's versatile with the ability to play the infield as we like, and the only negative I can find with him is that he has to go on the 40-man since the Padres brought him up for 3 days without playing him. As a result we had to DFA Ford Proctor, whom we hopefully don't lose.

We're trading again
 

Welcome to Tampa Bay, Michael Brantley!

https://i.imgur.com/jGBw5Mz.png

https://i.imgur.com/G7ACkDm.png

The Astros put him on the block, and when I saw they'd take Conforto, I jumped on it. I included Tyler Frank as he's a marginal prospect and Houston was willing to take 60% of Brantley's $16M salary so with the pro-rations it only ended up costing us about $1.1M. There's way too much swing-and-miss in our lineup (we're dead last in batting average in MLB) so Brantley should be able to keep innings alive. Like Conforto, he's a free agent at year's end. Randy Arozarena will move to RF and Brantley will play LF.

July 22-24, 2022: at Kansas City (3)
 

Game 1: 3-2 W (11). WP-Rogers (1-0). Starter-McClanahan (5 8 2 2 1 6). HR-Conforto (8), B.Lowe (16). The Rays trailed 2-1 going into the 9th when Randy Arozarena reached on an error, stole second, went to third on a fly ball and scored on a wild pitch, and then Brandon Lowe homered in the 11th to win it.

Game 2: 3-4 L. LP-Baz (2-3, 6 9 4 4 1 5). HR-Nootbaar (6). Baz was hit harder than normal and a 2-run Nootbaar homer in the 9th was too little, too late.

Game 3: 4-1 W. WP-Kluber (6-6, 6 3 1 1 3 3). S-Rogers (4). Michael Brantley's Rays debut was a smash success as his first-inning single with two out and nobody on led to a 2-run rally, he singled and scored again later, and threw out a runner at home plate. Lars Nootbaar singled him home twice.

Team record: 48-47, good enough for the second wild card at the moment. Next up: 4 games in Baltimore.

The latest log of MLB trades, with names such as Enrique Hernandez, Eddie Rosario, former Ray Jose Alvarado, and Dinelson Lamet finding new homes:

https://i.imgur.com/6QfhcjZ.png

July 25-28, 2022: at Baltimore (4)
 

Game 1: 4-1 W. WP-Beeks (2-0). S-Springs (2). Starter-Rasmussen (6 2 1 1 1 7). HR-Arozarena (13). Arozarena's homer broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th and gave the Rays another win.

Game 2: 6-4 W. WP-Chirinos (2-1, 6.2 6 4 4 1 5). S-Rogers (5). HR-B.Lowe (17), Mejia (3). Alec Bohm's RBI single in the 6th broke a 3-3 tie and Francisco Mejia launched a 2-run homer to send the Rays to victory.

Game 3: 2-4 L. LP-McClanahan (5-5, 6.1 6 4 4 0 7). HR-Brantley (1) (3). McClanahan done in again by the longball, allowing a pair including a 3-run Trey Mancini shot.

Game 4: 2-4 L. LP-Baz (2-4, 4.2 7 4 4 3 4). One oddity in this game: Randy Arozarena hit by a pitch 3 times, which has to tie some kind of record.

Team record: 50-49. The two wins got them slightly comfortable in the wild card and actually within 5 1/2 of the Yankees, but the two losses now have them 1/2 game up in the second wild card and only one game up on Detroit, the 4th team in the wild card race as well as 7 1/2 back of the Yanks. Next up: Back to the Trop for 3 against Cleveland, struggling at 45-54.

Transaction: Adolis Garcia had to go on the IL with an oblique strain so Estuery Ruiz, just acquired from San Diego, was called up. Ruiz went 0-4 with 2 whiffs in the third game in his MLB debut.

MLB News: More trades with the two biggest seeing Philly deal Aaron Nola to Atlanta for 4 prospects and the White Sox sending Yasmani Grandal to the Mets for prospect Matt Allan and a minor leaguer.

July 29-31, 2022: vs Cleveland (3)
 

Game 1: 2-4 L. LP-Kluber (6-7, 5 7 4 4 3 6). We were single-handedly done in by Jose Ramirez, who drove in all 4 Cleveland runs including a 3-run homer off Kluber in the 5th.

Game 2: 5-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (8-2, 6 4 2 2 0 9). S-Rogers (6). Lars Nootbaar was 3-3 with an RBI and Wander was 2-4 with a steal and 2 runs scored.

Game 3: 6-1 W. WP-Chirinos (3-1, 5.1 4 1 1 1 7). HR-Nootbaar (7) Yonny Chirinos continues to impress since returning and Lars Nootbar stayed hot with a monster game: 2-4 with a 2-run double and a 3-run homer. Gonna be tough to keep him out of the lineup when Josh Bell comes back. Michael Brantley was 4-5 with 3 runs scored as well.

Team record: 52-50, now in the 2nd wild card. Next up: An off-day then Toronto comes to town for a pair.

One more trade
 

I also couldn't help myself and made one more deal before the trading deadline:

https://i.imgur.com/WqcjmmP.png

Merrifield gives us another high-contact guy (70 rated) to try and boost our league-low batting average. He doesn't walk much, but again we needed a guy who puts the ball in play as not only do we not hit for average but we also strike out a lot. He'll be a super-utility guy for us, filling in for Brandon Lowe at 2B against tough lefties and playing the outfield quite a bit. The price was not terribly high in Jayden Murray, who looks at best a 5th starter and more likely a long reliever with average stuff. Merrifield has a team option at $6.5M next year - I don't see us exercising it but somebody else might want to so he'll be offered up after the season is over.

As a result Vidal Brujan has been optioned back to Durham and we DFA'd P Ryan Thompson to make room on the 40-man.

Elsewhere in MLB there were a few more deals completed before the deadline:

https://i.imgur.com/oPFzPaz.png

Also a couple of big-name starters who were recently traded signed extensions with their new teams as Sean Manaea committed to the Dodgers for 4/61 and Nate Eovaldi extended his deal with the Brewers at 5/113.

August 2-3, 2022: vs Toronto (2)
 

Game 1: 1-0 W. WP-McClanahan (6-5, 7 3 0 0 0 12). S-Rogers (7). Shane McClanahan pitched by far his best game of the year, and in his final inning he allowed a leadoff triple to Bo Bichette before whiffing Vlad Jr. and Springer to get out of the inning. Taylor Rogers got a 4-out save when Feyereisen made a mess in the 8th.

Game 2: 2-5 L. LP-Baz (2-5, 3.2 6 4 4 3 4). HR-B.Lowe (18). Meanwhile Baz pitched one of his worst games and the offense struggled again.

Team record: 53-51, still in 2nd wild card spot. Next up: A big 4-game series in Detroit, where the Tigers are just on the outside looking in for a wild card and rookie Spencer Torkelson has taken the league by storm with 34 homers already.

Transaction: Adolis Garcia came off the IL and Esteury Ruiz was optioned to AAA Durham. Ruiz was just upgraded to 70 defense in LF by OSA.

August 4-7, 2022: at Detroit (4)
 

Transaction: Activated P Brooks Raley from the IL, optioned P Luis Patino to AAA Durham. Patino was doing OK in middle relief, but Raley was due back from his rehab and someone had to go. Patino will get to start at Durham.

Game 1: 4-3 W. WP-Beeks (3-0). S-Rogers (8). Starter-Kluber (4 9 3 3 1 5). HR-Franco (13). Manuel Margot was 2-3 with a 2-run double for the Rays' big hit of the game.

Game 2: 8-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (9-2, 5.1 6 3 3 4 8). HR-Arozarena (14), Margot (3). Arozarena's slam in the first put the Rays ahead to stay, and Margot's 3-run shot in the 8th salted it away. Michael Brantley was on base all 5 times with 3 hits and 2 walks to go with an RBI double.

Game 3: 0-5 L. LP-Chirinos (3-2, 6 4 3 3 0 4). Tarik Skubal and 2 relievers shut out the Rays on 5 hits, and Brooks Raley let things get out of hand in the 7th.

Game 4: 4-10 L. LP-McClanahan (6-6, 3 5 6 4 5 4). HR-Zunino (16). Mac picked a bad time to have his worst start of the year, giving up 3 homers including a pair to Javy Baez after he was handed leads of 2-0 and 4-3.

Team record: 55-53. The wheel-spinning continues as the Rays have dropped to the third wild card after Seattle won 5 straight to move past them. They're 2 games up on Baltimore and Oakland. Next up: An off-day then 2 games in Milwaukee against the tough Brewers as we reunite with Willy Adames.

August 9-10, 2022: at Milwaukee (2)
 

Game 1: 2-3 L. LP-Baz (2-6, 5.1 6 3 3 4 8). HR-Y.Diaz (4). It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for the Rays as not only did they drop the game to Milwaukee they lost two of their best players to injury. Wander Franco has a herniated disc and will miss the 10 days he'll spend on the IL and Mike Zunino has biceps tendinitis which will shelve him for 6 weeks or almost right to the end of the season.

Transaction: Placed Franco and Zunino on the 10-day IL, recalled IF/OF Vidal Brujan and C Rene Pinto from Durham.

Game 2: 13-4 W. WP-Kluber (7-7, 5 7 4 4 1 2, 3 HR). HR-Brujan (1). Who knew the Rays would bounce back from losing 2 of their top offensive players and score a season-high # of runs? And it was their two fill-ins who got it done as Francisco Mejia was 3-6 with 3 RBI including a 2-run single to put them ahead to stay in the 3rd, and that single was followed by an unlikely grand slam from Brujan, filling in for Wander.

Team record: 56-54, still 1 game up on Oakland for the final wild card spot. Next up: 3 games at home vs Baltimore, which is 2 back so it will be a big series.

August 12-14, 2022: vs Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: 9-8 W. WP-Fairbanks (1-0). Starter-Rasmussen (3.2 5 7 7 3 5). HR-Mejia (4). What a remarkable comeback as the Rays trailed 7-0 in the 6th before Mejia's 3-run homer got them going and Yandy Diaz's 2-run double in the 8th got them within 8-7. Michael Brantley tied it up in the bottom of the 9th with an RBI double and then later in the inning Mejia singled in the walk-off winner.

Game 2: 6-5 W (10). WP-Fairbanks (2-0). Starter-McClanahan (6 4 2 2 1 6). Another amazing game as the Rays were up 4-0 at one point before a Michael Brantley throwing error in the 9th allowing the tying run to score, and a dropped fly ball from Brantley allowed to go-ahead run to score in the 10th. But Brantley redeemed himself with an RBI single to tie it in the bottom of the inning, and Alec Bohm came off the bench to deliver an RBI single to win it. Brantley had 3 hits as did Whit Merrifield, who drove in a pair.

Transaction: Josh Bell was activated after missing over a month and despite his heroics the night before, Alec Bohm was optioned to Durham as he was only hitting 227/303/337.

Game 3: 6-7 L (13). LP-Wisler (3-4). Starter-Chirinos (6 8 6 0 2 3). The Rays nearly (and should have) pulled off another miracle comeback after falling behind 6-0 when a Yandy Diaz error opened the door for a 6-run 3rd for Baltimore. Diaz atoned with a pair of RBI doubles, one in a 5-run 6th that got them right back in it, and one in the 7th to tie the game. And they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9th but couldn't score, and then Wisler allowed his 10th homer in 52 IP this year to lose it. Also Michael Brantley strained his oblique in the game and will go on the IL as he'll be out about 2 weeks.

Team record: 58-55. Next up: 3 tough games at Yankee Stadium, where they trail New York by 7 games. They're currently in the 2nd wild card spot, 1/2 game up on third spot Seattle and 2 up on Detroit.

August 15-17, 2022: at NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: 1-3 L. LP-Baz (2-7, 6 3 3 1 1 7). HR-Margot (4). After scoring 34 runs in their last 4 games despite losing Wander Franco and Michael Brantley to injuries, the Rays offense came back to earth with only 5 hits. The Yankees only got 4, but two of them were homers.

Game 2: 1-8 L. LP-Kluber (7-8, 3.2 1 5 5 5 2). HR-B.Lowe (19). Kluber's line does not capture just how bad he was as he also hit 2 batters and threw a wild pitch in a 5-run 4th. Only 2 hits from the offense today.

Game 3: 2-5 L. LP-Kittredge (3-4). Starter-Rasmussen (3 1 0 0 2 3). HR-Margot (5). Rasmussen had to leave with a strained back which will force him to miss his next start, and a 2-0 lead evaporated when three Rays relievers combined to allow 5 solo homers to Yankee hitters. The pathetic showing in the Bronx was 11 hits and 4 runs in 3 games.

Team record: 58-58. Still in the third wild card, but only 1/2 game up on Texas, this team is in danger of circling the drain. And all the third wild card is likely to get us is 3 more games at Yankee Stadium anyway. Next up: 4 at home vs Kansas City which we really need to win at least 3 of.

Transaction: We finally pulled the plug on Corey Kluber after that horrific start in this series, DFAing him and calling up Jason Adam for now. Kluber was down to 45 stuff, 45 movement and 50 control and somehow he managed to go 7-8 with his 5.74 ERA. Luis Patino, who fanned 18 in 11 IP at Durham in his 2 starts since going down, will come back up to take his place in the rotation.

August 18-21, 2022: vs Kansas City (4)
 

Transaction: P Jason Adam optioned to Durham, P Calvin Faucher recalled.

Game 1: 5-1 W. WP-McClanahan (7-6, 7 2 1 1 1 5). HR-B.Lowe (20).

Transaction: P Calvin Faucher optioned to Durham, P Luis Patino recalled.

Game 2: 0-3 L. LP-Feyereisen (4-5). Starter-Patino (7 3 0 0 0 9). Patino was brilliant but left after 7 with the score 0-0, whereupon JP Feyereisen gave up 3 runs in the 8th as the bats only managed 5 hits.

Transaction: SS Wander Franco activated off the 10-day IL, IF/OF Vidal Brujan optioned to Durham.

Game 3: 2-1 W. WP-Chirinos (4-2, 7 3 1 1 1 6). S-Rogers (9). HR-W.Franco (14). Wander came off the IL to drive in both runs with a homer and a single, chipping in a steal as well.

Transaction: OF Lars Nootbaar tore his meniscus, so OF Estuery Ruiz is recalled. OF Jose Lowe begins a rehab assignment.

Game 4: 3-4 L (11). LP-Rogers (1-1). Starter-Baz (7 3 1 0 2 8). HR-E.Ruiz (1). The Rays wasted a brilliant start from Baz and a massive day from Esteury Ruiz, just called up, as he was 4-5 with 2 doubles and the game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the 9th. The bullpen was the culprit today with Andrew Kittredge giving up 2 runs in the 8th and Taylor Rogers one in the 11th, although it would behoove the offense to score more than 3 runs.

Team record: 60-60, still 1/2 game up in the third wild card. Rays starters had a combined line of 28 11 3 2 4 28 but they could only split the series, which is pretty sad. Next up: The degree of difficulty increases as the 73-48 Angels come to town for four games with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in tow.

August 22-25, 2022: vs LA Angels (4)
 

Game 1: 3-6 L. LP-Wisler (3-5, 3 5 3 3 0 2). It was a bullpen day as Drew Rasmussen still isn't over his back issues but will be ready to start in a few days. Josh Bell had a 2-run double, so he actually did something for once. This loss drops the Rays below .500 for the first time since very early in the season.

Game 2: 3-1 W. WP-Kittredge (4-4). S-Rogers (10). Starter-McClanahan (5 2 1 1 1 8). Manuel Margot and Esteury Ruiz had RBI singles in the 6th to break a 1-1 tie. Josh Bell was 2-4 with a double, is he finally coming alive?

Game 3: 10-3 W. WP-Patino (4-5, 7 4 3 3 2 8). HR-Mejia (5), E.Ruiz (2). Mejia was 3-4 with the homer and 3 RBI and Ruiz continues to hit since coming up, 3-4 with a steal, HR and 2 RBI.

Game 4: 4-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (10-2, 5.2 5 2 2 1 6). S-Rogers (11). HR-J.Bell (4/22). The Rays' best series in a long while, taking 3 of 4 from the high-flying Angels. Esteury Ruiz has been a revelation, going 2-4 with 2 steals today.

Team record: 63-61, now in the second wild card, 1/2 game ahead of Seattle and 1 game ahead of Texas which is on the outside looking in. Next up: A weekend in Fenway.

Team news: Michael Brantley's injury continues to linger - originally thought to be back this weekend, he'll be out another 8-9 days.

August 26-28, 2022: at Boston (3)
 

The Friday night game was rained out so we made it up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Game 1: 2-7 L. LP-Chirinos (4-3, 5.2 6 4 4 1 3). HR-W.Franco (15). It was a 4-2 game until the 8th when Jeffrey Springs allowed 3 runs.

Game 2: 5-3 W. WP-Baz (3-7, 5 6 1 1 4 6). S-Rogers (12). HR-A.Garcia (2/10). Rookie C Rene Pinto had 3 doubles, scoring twice and driving in one to lead the offense.

Game 3: 4-3 W. WP-Rogers (2-1). Starter-McClanahan (5.2 3 1 0 3 6). HR-E.Ruiz (3), Margot (6). JP Feyereisen blew the lead in the bottom of the 8th but Manuel Margot bailed out the Rays by leading off the 9th with a homer over The Monster. Another big game for Estuery Ruiz with a homer, two hits and a steal.

Team record: 65-62, tied with Texas for the second wild card and 1/2 game ahead of Seattle. Next up: An off-day, then two games in Miami.

Transaction: Josh Lowe returns after missing most of the season with a broken bone in his elbow, and had a pinch-single in the third game. Alec Bohm was optioned to Durham.

Haven't posted standings in a while, so here we go:

https://i.imgur.com/TNZLkBV.png

Rays stats:

https://i.imgur.com/xx1bHsr.png

https://i.imgur.com/o0URHNB.png

https://i.imgur.com/DPp6YlQ.png

August 30-31, 2022: at Miami (2)
 

Game 1: 3-0 W. WP-Kittredge (5-4). S-Springs (3). Starter-Patino (5.2 3 0 0 2 4). HR-B.Lowe (21). Josh Lowe broke a 0-0 tie in the 7th with an RBI double and scored on Whit Merrifield's to lead the Rays to victory.

Game 2: 6-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (11-2, 6 4 2 2 1 10). HR-Arozarena (15), J.Bell (5/23). The win made it 8 of 11 for the Rays while we sent the Marlins to their 14th straight defeat.

Team record: 67-62, currently in the second wild card 1/2 game up on Texas and 1 1/2 games up on Seattle. Next up: An off-day then the Yankees come to town for the weekend.

Transactions: For September roster expansion we're activating a long-missed name, Nick Anderson, from his rehab assignment and calling up Abraham Toro, the former Astro whom we acquired from Seattle in the Ji-Man Choi trade earlier this year.

September 2-4, 2022: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: 4-3 W. WP-Chirinos (5-3, 5.2 4 2 2 2 2). S-Rogers (13). HR-Merrifield (1/4), Mejia (6). Whit Merrifield's first Rays homer was a big one, and Taylor Rogers got a 5-out save.

Game 2: 6-3 W. WP-Baz (4-7, 6 4 2 2 0 12). S-Feyereisen (2). HR-B. Lowe 2 (23). Brandon Lowe's hitting a buck-77 but I keep him in the lineup for days like this, as he's one of our few legit power hitters. There was no need for the A/C at the Trop today as Rays pitchers struck out 19 Yankees and Yankee pitching struck out 16 Rays. The combined 35 whiffs in a 9-inning game ties an MLB record based on a quick Google search. Meanwhile Nick Anderson made his first MLB appearance in over a year and had a scoreless inning.

Transaction: Michael Brantley came off the IL and Adolis Garcia, who never did much with us since being claimed on waivers, was DFA'd to make room.

Game 3: 5-4 W. WP-McClanahan (8-6, 5 4 3 3 1 7). S-Rogers (14). HR-Y.Diaz (5). Yandy's 2-run homer and Arozarena's 2-run single in the 2nd gave the Rays a lead they'd never lose as they swept the Yankees for their 7th straight win and 10th in 11 games since dropping below .500 at 60-61.

Team record: 70-62, in the first wild card spot by percentage points and now only 5 games back of the Yankees. The division's a long shot but they're as close to the top now as they are to the 4th place team in the wild card race.

September 5-7, 2022: vs Boston (3)
 

Game 1: 10-5 W. WP-Beeks (4-0). Starter-Patino (2.2 7 5 5 2 1). HR-W.Franco (16), B.Lowe (24), J.Bell (6/24). B.Lowe knocked in 3, Josh Bell actually had 3 hits, and the bullpen went 6 1/3 scoreless for consecutive win #8.

Game 2: 2-0 W. WP-Rasmussen (12-2, 5.1 2 0 0 2 10). S-Feyereisen (3). Arozarena and Brantley had RBI singles. Taylor Rogers didn't get the save as he had to leave in the 9th with a mild oblique strain, "minimal" for 5 days so we'll just rest him.

Game 3: 15-8 W. WP-Kittredge (6-4). Starter-Chirinos (3.2 7 6 5 3 3). HR-B.Lowe (25), Arozarena (16), Mejia (7). After Boston went up 3-0 in the top of the 2nd the Rays answered with 13(!) runs in the bottom of the inning, breaking the old club record of 11 set twice. It was a comedy of errors for Boston as they committed 3 of them, allowed a struck out batter to reach via wild pitch and issued 3 walks, two of which came with the sacks full. Arozarena was 3-3 with the homer, 3 walks and 3 RBI, Manuel Margot was 4-5 with 2 RBI and Mejia drove in 4 runs as the Rays win streak reached double digits.

Team record: 73-62, and get a load of this: the Yankees were swept by Minnesota and the division deficit, once in double digits, is now only 2 games (and 1 in the loss column!). Next up: A day off then we travel to none other than Yankee Stadium for 3 games, with the division lead actually on the line, to conclude the season series with New York.

September 9-11, 2022: at NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: 4-7 L. LP-Baz (4-8, 4.1 6 6 6 2 5). HR-Arozarena (17). Baz was hit for two homers by Joey Gallo, who now has a ridiculous 57 on the season. Rays had 13 hits but couldn't translate them into enough runs, Wander had a 4-hit game and Michael Brantley 3 with 2 RBI.

Game 2: 2-4 L. LP-McClanahan (8-7, 4 4 5 5 5 5). HR-Margot (7). Mac had a nightmare 3rd, giving up all 4 runs including a trio of bases-loaded walks.

Game 3: 1-4 L. LP-Patino (4-6, 5 3 3 3 3 6). Patino coughed up a pair of homers and Luis Severino shut them out on 3 hits through 8 as the 10-game win streak seems a distant memory after this comprehensive sweep by the Yankees.

Team record: 73-65. The division is likely gone now, but they're still firmly in a wild card spot (3 up on the 4th-place Mariners although their playoff chances dropped from 94 to 87%). The key now is finishing ahead of Houston for the first wild card so the series with them is at the Trop rather than at Minute Maid. They're one game behind the Astros although even in the loss column. Next up: 5 games in 4 days at Toronto, which won't be easy.

September 12-15, 2022: at Toronto (5)
 

Game 1: 5-7 L. LP-Rasmussen (12-3, 4.1 5 5 5 3 9). Brandon Lowe stayed hot with a 2-run double but that was about the only bright spot.

Game 2: 4-6 L. LP-Wisler (3-6). Starter-Chirinos (5 8 4 2 3 3). HR-Arozarena (18), E.Ruiz (4). The game went back and forth, but in the end it didn't go the Rays' way.

Transactions: Matt Wisler went on the IL with a hamstring strain, it was minimal for 4 days but we needed a fresh arm so Christopher Gau, who's rocketed up the minors with a combined ERA under 1 at 3 stops, was called up. Also with today's doubleheader, Tommy Romero was brought up as the 27th man to pitch the nightcap.

Game 3: 6-4 W. WP-Gau (1-0). Starter-Romero (4.2 8 3 3 0 2). HR-B.Lowe 2 (27). Brandon Lowe's 2nd homer of the day, a 3-run shot in the 8th, capped a 5-RBI day and snapped a 5-game losing streak to make a winner of Chris Gau in his MLB debut.

Game 4: 1-6 L. LP-Baz (4-9, 5 7 4 3 0 8). HR-W.Franco (17). Shane Baz became the latest Rays start who couldn't keep the ball in the park and the bats were held to 4 hits.

Game 5: 1-2 L. LP-McClanahan (8-8, 5.1 5 2 2 1 7). And Mac coughed up 2 homers to account for the two runs which beat them as the offense was once again anemic, dropping the Rays to their 7th loss in 8 games.

Team record: 74-69. Thanks to this recent tailspin the Rays have gone from 94% to make the playoffs to 65% and have dropped to the third wild card, albeit 2 1/2 up on Seattle and now Toronto, whom the brought back into the race by losing 4 of 5 to them. Next up: 3 games at home vs Texas, who are now 2 games ahead of them in the second wild card after winning 7 straight. They also have 6 games left with Houston and another series with Toronto, so the remainder of the schedule will be difficult.

September 16-18, 2022: vs Texas (3)
 

Game 1: 2-1 W (12). WP-Fairbanks (3-0). Starter-Patino (5 4 1 1 2 9). HR-Margot (8). Margot, who had doubled in the Rays' run in regulation, blasted a walk-off homer to win it in the 12th.

Game 2: 4-3 W (10). WP-Feyereisen (5-5). Starter-Rasmussen (5.1 3 3 3 4 5). HR-Pinto (1). The Rays battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to win again on Josh Lowe's RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the 10th.

Game 3: 4-7 (L). LP-Chirinos (5-4, 5 8 5 5 2 4). HR-Arozarena (19), J.Bell (7/25). Yonny put them in a 5-0 hole in the 2nd and they nearly came all the way back but fell short.

Team record: 76-70. Next up: 3 at home vs Houston. A look at the standings:

https://i.imgur.com/pihnUvd.png

We're still in decent shape after winning 2 of 3 but we have a somewhat tough schedule remaining (3 vs HOU, 4 vs TOR, 3 at CLE, 3 at HOU, 3 at BOS). Barring some domination of Houston, though, we'll likely be playing at Houston or at the Yankees in the wild card round.