The 2024 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays
 

Well I finally broke down and decided to start a new Rays save in OOTP25 even though I have 4 other ones + the daily "pre-plays" going. This one is going to be a Live Start which will provide more of a challenge in the short-term at least given the poor real-life beginning they've had (14-16). The key is staying afloat until all the talent comes back. On the offensive side of things we're playing without our two top LH bats, the Lowes, and I'm expecting Josh back at the end of the week. Also depth pieces like Jonathan Aranda, Jonnny DeLuca and Taylor Walls are recuperating.

The pitching is a bit problematic but Taj Bradley dazzled in his first rehab outing and I'll give him one more and bring him back to be the 5th starter in place of Tyler Alexander. At different points during the year we'll get Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen back which if everyone stays healthy will give us a surplus of starters. We're also missing Pete Fairbanks and Colin Poche from the pen.

One thing I plan on doing to wake up the moribund offense is to bring up mega-prospect Junior Caminero. His current ratings suggest he'll be a useful but not extremely dangerous hitter but hopefully with playing time those ratings will go up (as they did in an experimental save I did where I rushed through 10 seasons). With B.Lowe out and Isaac Paredes entrenched at 3B, Junior will play the keystone. Otherwise there isn't a lot of help at Durham so it's going to be all about getting the injured guys back. Realistically with Baltimore and New York looking good to start the year a wild card is probably the best we can hope for.

Being the Rays there isn't of course much money to spend but I expect to be a somewhat active trader especially when the injured players come back and we need to jettison some of the currently-active players.

I'm undecided on how much detail to get into in this thread. I had cut the reports to monthly recaps for the 23 save, but I think I might update this thread weekly with a sentence or two for each game similar in format to my 22 save recaps.

Anyway, since I traditionally go with the box of the season's first game here's tonight's (April 30) game and in deference to real-life I used Kevin Cash's lineup for the game but after today it's all me as manager & GM.

https://i.imgur.com/54ad5nX.png

And the hole's been dug a bit deeper after a painful loss that saw Garrett Cleavinger force in the tying run with an HBP and a Paredes error leading to the winning run scoring in the 10th.

Gonna have my work cut out for me.

May 1-5, 2024
 

Transaction: IF Junior Caminero is up, IF Curtis Mead is down.

May 1 at Milwaukee: 3-5 L. WP-Ashby (1-1). LP-Eflin (1-4, 4 7 4 4 3 3). HR-Pinto (3). Rays got 3 late including Pinto's 2-run homer to make it interesting but fell short again. Caminero was 0-4 in his 2024 debut.

May 3 vs NY Mets 1-3 L. WP-C.Scott (1-0). LP-Civale (2-3, 5.2 3 2 2 1 6). HR-Paredes (8). Rays had their chances and the difference was two men thrown out at the plate as they were beat by Christian Scott in his MLB debut.

Transaction: Josh Lowe is activated from the IL and Austin Shenton is sent to Durham.

May 4 vs NY Mets 11-8 W. WP-Littell (2-2, 5.1 7 3 3 2 2). LP-Peterson (0-1). S-Adam (2). HR-Y.Diaz (2), Paredes (9), Siri (2). This should have been a laugher as the Rays were up 11-3 but the bullpen made it way too interesting. Paredes was 2-3 with a 2 walks, a 2-run double and a solo homer, and Rosario and Caminero each had 3 hits and an RBI with the latter's coming on a triple.

May 5 vs NY Mets 5-4 W. WP-Pepiot (4-2, 6 5 2 2 1 2). LP-Odorizzi (0-1). S-Adam (4). Rays strung together two straight wins but once again needed Adam to rescue the game as a 5-2 lead dwindled to 5-4. Yandy and Rortvedt each had 2 hits and an RBI.

Record: 16-19, last in the AL East 8 1/2 back and 3 out of the third wild card.

Rays News: Amed Rosario (.353) and Jose Caballero (10) lead the AL in batting average and SBs respectively.

Down on the farm:

https://i.imgur.com/UodFJP9.png

Keegan's bat is for real but he's a 35 catcher.

MLB News: AL Player of the Week was Adolis Garcia of Texas who was 12-25 with 7(!) homers. NL was the Giants' Austin Slater, 8 for 18 with 4 HR and 7 RBI. Freddie Freeman had a 5-5 game, but his Dodgers lost that and two others to Atlanta in a clash of the titans.

May 6-12, 2024
 

May 6 vs Chicago White Sox 0-5 L. LP-Alexander (1-1, 6 8 3 3 2 6). 3 measly hits as for the 4th time in 4 tries the Rays can't beat MLB's worst team. Perhaps they are the worst team.

May 7 vs Chicago White Sox 4-11 L. LP-Eflin (1-5, 5 11 7 7 1 5). HR-Paredes (10). There isn't much more to say.

May 8 vs Chicago White Sox 2-8 L. LP-Civale (2-4, 3.1 6 5 5 4 2). HR-Caminero (1), Pinto (4). Outscored 24-6 by the White Sox at home and swept by them in the season series is no way to go through life. The offense has been bad all year but now the pitching is its lousy equal and the scouts have downgraded the stuff of several of our hurlers in the past week. Highlight of the day was an inside-the-park homer from Caminero.

May 9 Off Day. A rare day in which they didn't lose.

May 10 vs NY Yankees 7-10 L. LP-Alexander (1-2). Starter-Littell (3.2 6 4 4 3 7). HR-Paredes 2 (12). The offense finally perks up but the pitching gets even worse as this ill-fated season of the Rays continues. One guy who can hold his head up with pride is Paredes, who is hitting 275/365/566 with 12 HR and 26 RBI in 39 games and added 2 and 4 tonight.

May 11 vs NY Yankees 5-8 L. LP-Adam (1-2). Starter-Pepiot (4 6 5 5 4 4). HR-Rosario (3), H.Ramirez (2) Back-to-back homers in 8th from Rosario and Harold (pinch-hitting) got them level at 5 but current closer Jason Adam gave up 3 in the 9th to lose it, probably due to rust since we haven't had any save situations of late. This team is as depressing to play in OOTP as they are to watch in real life.

May 12: vs NY Yankees 4-2 W. WP-Maton (1-2). S-J.Lopez (1). Starter-Eflin (5 8 2 2 1 2). Yandy's RBI double in the 8th broke a 2-2 tie and Paredes doubled him home for his 2nd RBI two-bagger of the day as the Rays broke a 5-game losing streak.

Record: 17-24. 11 behind Baltimore in the East and 6 back of the third wild card as the bottom continues to fall out. I've already started shopping free-agent-to-be Amed Rosario who's off to a hot start and might start dealing anyone else who isn't nailed down.

MLB News: AL Player of the Week is just-recalled White Sox rookie 3B Colson Montgomery who was 8-14 with 3 HR and 11 RBI, much of that against us in the early-week series. NL honors go to Mookie Betts, who was 11-24 with 5 HR and 11 RBI.

GO RAYS!

I enjoy following all of your RAYS adventures. They are a fun team to play due to small market and brutal AL East is always super competitive.

#RAYSUP

May 13-19, 2024
 

A couple of transactions I neglected to mention from last week - IF/DH Jonathan Aranda and SP Taj Bradley were activated from their rehab assignments while Niko Goodrum and Manuel Rodriguez went down to Durham.

Given that this team is going nowhere fast, I pulled the trigger on an Amed Rosario deal as he's a free agent at year's end:

https://i.imgur.com/n26bmTF.jpeg

As you can see it was over the objections of AGM Erik Neander but I felt it was the best offer we got for Rosario, who is a useful utility guy with some upside but wasn't going to command a king's ransom. And I'm quite happy to add Campusano, a good-hitting catcher who's decent defensively. Also we picked up Ornelas, who profiles as a potentially useful 4th OF type. To make room for Campusano, Ben Rortvedt was optioned to Durham and taking Rosario's place is another injury returnee, OF Jonny DeLuca, acquired in the Glasnow trade this past offseason. He'll give us a RH bench bat and will platoon with Josh Lowe in RF.

Shawn Armstrong is the only other free agent although if we were to keep everyone our payroll would balloon to $140M next year which is something Stu Sternberg isn't going to abide. So Zach Eflin ($18M) and Brandon Lowe, Jeffrey Springs, Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena (all projected around $10-11M) are all trade bait. Too bad they're all having terrible seasons or in the case of Springs, hurt. Also you can bet the $7.8M team option on Phil Maton will not be exercised.

May 13 at Boston: 4-5 L. LP-E.Ramirez (0-1). Starter-Bradley (6 5 2 2 1 5). HR-Aranda (1), Y.Diaz (3). Should have been a win at 4-2 in the 9th but Jason Adam walked 3 guys, gave up a run, left two on and we had to bring Erasmo in since everyone else was tired, and he proceeded to load the bases and give up a game-losing 2-run single. And in his Rays debut Luis Campusano doubled twice and then was hit on the hand with a pitch, breaking it and will be out a month. Unbelievable.

Transaction: Campusano goes on the IL and Rortvedt is back up while Pete Fairbanks is activated off the IL and Erasmo Ramirez is designated for assignment.

May 14 at Boston: 8-6 W. WP-Civale (3-4, 5.2 11 4 4 0 6). S-Fairbanks (4). HR-Caminero (2), Siri (3). Yandy and Siri had massive games with the former banging out 4 hits and driving in 2 and the latter homering and knocking in 4 including a 3-run shot in the 6th off Rays Spring Training invitee Nayouki Uwasama to break a 4-4 tie. Fairbanks converted the save in his first appearance off the IL.

May 15 at Boston: 10-8 W. WP-Armstrong (1-1). S-Fairbanks (5). Starter-Littell (4.2 6 4 4 1 3). HR-Aranda (2), Y.Diaz (4). Another wild win where the Rays kept taking leads and losing them before a 5-run 8th highlighted by a bases-clearing Jose Caballero double. Aranda was 2-2 with a walk, homer and 3 RBI.

May 16 at Boston: 7-3 W. WP-Pepiot (5-2, 5 7 2 2 2 5). HR-Pinto (5). A season-high third straight win with Jonny DeLuca doubling twice and driving in a pair for his first contributions as a Ray while Jose Caballero had another big double knocking in a pair.

Transaction: Still another injury return as lefty reliever Colin Poche is back and Jacob Lopez is returned to the Bulls.

May 17 at Toronto: 5-8 L. LP-Eflin (1-6, 5 5 5 5 2 5). HR-H.Ramirez (3), Siri (4). An early 4-1 went by the wayside as Eflin's struggles continued.

May 18 at Toronto: 8-12 L. LP-Adam (1-3). Starter-Bradley (5 6 4 4 2 2). HR-Caminero (3). The offense has finally gotten its act together on this road trip but the pitching staff still hasn't gotten the memo and leads of 3-0 and 6-3 vanished in another disheartening defeat. Rays pitching allowed 7(!) homers including 3 to Danny Jansen and they actually led 8-6 in the 7th before Adam crapped the bed again, giving up 4 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits in only 2/3 of an inning.

May 19 at Toronto: 4-6 L. LP-Civale (3-5, 5 7 5 5 2 3). HR-Siri (5), Caballero (3). Whatever good vibes came out of the Boston series have dissipated completely after the Rays scored 17 runs in Toronto over the weekend and left with nothing to show for it. Once perennially one of the best defensive teams in baseball the Rays this year are dead last (30th) in MLB in defensive efficiency as they seem to allow double-digit hits in almost every game. One culprit is the phenom Caminero, who's a butcher at 2B but is hitting a robust 333/426/561 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in 16 games and still has 0.6 WAR in that span which would translate to 5-6 over a full season.

Record: 20-28, now 14 1/2 and 7 back in the division and wild card. Barring a massive turnaround in the next month there's going to be a lot of players for sale. Upcoming: Back to the Trop for a pair of series against Boston and Kansas City.

MLB News: AL PotW is Houston's Jeremy Pena, 11-20 with 4 HR and 15 RBI while the NL winner is LA's Freddie Freeman, 11-22 with 3 HR and 9 RBI.

Also winning player of the week honors on the farm was this guy:

https://i.imgur.com/JT4ZH00.png

We could be seeing him sooner than later as he's baseball's #15 prospect, a plus-plus defensive SS (something we can use) and his bat has rapidly developed.

May 20-26, 2024
 

Only transaction this week was to activate Taylor Walls from his rehab assignment at Durham and option him there since I prefer to keep Richie Palacios up.

May 20 vs Boston: 4-3 W. WP-Fairbanks (1-2). Starter-Littell (6 6 2 2 1 6). HR-Y.Diaz (5). Bullpen blew a 3-1 lead but Harold Ramirez came off the bench to deliver a walk-off pinch-single. Yandy knocked in the other 3 with a homer and a double.

May 21 vs Boston: 7-5 W. WP-Cleavinger (4-0). S-Fairbanks (6). Starter-Pepiot (5.1 9 5 5 0 7). No homers today but 7 doubles including a pair from Caballero, who knocked in 3, and Pinto, who knocked in two. Cleavinger turned in 2 2/3 scoreless for the win.

May 22 vs Boston: 4-8 L. LP-Eflin (1-7, 5 8 5 5 1 3). Another rough outing from last year's ace Eflin.

May 23 Off Day.

May 24 vs Kansas City 6-7 L. LP-Adam (1-4). Starter-Bradley (4.1 4 4 3 3 5). HR-Paredes (13), Siri (6). A tough one as Adam gave up 2 in the 9th after the Rays had come to back to tie at 5, marking Adam's fourth straight appearance allowing 2 or more runs. Paredes had a 3-run shot.

May 25 vs Kansas City 6-3 W. WP-Civale (4-5, 6 7 2 2 1 8). HR-Caballero (4), Caminero (4). It was the game of Junior Caminero's young MLB career as he was 2-3 with a homer and 4 RBI to lead the Rays to a tidy win.

May 26 vs Kansas City 5-3 W. WP-Littell (3-2, 5.2 7 3 3 2 2). S-Fairbanks (7). HR-Arozarena (4), Paredes (14), Caminero (5). It's been a very rough season for Randy but today his 2-run homer in the first was the big hit with Paredes going back-to-back with him and the bullpen holding strong for a change.

Record: 24-30. Still 14 back in the division and now 5 in the wild card. Next week: An off-day then 3 at home vs Oakland and 3 in Baltimore against the 38-15 Orioles.

MLB News: AL Player of the Week is Boston's Wilyer Abreu, 11-24 with 5 HR and 10 RBI. NL recipient is Atlanta's Michael Harris II, 13-28 with 2 HR, 6 RBI and 9 runs scored.

May 27-June 2, 2024
 

May 27: Off.

May 28 vs Oakland: 5-4 W. WP-Eflin (2-7, 6 5 3 3 2 5). S-Fairbanks (8). HR-Rortvedt (1). Rortvedt's first homer of the year was an early 2-run shot and Josh Lowe contributed an RBI triple.

May 29 vs Oakland: 3-2 W. WP-Kelly (2-0). S-Adam (4). Starter-Pepiot (5 7 1 1 2 8). HR-Arozarena (5). Randy's solo homer in the 6th put them up 2-1 and they never lost the lead after that as the Rays now have their first 4-game win streak of the year.

May 30 vs Oakland: 7-1 W. WP-Bradley (1-0, 7 2 1 0 1 7). HR-Arozarena (6), Caminero (6). Taj pitched one of the best games of the season, Randy's 3-run homer keyed a 5-run 3rd and the Rays completed the sweep and ran their win streak to 5.

May 31 at Baltimore 5-8 L. LP-Poche (0-2). Starter-Civale (5.1 5 2 1 2 3). HR-Aranda (3). Rays led this one 5-1 in the 5th and Civale left up 5-2 before the bullpen gave up 6 runs to lose it, 5 of which were allowed by Armstrong and Poche.

June 1 at Baltimore: 4-5 L. LP-Armstrong (1-2). Starter-Littell (4 7 4 4 0 2). Although Armstrong took the loss, this one was on Littell as the Rays lost a 4-run lead for the second straight day after the righty was entrusted with a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to Josh Lowe's 2-run double.

June 2 at Baltimore: 1-4 L. LP-Eflin (2-8, 5.2 8 4 4 4 2). Any thoughts of climbing back into the wild card race after winning 5 straight and 7 of 9 were dealt a severe blow after this sweep in Baltimore. They did take a (short-lived) lead for the third straight day but couldn't score again after the 1st.

Record: 27-33. Next week: An off-day, 2 in Miami, another off-day, then 3 more against Baltimore, this time at the Trop (as part of a 4-game wraparound series that concludes the following Monday).

Transactions: During the week Colorado returned pitcher Anthony Molina to us after taking him in last winter's Rule 5 Draft. Also we've activated Shane Baz from his rehab assignment and sent Tyler Alexander to Durham. The question is whether Baz will join the rotation since there isn't an obvious opening although Zac Eflin should probably be demoted given how poorly he's pitched (2-8, 5.83) as our nominal ace. Still his big free agent contract will likely keep him afloat.

MLB News: The monthly awards for May:

AL Batter: Kyle Tucker (HOU) .311-10-18
NL Batter: Freddie Freeman (LA) .365-6-17
AL Pitcher: Max Scherzer (TEX) 4-0, 1.39, 5/35 BB/K in 32 IP
NL Pitcher: Woo-Suk Go (SD) 4-0, 1.17, 6 saves
AL Rookie: Wilyer Abreu (BOS) .361-9-17
NL Rookie: Jackson Chourio (MIL) .323-2-17

The weekly awards:
AL: Vinny Pasquantino (KC), 17-31 (.548), 5 HR, 18 RBI
NL: Nico Hoerner (CHI), 9-18 (.500), 3 HR, 5 RBI

Also our Carson Williams was named the SL Batter of the Month after hitting .327-10-37 while Tre Morgan was named the Carolina League Player of the Week going 13-26 with 2 HR and 10 RBI.

June 3-9, 2024
 

An eventful week, details after the game summaries.

June 3: Off Day

June 4: at Miami 5-9 L. LP-Pepiot (5-3, 4.1 6 5 5 4 4). HR-DeLuca (1). DeLuca was 3-5 with a homer, not much else to write home about.

June 5: at Miami 6-2 W. WP-Bradley (5.1 4 2 2 3 4). HR-Pinto (6), Siri (7). Taj was terrific and Parades' 2-run triple was the big hit.

June 6: Off Day

June 7: vs Baltimore 4-7 L. LP-Fairbanks (1-3). Starter-Civale (6 5 3 2 4 5). Rays just can't seem to beat the Orioles as they took a 4-3 lead into the 9th before Fairbanks melted down. Before that Paredes had a couple of RBI singles to help them to the lost lead.

June 8: vs Baltimore 3-5 L. LP-Baz (0-1, 5.1 4 3 3 6 3). Shane Baz made his 2024 debut and perhaps the rust showed a bit as he was unusually wild, walking 6.

June 9: vs Baltimore 6-5 W (10). WP-Cleavinger (5-0). Starter-Pepiot (6 3 1 1 3 3). Finally a win over Baltimore, although they had to come back to do it after blowing a 4-1 lead in the 8th when Jason Adam gave up 4 runs on a pair of homers. They loaded the bases after two out and nobody on in the 9th and got a bases-loaded walk from J.Lowe to tie it and then in the 10th Brandon Lowe singled home the winner as part of his second 3-hit performance in as many games since being activated.

Record: 29-36. Next up: one more game at home vs Baltimore, the Cubs follow for 3 at the Trop and then we go to Atlanta for 3.

This team is going nowhere fast, so it was time for some deals:

First, we dealt Harold Ramirez to Cleveland for reliever Nic Enright, who's capable to pitching in a big-league pen (rated 55/50/55) but will be at Durham for now. To replace Harold we brought back Curtis Mead, who wasn't hitting much at Durham either but will take his role as DH vs LHP.

Then we made a somewhat larger deal:

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

Eflin has been lousy this year after being so good in 2023 and while I would have liked to give him a shot at bouncing back the fact remains that his salary for 2025 is $18M and with $146M needed to bring everyone back next year, an amount Stu Sternberg will never pay (at least until he gets his new stadium), costs had to be cut. A few weeks back nobody wanted Eflin but this time the Padres were interested and they offered us Vasquez, who had a very good 2.74 ERA in 46 IP with a 19/45 BB/K ratio. That ERA was helped along by a .267 BABIP so he's not that good, and he's rated 50/50/45 (with potential to bump the movement and control up 5) and 45 stamina. For now he'll pitch in long relief as Baz takes Eflin's rotation spot.

Also as you may have surmised from the game summaries above Brandon Lowe was activated after a brief rehab with the Bulls, and Jonathan Aranda was sent back to Durham. Aranda had shown some signs of life at 234/338/432 and he's viewed with potential to be a 298/376/489 hitter so we're by no means giving up on him, just making room. Also Luis Campusano, injured in his first game after being acquired in our previous deal with the Padres, was activated with Ben Rortvedt going down.

EDIT: Forgot my players of the week:

AL: Aaron Judge (NYY), 9-24, 5 HR, 12 RBI
NL: Ozzie Albies (ATL), 9-24, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 7 RS

Also Dominic Keegan won again at AA Montgomery after a 9-16, 1 HR, 3 RBI week.

One interesting MLB trade where Arizona sent prospects including Slade Cecconi to the Angels for closer Carlos Estevez.

June 10-16, 2024
 

June 10: vs Baltimore 7-5 W. WP-Kelly (3-0). S-Maton (1). Starter-Littell (4.2 5 2 2 4 5). Thanks to a 6-run 2nd the Rays built a 7-0 lead and as usual had to watch Baltimore chip away at it before ultimately holding on. A 2-run single from Yandy and a 2-run double from J.Lowe were the big hits.

Transactions: The win over the Orioles was costly as starting SS Jose Caballero fractured a foot and will miss 3 weeks while CF Jose Siri strained his oblique and will be out 3-4 weeks. Oselvis Basabe, who filled in at SS last year when Wander had to go away, and OF Kameron Misner are up from Durham. This would have been Taylor Walls' big chance to return but he strained his groin and is out until mid-late July.

June 11: vs Chicago Cubs 7-6 W. WP-Maton (2-2). S-Fairbanks (9). Starter-Bradley (5.2 6 4 2 1 6). HR-B.Lowe (2), Paredes (15), Caminero (8), J.Lowe (1). Once again the Rays lost a healthy lead, up 5-2 before Chicago got 4 in the 6th. But 2 runs in the 7th, including J.Lowe's first homer of the year won it. Paredes was 3-3 with a double, HR and 2 RBI.

June 12: vs Chicago Cubs 6-13 L (10). LP-Poche (0-3). Starter-Civale (6 6 5 5 2 4). HR-B.Lowe (3), Arozarena (8). Rays lost a 6-5 lead in the 8th and then the roof caved in during the 10th as Chicago scored 7 times off Poche and the hapless Shawn Armstrong. Randy had a rare 3-hit game this season.

June 13: vs Chicago Cubs 9-2 W. WP-Baz (1-1, 5.2 3 2 2 3 8). HR-Palacios 2 (5), Caminero (9). Rays played perhaps their most complete game of the season in romping over the Cubs with Palacios homering twice, Paredes delivering a bases-clearing double, and Baz with his first win in two years thanks to a dominating performance.

June 14: at Atlanta 2-15 L. LP-Pepiot (5-4, 3 9 6 6 1 5). Once again after a nice run at home the Rays go on the road to be pasted by one of MLB's elite. Things got so bad Kameron Misner pitched in the 8th.

June 15: at Atlanta 2-11 L. LP-Littell (3-3, 3 12 9 9 2 1). Another ass-kicking from Atlanta with Littell left in to take a beating since the pen was exhausted yesterday but still had to cover 5 innings.

June 16: at Atlanta 2-4 L. LP-Bradley (2-1, 5 8 4 4 2 1). The best thing you can say about this one is that it wasn't a blowout but it ended up a sweep nonetheless.

Record: 32-40. Next week: A day off then 3 in Minnesota followed by 3 in Pittsburgh.

MLB News: Players of the Week:

AL: Rafael Devers (BOS), .579-2-7
NL: TJ Friedl (CIN), 9-19, 2 HR, 13 RBI

Also on the Monday after the week ended Pittsburgh's Jack Suwinski joined numerous others in tying the record for HR in a game with 4 against Cincinnati, although it might have been the lowest-scoring game with a 4-HR performance as the Pirates beat the Reds 5-3 with Suwinski knocking in all five runs. Elsewhere Toronto's Danny Jansen had a 3-homer game the same day, Jansen's 2nd such game of the season after doing it against the Rays last month.

June 17-23, 2024
 

June 17: Off

June 18: at Minnesota 1-0 W. WP-Civale (6-5, 6 3 0 0 1 9). S-Fairbanks (10). Four pitchers combined on a 3-hit shutout and the game's only run scored on an error in the 3rd.

June 19: at Minnesota 7-11 L. LP-Vazquez (0-1). Starter-Baz (2.2 7 6 6 3 4). HR-Mead (2), J.Lowe 2 (3). In a 180 from yesterday the Rays fell behind 5-0, came back to tie at 6, but then saw the pen give up 5 more runs to lose. J.Lowe was 3-5 with 2 homers in the loss.

June 20: at Minnesota 5-3 W. WP-Pepiot (6-4, 6 5 0 0 1 5). S-Fairbanks (11). HR-B.Lowe (4), Arozarena (9). A 5-0 lead turned dicey after the bullpen got involved with Jason Adam giving up multiple runs again, but they held on to take the series.

June 21: at Pittsburgh 3-4 L (11). LP-Cleavinger (5-1). Starter-Littell (5 9 3 3 1 4). HR-J.Lowe (4). We battled rookie sensation Paul Skenes to a draw but couldn't score in the 10th or 11th. Cleavinger then came on in the 11th, walked a man, hit a man, and gave up an RBI single to lose it without getting an out.

June 22: at Pittsburgh 0-4 L. LP-Bradley (2-2, 5 5 2 2 3 7). The bats were AWOL, managing only 5 hits.

Time for a huge trade:

https://i.imgur.com/kxA9te2.png

Yes the man who was probably the face of the franchise is dealt (although strangely I didn't get a "fan interest crashed" message after the trade was made). I was shopping prospect packages and Detroit made this offer which I felt compelled to take. Randy was set to make 8 figures in arbitration next year even with the down season he's had and we have to keep shedding payroll with all the raises due next year. The package we received is intriguing if a bit flawed as like Randy (and moreso), Tork has been miserable this year after hitting 31 HR last season but he's still a power bat with pedigree. Meadows, brother of former Ray Austin, gives us a 70-rated CF to platoon with the mercurial Jose Siri, and Olson has had some MLB success in both the rotation and relief, although he'll start out at Durham. Kameron Misner was sent down to make room for Meadows. The odd question is why Detroit wanted Arozarena, given they have as poor a record as us. Apparently they feel he's more of a proven vet they can build around and his higher salary and two more years of team control aren't issues for their higher payroll.

June 23: at Pittsburgh 4-8 L. LP-Civale (5-6, 2.1 7 6 6 3 3). HR-B.Lowe (5). After pitching his best game of the season Civale pitches his worst. Tork was 0-3 with a walk and P.Meadows 0-4 in their Rays debuts.

Record: 34-44. Next week: Back home for 3 against Seattle and 3 against Washington with an off-day in between.

MLB Players of the Week:

AL: Tyler O'Neill (BOS), 10-28, 6 HR, 11 RBI. O'Neill has hit 24 HR in only 237 AB this season in a great pickup for the Sox.
NL: Elias Diaz (COL): 10-21, 3 HR, 8 RBI.

Also earning player of the week awards was our own prospect Xavier Isaac, getting the SL nod for going 7-20 with 4 HR and 10 RBI. Isaac has 23 HR and 65 RBI between Montgomery and High-A Bowling Green this season and just had the scouts upgrade his potential power to 70. Looking forward to seeing Isaac, Carson Williams and Junior Caminero together in the big-league lineup and that might happen as soon as next year.

June 24-30, 2024
 

June 24: vs Seattle 5-3 W. WP-Baz (2-1, 6 7 2 2 2 3). S-Fairbanks (12). HR-J.Lowe (5), P.Meadows (1/5). The new guys contributed to the win as Parker Meadows had a 2-run homer and Spencer Torkelson a 2-run double to lead the Rays to a series-opening win.

June 25: vs Seattle 3-1 W. WP-Pepiot (7-4, 6 5 1 1 3 3). S-Fairbanks (13). HR-J.Lowe (6). Josh Lowe homered for the third straight day and fifth time in as many games, Paredes was 4-4 and Pepiot was excellent in a tidy win.

June 26: vs Seattle 4-5 L. LP-Littell (3-4, 5.1 5 4 4 4 6). HR-Paredes (16), B.Lowe (6), Diaz (6). Yandy had 3 hits including a homer but it wasn't enough today.

June 27: Off Day.

June 28: vs Washington 5-3 W. WP-Bradley (3-2, 7.2 1 0 0 4 8). S-Fairbanks (14). HR-Campusano (1/3). Taj Bradley pitched the game of his MLB career, finishing four outs short of a no-hitter before Nasim Nunez's single ended his day. On the other side Campusano hit his first homer as a Ray, a 2-run shot, to spark the offense. Yandy continues to heat up with another 3-hit game.

June 29: vs Washington 10-2 W. WP-Maton (3-2). Starter-Civale (5 3 2 2 3 6). HR-Paredes 2 (18). Isaac Paredes should be the Rays' All-Star representative as he's having a great year and today's 2-homer, 5-RBI performance punctuated that. This was actually a 2-2 game in the 7th before they got a 2-run single from B.Lowe before breaking it open with 6 in the 8th including a 2-run J.Lowe double.

June 30: vs Washington 2-6 L (10). LP-Fairbanks (1-4). Starter-Baz (6 5 2 2 2 10). Once again they couldn't complete the series sweep as Fairbanks gave up a 2-out go-ahead hit in the 10th and then Colin Poche relieved him only to give up a 3-run homer to Keibert Ruiz. As a result a dominating start from Baz was wasted.

Record: 38-46. Next week: After an off day we hit the road for 3 in Kansas City and 3 at Texas.

Players of the Week:

AL: Giancarlo Stanton (NY), 9-27, 6 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Wilmer Flores (SF), 11-25, 3 HR, 6 RBI

Players of the Month for June:

AL Batter: Aaron Judge (NY), .333-17-37
NL Batter: TJ Friedl (CIN), .393-6-26
AL Pitcher: David Festa (MIN), 4-1, 1.52, 32 Ks in 29.2 IP
NL Pitcher: Kodai Senga (NY), 5-0, 2.04, 28 Ks in 35 IP
AL Rookie: Festa
NL Rookie: Gordon Gracetto (STL), 3-0, 1.62, 24 Ks in 33.2 IP

Since we're at the halfway mark of the season, time to look at the MLB standings and Rays stats to date:

https://i.imgur.com/EXEs20H.png

If someone had told me when the season began that the Rays would have a better record than the Dodgers at midseason, I'd have said "Yay, great!".

https://i.imgur.com/Wn6J5GV.png

Nothing but ugly here, and Pythagoreas says they've overachieving.

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

As mentioned, Paredes is far and away the club's MVP with nobody else really distinguishing themselves although B.Lowe has been very good since coming off the IL.

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

The starters have actually pitched decently this year, except for the departed Eflin, and have mainly been the victims of the team's uncharacteristically horrid defense. The bullpen on the other hand has been dreadful on its own.

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

At least the future looks semi-bright as Williams, Isaac and Keegan look to join Caminero to form a potentially exciting core for the second half of the decade. We'll have to get the pitching up to snuff somehow but if the likes of McClanahan, Springs and Rasmussen can regain health and effectiveness they'll form quite a formidable rotation with holdovers like Taj, Baz and Pepiot. The bullpen will need a lot of work, though.

July 1-7, 2024
 

Transaction: Jose Caballero comes off the IL and Oselvis Basabe goes back to Durham.

July 1: Off Day.

July 2: at Kansas City 2-9 L. LP-Pepiot (7-5, 5 5 3 3 2 5). Nothing pretty about this one.

July 3: at Kansas City 3-1 W. WP-Littell (4-4, 6 3 1 1 4 5). S-Fairbanks (14). HR-Paredes (19). Littell was sharp and Paredes drove in all 3 runs with a 2-run homer and a sac fly.

July 4: at Kansas City 9-2 W. WP-Bradley (4-2, 7 9 2 2 1 7). HR-Mead (3), Torkelson (1). A 7-run 5th keyed by Mead's grand slam led the Rays to their third straight series win. Also our long national nightmare is over as Spencer Torkelson finally hit his first homer of 2024 - not just with us but for the entire season.

July 5: at Texas 3-4 L. LP-Baz (2-2, 5.2 6 4 4 0 4). HR-Y.Diaz (7), Pinto (7). Rays came up just short in this one but Yandy stayed toasty going 2-4 with a homer.

July 6: at Texas 9-2 W. WP-Civale (6-6, 5 5 1 1 1 8). HR-Paredes (20), B.Lowe (7). Civale was excellent and Luis Campusano drove in 3 with a pair of hits.

July 7: at Texas 2-7 L. LP-Pepiot (7-6, 4 7 4 4 1 8). HR-Paredes (21). Pepiot fanned 8 but couldn't keep the ball in the park, giving up 3 homers as the Rays dropped the series.

Record: 41-49. Next week: An off-day before a homestand that brings the Yankees and Cleveland each in for 3 games before we hit the All-Star break. Also the Amateur Draft where we'll have the 18th overall pick.

Players of the Week:

AL: Evan Carter (TEX) 14-25, 4 HR, 14 RBI. He did much of that damage against us, including a 2 HR, 5 RBI game in the series finale.

NL: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA) 14-25, 2 HR, 6 RBI.

July 8-14, 2024
 

July 8: Off Day.

July 9: vs NY Yankees 5-1 W. WP-Littell (5-4, 6.2 4 1 1 3 2). B.Lowe and Pinto had 2-run singles and Littell pitched well.

July 10: vs NY Yankees 14-2 W. WP-Olson (1-0). Starter-Bradley (4.2 0 1 1 4 3). HR-Caminero (10), Paredes (22), J.Lowe (7), Y.Diaz (8), Torkelson (2). Paredes knocked in 4 and Yandy 3 as the Rays romped. The only one who couldn't celebrate that loud was Taj, who couldn't make it through the 5th and pick up an easy win - he fell one out short at 103 pitches with some control issues.

July 11: vs NY Yankees 3-6 L. LP-Baz (2-3, 4.2 9 6 6 1 7). HR-Caminero 2 (12), Paredes (23). Baz got his Ks but was hit hard otherwise as the Rays couldn't quite complete the sweep.

July 12: vs Cleveland 6-5 W. WP-Civale (7-6, 6 5 1 1 1 4). S-Fairbanks (16). HR-Y.Diaz (9). Rays took care of the AL-best (59-34 coming in) Guardians although they almost blew a 6-1 lead after 7. Fairbanks got the shakiest of saves, walking 3 (and whiffing 3) in the 9th. The Yandyssaince continued as he had 3 more hits including a homer.

Transaction: Lefty Andrew Saalfrank, whom we claimed on waivers last month and then got hurt (I think I failed to mention this at the time) was activated and Reese Olson sent to Durham.

July 13: vs Cleveland 3-1 W. WP-Pepiot (8-6, 8 2 0 0 3 6). S-Adam (5). HR-Paredes (24). Pepiot pitched a career-high 8 shutout innings and Paredes knocked in all 3 runs on a 2-run homer and sac fly.

Transaction: Jose Siri was activated and Jonny DeLuca was optioned to Durham.

July 14: vs Cleveland 2-4 L. LP-Kelly (3-1). Starter-Littell (5.2 4 1 1 4 4). HR-Pinto (8). For the umpteenth time the Rays had a chance to sweep and lost the third game with Cleavinger giving up a 3-run homer in the 7th with two of Kelly's runners aboard to lose it.

Record: 45-51. Slowly getting better but still well off the playoff pace. Next week: The All-Star break, after which we resume on Friday in New York against the Yankees, where we'll play a 4-game wraparound series including the following Monday.

Players of the Week:

AL: Cal Raleigh (SEA), 6-15, 5 HR, 11 RBI.
NL: Austin Riley (ATL), 10-23, 4 HR, 9 RBI.

Meanwhile our heavy-hitting catching prospect Dominic Keegan was named SL Player of the Week after going 9-15 with 3 HR and 6 RBI for AA Montgomery.

Also one of our DSL squads played this epic game:

https://i.imgur.com/cIEr29P.png

Next post: The 2024 Amateur Draft.

The 2024 Amateur Draft
 

Here's how the first round went across MLB for those interested:

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

Kansas City always takes the Gator (see Jackson Kowar & Brady Singer).

Meanwhile we were thrilled to get a potential frontline starter in Hagen Smith at #18. Here's how our draft went:

https://i.imgur.com/eP50Sdw.png

Smith has 75/55/50 potential and we'll be assigning him to Low-A Charleston to see how he fares in the pros. With the new complex league schedules, most of these guys won't play until 2025. Notes on some other picks:

Fountain: LSU commit with 75 power and 50 contact potential. Listed as a 3B, he'll probably end up at 1B since the glove looks poor.

Shields: Here's hoping he's half as good as former Rays stalwart starter James. A high-school starter with some polish and 70 stuff and 60 control potential but could be prone to the longball with 45 HRA movement.

Russell: A lefty high school starter with a similar profile to Shields but only 65 stuff potential.

Davila: A high school OF with broad-based potential but none of it off the charts.

Also we drafted some bloodlines in the 8th round with Noah Sheffield, son of Gary, and in the 10th with Max McGwire, son of Mark. Both play their dads' positions as youngsters, SS and 1B respectively.

The 2024 All-Star Break
 

The teams:

Selected to play for the American League All-Stars are:

SP Tyler Anderson (LAA) - 5-7, 4.15 ERA, 95.1 IP, 1.31 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 1.4 WAR
SP Luis Castillo (SEA) - 9-6, 3.47 ERA, 111.2 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 2.5 WAR (Injured)
SP Cristian Javier (HOU) - 6-2, 2.93 ERA, 83.0 IP, 1.29 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 1.3 WAR
SP Carlos Rodón (NYY) - 6-5, 2.99 ERA, 96.1 IP, 1.31 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 1.5 WAR
SP Max Scherzer (TEX) - 6-2, 2.51 ERA, 68.0 IP, 0.78 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 1.8 WAR
SP Tarik Skubal (DET) - 9-3, 3.00 ERA, 105.0 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 3.0 WAR
SP Framber Valdez (HOU)* - 5-4, 3.49 ERA, 87.2 IP, 1.36 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 1.7 WAR
SP Bruce Zimmermann (BAL) - 6-2, 2.58 ERA, 69.2 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 2.1 WAR
RP Yennier Cano (BAL) - 3-3, 2.47 ERA, 62.0 IP, 1.26 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 0.7 WAR
RP Emmanuel Clase (CLE)* - 2-3, 17 SV, 2.35 ERA, 38.1 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 0.8 WAR
RP Erick Fedde (CWS) - 4-3, 3.52 ERA, 79.1 IP, 1.29 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 1.2 WAR
RP Clay Holmes (NYY) - 4-1, 12 SV, 1.37 ERA, 39.1 IP, 1.40 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 0.5 WAR
RP Michael Lorenzen (TEX) - 7-1, 3.86 ERA, 60.2 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 0.9 WAR
CL Jordan Romano (TOR) - 3-1, 17 SV, 1.60 ERA, 33.2 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 11.0 K/9, 1.4 WAR
C Danny Jansen (TOR) - .240/.338/.567, 208 AB, 19 HR, 133 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
C Ryan Jeffers (MIN)* - .238/.341/.440, 277 AB, 15 HR, 110 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
C Bo Naylor (CLE) - .284/.405/.528, 250 AB, 14 HR, 4 SB, 150 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
C Salvador Perez (KC)* - .316/.367/.604, 225 AB, 16 HR, 149 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
C Cal Raleigh (SEA) - .264/.342/.545, 277 AB, 24 HR, 133 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
C Adley Rutschman (BAL) - .305/.357/.483, 331 AB, 14 HR, 123 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
1B Ryan O'Hearn (BAL) - .328/.375/.574, 305 AB, 19 HR, 4 SB, 149 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
2B Jose Altuve (HOU)* - .289/.369/.531, 356 AB, 20 HR, 10 SB, 137 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
2B Jackson Holliday (BAL) - .297/.388/.561, 269 AB, 16 HR, 25 SB, 150 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
3B Rafael Devers (BOS) - .279/.352/.584, 315 AB, 22 HR, 2 SB, 138 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
3B Aledmys Diaz (OAK) - .245/.303/.393, 163 AB, 4 HR, 88 wRC+, 0.5 WAR
3B Isaac Paredes (TB) - .283/.364/.569, 332 AB, 24 HR, 144 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
3B Jose Ramirez (CLE)* - .298/.364/.565, 356 AB, 20 HR, 9 SB, 142 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
3B Justin Turner (TOR) - .310/.383/.506, 326 AB, 14 HR, 138 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
SS Gunnar Henderson (BAL)* - .285/.370/.575, 355 AB, 25 HR, 16 SB, 145 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
LF Tyler O'Neill (BOS)* - .304/.390/.612, 312 AB, 27 HR, 9 SB, 154 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
CF Luis Robert Jr. (CWS)* - .288/.330/.572, 257 AB, 19 HR, 7 SB, 131 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
CF George Springer (TOR) - .289/.387/.537, 311 AB, 20 HR, 13 SB, 146 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
RF Josh Naylor (CLE)* - .310/.370/.595, 348 AB, 24 HR, 6 SB, 149 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
RF Juan Soto (NYY)* - .303/.432/.541, 327 AB, 21 HR, 3 SB, 164 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
RF Kyle Tucker (HOU) - .303/.403/.614, 350 AB, 30 HR, 13 SB, 167 wRC+, 4.6 WAR


The National League All-Stars will have these players on their roster:

SP Gordon Graceffo (STL) - 4-3, 3.86 ERA, 67.2 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 0.7 WAR
SP Derek Holland (SF) - 7-2, 1.90 ERA, 66.1 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 2.2 WAR
SP Nick Lodolo (CIN) - 6-4, 4.16 ERA, 88.2 IP, 1.17 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 1.8 WAR
SP Paul Skenes (PIT) - 5-3, 2.36 ERA, 76.1 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 2.7 WAR
SP Blake Snell (SF) - 3-4, 4.39 ERA, 67.2 IP, 1.49 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 1.2 WAR
SP Justin Steele (CHC)* - 7-3, 2.87 ERA, 100.1 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.3 WAR
SP Zack Wheeler (PHI) - 4-5, 2.64 ERA, 99.0 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.3 WAR
RP David Bednar (PIT) - 2-4, 6 SV, 5.08 ERA, 33.2 IP, 1.37 WHIP, 11.8 K/9, 0.3 WAR
RP Enyel De Los Santos (SD) - 0-1, 1.66 ERA, 48.2 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 1.1 WAR
RP Camilo Doval (SF)* - 4-1, 5 SV, 2.91 ERA, 46.1 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 0.6 WAR
RP Spencer Howard (SF) - 8-1, 1.56 ERA, 52.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 0.6 WAR
CL Cal Quantrill (COL) - 4-4, 4.65 ERA, 71.2 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, -0.1 WAR
CL Paul Sewald (AZ) - 4-0, 19 SV, 1.99 ERA, 31.2 IP, 0.73 WHIP, 11.9 K/9, 1.4 WAR
C William Contreras (MIL) - .311/.386/.516, 318 AB, 12 HR, 2 SB, 142 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
C Gabriel Moreno (AZ) - .310/.389/.455, 268 AB, 5 HR, 9 SB, 127 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
C J.T. Realmuto (PHI) - .254/.308/.449, 283 AB, 12 HR, 8 SB, 97 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
C Will Smith (LAD)* - .330/.404/.537, 294 AB, 12 HR, 149 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
1B Pete Alonso (NYM) - .263/.344/.604, 346 AB, 34 HR, 7 SB, 148 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
1B Freddie Freeman (LAD)* - .334/.435/.527, 368 AB, 13 HR, 11 SB, 159 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
1B Christian Walker (AZ) - .289/.401/.506, 332 AB, 19 HR, 8 SB, 144 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
1B Patrick Wisdom (CHC) - .245/.354/.597, 216 AB, 22 HR, 3 SB, 147 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
2B Ozzie Albies (ATL)* - .298/.362/.556, 329 AB, 17 HR, 9 SB, 141 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
2B Luis Garcia (WSH) - .262/.301/.392, 309 AB, 6 HR, 9 SB, 81 wRC+, 0.6 WAR
3B Alec Bohm (PHI)* - .295/.365/.456, 329 AB, 8 HR, 3 SB, 119 wRC+, 2.0 WAR
3B Max Muncy (LAD) - .248/.348/.569, 306 AB, 28 HR, 137 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
SS Willy Adames (MIL)* - .301/.394/.594, 342 AB, 24 HR, 8 SB, 162 wRC+, 4.9 WAR
SS Mookie Betts (LAD)* - .325/.443/.619, 323 AB, 20 HR, 17 SB, 180 wRC+, 5.2 WAR
SS Francisco Lindor (NYM) - .245/.328/.459, 355 AB, 20 HR, 16 SB, 112 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
LF Marcell Ozuna (ATL) - .295/.346/.606, 373 AB, 33 HR, 146 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
LF Jurickson Profar (SD) - .294/.404/.474, 272 AB, 9 HR, 9 SB, 142 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
LF Christian Yelich (MIL)* - .296/.395/.509, 287 AB, 17 HR, 15 SB, 144 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA) - .284/.372/.518, 278 AB, 16 HR, 14 SB, 136 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
CF Michael Harris II (ATL)* - .332/.370/.540, 298 AB, 12 HR, 18 SB, 141 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
RF Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) - .265/.341/.535, 359 AB, 26 HR, 13 SB, 132 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
DH Shohei Ohtani (LAD)* - .282/.384/.559, 372 AB, 24 HR, 17 SB, 147 wRC+, 3.5 WAR (Injured)

Paredes turns out to be our only representative, which isn't surprising. What was a bit surprising is that Xavier Isaac was our only selection to the Futures Game with Carson Williams being snubbed.

The Derby:

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

No invite for Isaac despite his 24 HR, although that would have only equaled the lowest total among the participants, which was Josh Naylor's. And wouldn't you know, he won the thing.

Speaking of Derby participants, Pete Alonso signed a 4/97 extension with the Mets shortly before the break.

The game:

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

Isaac was 0-2.

July 15-21, 2024
 

Transaction: We signed OF Alex Verdugo to a minor league deal after he was let go by the Yankees, passing through waivers. He was hittiing 242/347/373 with New York so he was getting on base but not doing much else. He did go 7-12 with 3 HR and 6 RBI in his first 3 games with the Bulls so we know AAA isn't a challenge. He could be up soon.

Also a couple of our long-lost pitchers are close to being back with Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs embarking on rehab assignments with Durham. Rasmussen may be used as a multi-inning guy in the pen when he returns given that he's had issues staying healthy as a starter.

July 15-18: Off for the All-Star break.

July 19: at NY Yankees 1-7 L. LP-Baz (2-4, 5.2 8 4 4 1 2). It's possible Baz loses his rotation spot to Springs as he's struggled since coming back with a 6.26 ERA including today's rough outing.

July 20: at NY Yankees 10-2 W. WP-Bradley (5-2, 6 4 2 2 1 7). HR-Paredes 3 (27), B.Lowe 2 (9). What a game for Isaac Paredes, who if anything is getting hotter instead of slowing down. The third-sacker was 4-5 with 3 homers (tying the team single-game record), a double and 7 RBI. Normally Brandon Lowe's 2-homer game would be the talk of the day but he was an afterthought compared to Isaac.

July 21: at NY Yankees 5-4 W. WP-Poche (1-3). S-Fairbanks (17). Starter-Civale (4.1 7 4 4 0 5). HR-Y.Diaz (10). Perhaps the most satisfying win of the year after the Rays found themselves down 4-0 in the first when Civale yielded a pair of 2-run homers and it looked like a long day at Yankee Stadium. But Tampa Bay fought back behind Spencer Torkelson, who had his best day as a Ray with a 2-run double to get them within 4-3 and after Yandy's solo homer in the 7th tied it Tork delivered an RBI single in the 8th to win it.

Record: 47-52. They've now won three straight series and have inched within 5 games of .500. They're 4 1/2 out of the third wild card with several teams between them and that spot so the playoffs are still a long shot but a winning record is still possible with the returning pitchers. Next week: One more in the Bronx with the Yankees then 3 in Toronto before returning to the Trop for 3 with Cincinnati.

Players of the (Abbreviated) Week:

AL: Kyle Tucker (HOU), 7-15, 4 HR, 10 RBI (that's an impressive 3 games). Paredes was 6-11 with the 3 HR and 7 RBI he had in the finale.
NL: Thairo Estrada (SF), 8-12, 2 HR, 7 RBI.

Minor league note: First-round pick Hagen Smith made his pro debut with Class-A Charleston and it was a tough one as he put up a 3.1 6 5 5 4 5 line with a pair of homers allowed.

July 22-28, 2024
 

July 22: at NY Yankees 3-2 W. WP-Pepiot (9-6, 6 5 2 2 1 5). S-Fairbanks (18). HR-P.Meadows (2/6). Rays ended up taking 3 of 4 in the Bronx as Meadows was 3-4 with a 2-run homer and Yandy was 3-4 with the other ribbie.

Transaction: Curtis Mead was sent back to Durham again and Alex Verdugo had his contract purchased as we'll see if the veteran OF can give us a boost.

July 23: at Toronto 8-9 L. LP-Littell (5-5, 0 6 7 7 1 0). HR-Torkelson (3). You score 5 runs in the top of the 1st you have to feel pretty good about things but then Littell couldn't get anyone out and Toronto answered with 8 in the bottom of the inning. Consequently a big game from Tork was wasted as he had an RBI double in that first and a 3-run homer to get them within one.

July 24: at Toronto 6-9 L. LP-Baz (2-5, 4.1 8 7 6 1 4, 3 HR). HR-Pinto (9), Caballero (5). Caballero had a monster game with two doubles, a homer and 3 RBI but Baz's woes in the rotation continued and the Rays couldn't outscore their pitching once again.

Transaction: After the game we decided we've seen enough of Baz for now and he was sent to Durham with Jacob Lopez back up until we need to replace Baz in the rotation with either Drew Rasmussen or Jeffrey Springs.

July 25: at Toronto 1-4 L. LP-Bradley (5-3, 4.1 9 3 3 1 7). The pitching was a little better but the offense was non-existent as the Rays were swept north of the border to kill whatever momentum they had going after the successful series in New York.

July 26: vs Cincinnati 8-3 W. WP-Civale (8-6, 6 6 3 3 1 7). S-J.Lopez (1). HR-Verdugo (1), Y.Diaz 2 (12), Torkelson (4). Home cooking was good for Tampa Bay as Verdugo's first Rays hit was a 3-run blast and Yandy homered twice, driving in 4 and raising his BA over .280 as he has to be a contender for AL Batter of the Month. Lopez pitched 3 perfect innings for the save.

Transaction: We claimed P Luis Contreras on waivers from Arizona. He's got a big arm and is rated 65/50/45. Our previous waiver claim Andrew Saalfrank was optioned to Durham to make room. Also we made a trade:

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

This was a deal offered to us to by Arizona. Armstrong had lost his spot in our pen and was at Durham and while Curet has a live enough arm that he was added to the 40-man last winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, he struggled this year and doesn't project that well. The lure for us is Hitt, a lefty who was Arizona's 4th round pick last year out of the University of Alabama and who has 50/60/50 potential as a starter. Mabrey is a reliever who doesn't look too special.

July 27: vs Cincinnati 7-6 W. WP-Fairbanks (2-4). Starter-Pepiot (5 4 3 3 2 6). Yandy had a bases-clearing double and Pinto drove in 3 as they lost a 5-3 lead in the 8th but came back to win it late.

July 28: vs Cincinnati 0-6 L. LP-Littell (5-6, 5 5 3 3 3 1). For the umpteenth time this season the Rays won the first two games of a series but couldn't complete the sweep as the bats went to sleep against the Reds' Connor Overton. They did put some men on as B.Lowe and Paredes both left 7 on base.

Record: 50-56. Next week: An off-day, Miami visits for 2, another off-day and then we head to Houston for 3 games.

Not sure how active we'll be at the deadline as we made some trades (Eflin, Arozarena, Rosario) to clear out salary already but I'm not quite ready to part with potential $10M guys like Yandy and B.Lowe just yet. Nor do I want to part with Paredes, who's been our best player this year. Might listen on Civale, who's progged for $7M next year.

Players of the Week:

AL: Tyler O'Neill (BOS), 11-26, 4 HR, 12 RBI
NL: Austin Riley (ATL), 12-25, 5 HR, 13 RBI (including a 3-HR game against the Mets)

July 29-August 4, 2024
 

July 29: Off Day.

July 30: vs Miami 1-7 L. LP-Bradley (5-4, 5 3 3 3 3 3). Rays were held to five hits on a tough night.

So we did make a move at the deadline, trading away a starter with two more coming back:

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

Civale was going to start to get expensive next year and his numbers since joining the team weren't screaming must-keep, although in fairness he has pitched well of late. In exchange we got a couple of intriguing guys in Loftin, who provides a RH bat who can play all over the place and hit some (291/358/363 in 182 AB for the Royals). His versatility fits our club DNA. And Cross was once a more sought-after prospect after being KC's first pick in 2022 but he's struggled some in the minors. His potential is still good: 50 contact, 65 gap, 55 power, 70 stealing ability and 60 in RF. Not a stud but a potentially very solid guy. The other guy we threw in, Florian, isn't anything worth noting.

With the moves we welcome back Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs from their rehab assignments, taking the place of the traded Civale while Jacob Lopez is returned to Durham. Also in a big bit of news to make room for Loftin we reluctantly sent down Junior Caminero. The much-ballyhooed rookie hit quite well when called up in May but has gone ice cold over the last couple of months, hitting only .208 since June 1 with a .258 OBP. There were 8 homers mixed in there but it wasn't enough. We'll give him a month at Durham and bring him back when rosters expand.

July 31: vs Miami 6-2 W. WP-Contreras (1-0). Starter-Rasmussen (5 4 2 2 1 8). HR-B.Lowe (10). Rasmussen was excellent in his first start back after giving up a 2-run homer in the opening frame. And he was amply supported (albeit after he left) by Brandon Lowe, who drove in 5 including a grand slam in a 5-run 6th.

August 1: Off-Day.

August 2: at Houston 6-4 W. WP-Kelly (4-1). S-Fairbanks (19). Starter-Pepiot (6 5 3 3 1 7, 3 HR). HR-Torkelson (5). Trailing 3-0 heading into the 8th the Rays rallied for another 5-spot keyed by a slam, this time from Tork. Nick Loftin had 3 hits and 2 steals in his first Rays start.

August 3: at Houston 3-6 L. LP-Maton (3-3). Starter-Littell (6 5 2 2 1 6). This was a 2-2 game into the 7th before Maton was mashed for four runs. Yandy continued his tear, going 3-5 with a double and an RBI to bring his AVG up to .287.

August 4: at Houston 8-7 W. WP-Contreras (2-0). S-Fairbanks (20). Starter-Springs (4 6 2 2 2 5). Another big comeback win as they scored 4 times in the 9th off Houston closer Josh Hader with Jose Siri's bases-clearing double the winning blow. Springs was pretty good in his return but something is up with his stamina - although he's rated 45 he was in the red on pitch #60, which could be a real issue.

Record: 53-58. Next week: Yet another off-day (our third in eight days) then 3 in St. Louis before returning home for 3 against the Orioles.

Players of the Month (July):

AL Batter: Evan Carter (TEX), .378-10-32 with 12 walks.
NL Batter: Austin Riley (ATL), .389-9-25 with 30 runs.
AL Pitcher: Aaron Civale (KC but really us), 4-0, 3.04
NL Pitcher: Justin Steele (CHI), 5-1, 2.09
AL Rookie: Carter
NL Rookie: Jordan Lawlar (ARI), .329-5-17 although he tore his groin and is now out 5-6 weeks

Players of the Week:

AL: JD Martinez (TOR), 9-25, 4 HR, 11 RBI
NL: Jordan Lawlar (ARI), 9-10, 2 HR, 4 RBI before tearing the groin

Seeing JD Martinez on Toronto probably has you wondering about the big deals at the deadline so here are the significant players who changed teams:

Bobby Miller (LAD to TEX)
Tyler O'Neill (BOS to SEA)
Kenley Jansen (BOS to NYY)
Jesus Luzardo (MIA to BAL)
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL to MIA) yes, they were traded for each other
JD Davis (OAK to MIN)
Nick Pivetta (BOS to MIL)
David Bednar (PIT to CLE)
Paul Goldschmidt (STL to NYY)
Orelvis Martinez (TOR to NYM)
JD Martinez (NYM to TOR)
Jonathan India (CIN to BAL)
Triston McKenzie (CLE to SF)
Walker Buehler (LAD to ATL)
Aroldis Chapman (PIT to SEA)

August 5-11, 2024
 

Transaction: Tork goes on the 10-day IL with a bone bruise in his wrist and will be back when his time is up, Curtis Mead is called up for his third (fourth?) chance.

August 5: Off Day.

August 6: at St. Louis 2-4 L. LP-Bradley (5-5, 5 7 4 4 3 4). HR-Pinto (10). Not much to say about this one, Rays only had 4 hits.

August 7: at St. Louis 6-12 L. LP-Rasmussen (0-1, 3.2 7 6 6 3 3). HR-Verdugo (2/6). This one was U-G-L-Y as Ras was pounded in his second start back. Verudgo's pinch-slam in the 8th made the final only slightly more respectable.

August 8: at St. Louis 19-9 W. WP-Pepiot (10-6, 5.1 2 0 0 4 6). HR-B.Lowe (11), Campusano (2/4), Palacios (6), Mead 2 (5), J.Lowe (8). A very silly game that saw the Rays go up 15-0 in the 3rd. It was 19-3 in the 9th before Jason Adam gave up 6 runs just trying to get the game over. B.Lowe knocked in 5 while J.Lowe and Palacios brought home 3. Pepiot took over the AL wins lead with 10.

August 9: vs Baltimore 3-2 W (10). WP-Fairbanks (3-4). Starter-Littell (6 8 0 0 1 6). HR-Y.Diaz (13). Rays lost a 2-0 lead in the 8th but still pulled out the win when Pinto singled in the ghost runner Siri (who earlier doubled and tripled).

August 10: vs Baltimore 1-10 L. LP-Springs (0-1, 4.2 5 4 4 5 2, 4 HR). Turns out the return of Rasmussen and Springs has not been a panacea as the latter coughed up 4 solo homers and was lucky not to have allowed more runs after walking 5. The bullpen did, though.

August 11: vs Baltimore 3-0 W. WP-Adam (2-4). S-Fairbanks (21). Starter-Bradley (6 3 0 0 2 7). HR-Paredes (28). A nice game as Taj was great and they scored 3 in the 7th to win with Pinto's RBI double the key hit.

Record: 56-61. Next week: The homestand continues with Houston in for 3, a day off, and then Arizona visits for 3.

Players of the Week:

AL: Carlos Correa (MIN), 10-23, 4 HR, 12 RBI
NL: Michael Harris II (ATL), 12-24, 5 HR, 11 RBI

News from the farm: A couple of weeks back I wrote that first-round pick Hagen Smith had a rough pro debut. Since then he's been on fire, fanning 32 in 23.2 IP over four starts with only 7 runs allowed including an 8 1 1 1 1 12 gem in his last outing. As a result he's been bumped up to High-A Bowling Green and I'm beginning to wonder if he'll be able to help the big club next season.

August 12-18, 2024
 

August 12: vs Houston 0-1 L (10). LP-Maton (3-4). Starter-Rasmussen (6 3 0 0 1 4). Bats only managed three hits in 10 innings, wasting Ras's best start since returning.

August 13: vs Houston 1-7 L. LP-Pepiot (10-7, 4 9 5 5 1 4). An ugly loss with only Mead's 3-3 with the lone RBI a bright spot.

August 14: vs Houston 0-10 L. LP-Littell (5-7, 7 5 2 2 1 7). It was 2-0 game after 7 before the Astros unloaded on the pen, but with the offense AWOL again (4 hits) it didn't matter.

August 15: Off Day.

Transaction: The Alex Verdugo era is over in Tampa Bay as he was apparently released by the Yankees for a reason, demonstrated by his pathetic 140/271/260 line with us in 50 AB. Someone had to go as Spencer Torkelson was activated off the IL.

August 16: vs Arizona 0-3 L. LP-Springs (0-2, 6 5 3 3 1 8). If you thought the offense was bad in the Houston series (and it was) tonight they were no-hit by Eduardo Rodriguez until Mead led off the 8th with a single, their only knock of the night.

August 17: vs Arizona 5-4 W (11). WP-Vasquez (1-1). Starter-Bradley (5 3 2 2 5 3). Finally some runs and finally a win, although they only scored twice through 9 before using the Manfred Man to get some offense going in extras. Yandy had a pair of RBI singles and Paredes' RBI double won it.

August 18: vs Arizona 2-3 L. LP-Poche (1-4). Starter-Rasmussen (5 4 0 0 2 4). Ras was great again and they had a 2-0 lead through 7 before Kelly gave up a 2-run homer in the 8th and Poche allowed his 16th(!) HR in 43 IP to lose it. After the game he was sent to Durham and Jacob Lopez was recalled.

Also the team went the entire week without homering.

Record: 57-66. Next week: We head to the west coast for 4 in Oakland and 3 in LA against the Dodgers with Friday's tentative pitching matchup Ryan Pepiot vs Tyler Glasnow as we get to see who won the trade.

Players of the Week:

AL: Gunnar Henderson (BAL), 10-21, 3 HR, 9 RBI
NL: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (CIN), 9-17, 1 HR, 7 RBI

August 19-25, 2024
 

Transaction: Hoping to shore up our leaky defense some, Taylor Walls got the call from Durham to play SS while Nick Loftin, who struggled after coming over from the Royals, was sent to Durham.

August 19: at Oakland 3-5 L. LP-Pepiot (10-8, 6 6 4 4 1 7). HR-B.Lowe (12). Pepiot is having a bad second half, allowing 3 homers today and 11 in his last 5 starts.

August 20: at Oakland 9-0 W. WP-Littell (6-7, 9 2 0 0 2 5). HR-Campusano (3/5), Paredes (29). On the other hand Littell has been our best pitcher of late and today he threw the first complete game and shutout of the season on 101 pitches. He had plenty of support with battery mate Campusano going 4-4 with a homer and 4 RBI.

August 21: at Oakland 2-5 L. LP-Springs (0-3, 4 7 5 5 0 5). Getting Springs back has been far from a panacea as he's now 0-3, 6.75 since returning.

August 22: at Oakland 5-4 W. WP-Bradley (6-5, 7 3 1 1 0 7). HR-P.Meadows (3/7), J.Lowe (9). Taj has also been on a roll of late and lowered his ERA to 3.22 with today's gem. Fairbanks gave up 3 runs in the 9th to make it way too interesting.

August 23: at LA Dodgers 3-4 L. LP-Rasmussen (0-2, 5.1 5 4 4 1 2). HR-Walls (1). Ras gave up 4 in the first two innings and although he settled down the damage was done.

August 24: at LA Dodgers 6-10 L. LP-Pepiot (10-9, 2.2 6 6 6 3 2). HR-B.Lowe (13), Pinto (11), Paredes (30). Pepiot's woes continued with 3 more homers allowed and his much-ballyhooed showdown with Tyler Glasnow was a dud as Glas was gone after 4 innings himself. Shohei Ohtani homered 3 times and drove in 6 for LA.

August 25: at LA Dodgers 2-4 L. LP-Littell (6-8, 6 5 3 3 1 6). HR-Paredes (31), Siri (8). The Rays continue to circle the drain. About a month ago these two teams had essentially the same record but since then the Dodgers have finally gotten their act together and are now 67-64 and into the 3rd NL wild card.

Record: 59-71. Next week: 3 in Seattle and then a travel day to return home to play 3 against San Diego.

Players of the Week:

AL: Trayce Thompson (TOR): 7-11, 3 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Sean Murphy (ATL): 9-17, 4 HR, 10 RBI

August 26-September 1, 2024
 

August 26: at Seattle 2-6 L. LP-Springs (0-4, 4.2 6 3 3 2 7). Another mediocre outing for both Springs and the offense, although Yandy pulled his weight going 3-4 with both RBI.

Transaction: Poor Taylor Walls. Finally called up to play SS most ever day after fighting back from injury to start the year and now he tears his labrum, finishing his 2024. Nick Loftin is back up from Durham.

August 27: at Seattle 4-9 L. LP-Adam (2-5). Starter-Bradley (4 7 4 4 1 2, 3 HR). Rays came back to tie it at 4 in the 7th only for the bullpen to allow 5 runs. Loftin was 3-4 with an RBI double in his return from the minors.

Transaction: Finally had it with Spencer Torkelson, who's hit 185/256/331 since the trade so he's down to Durham and back up is Jonathan Aranda to DH against righties. Aranda hit 307/404/623 with the Bulls with 19 HR in 215 AB.

August 28: at Seattle 8-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (1-2, 6.2 4 1 1 1 9). HR-J.Lowe (10), Paredes (32), B.Lowe (14), Aranda (4), Y.Diaz (14). Finally a win as they put it all together today with Ras's best start since coming back and five homers, including one from the just-recalled Aranda.

August 29: Off-Day.

August 30: vs San Diego 6-1 W. WP-J.Lopez (1-0). Starter-Pepiot (4.2 3 1 1 2 6). HR-B.Lowe (15). Another quality game. I quick-played this one and the AI took out Pepiot one out short of a win at 81 pitches. The Lowes knocked in 5 (Brandon 3, Josh 2).

August 31: vs San Diego 7-5 W. WP-Contreras (3-0). S-Fairbanks (22). Starter-Littell (5 8 5 5 1 5). HR-Y.Diaz (15). Rays were down 5-3 in the 6th before Yandy's 3-run homer won it for them. Luis Campusano was 3-4 with an RBI against his old team.

Transaction: September Roster expansion saw the recalls of Junior Caminero and reliever Nic Enright, acquired from Cleveland back in June for Harold Ramirez. Caminero will be inserted into the lineup to see what he can do.

September 1: vs San Diego 2-3 L. LP-Adam (2-6). Starter-Springs (5.1 7 0 0 2 3). HR-Paredes (33). Isaac's 2-run homer in the 6th tied it at 2 but Adam once again gave it right back.

Record: 62-74. Next week: Minnesota visits the Trop for 4 before we decamp to Baltimore for 3.

Players of the Month:

AL Batter: Trevor Story (BOS), .372-8-21
NL Batter: Marcell Ozuna (ATL), .281-14-38 (Ozuna leads MLB with 51 HR)
AL Pitcher: Jack Neely (NY), 4-0, 2.16, 33 K
NL Pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI), 4-1, 0.85, 39 K
AL Rookie: Marcelo Mayer (BOS), .347-7-21
NL Rookie: Adael Amador (COL), .319-7-20

Players of the Week:

AL: Jose Altuve (HOU), 18-26(!), 1 HR, 9 RBI
NL: Kris Bryant (COL), 11-24, 3 HR, 8 RBI

Also our star-in-the-making Carson Williams was again named SL Player of the Week, going 9-22 with 3 HR and 15 RBI for Montgomery. He's hit 302/391/598 for the Biscuits with a 12.1 ZR at SS and earned a promotion to Durham for the rest of the season. Penciling him in as our SS next season.

MLB Standings as we hit the final month:

https://i.imgur.com/DR22Wev.png

September 2-8, 2024
 

September 2: vs Minnesota 7-6 W. WP-Maton (4-4). S-Fairbanks (23). Starter-Bradley (4 4 3 3 3 4). HR-Caminero (13). Parker Meadows had a nice game, going 2-3 with a walk, two steals, and two RBI including the winner in the 7th.

September 3: vs Minnesota 6-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (2-2, 6 4 1 1 3 7). S-Maton (2). HR-Caminero (14), Siri (9), Pinto (12). Junior had himself a game, going 3-4 with a couple of RBI including his second homer in as many games. Unfortunately Josh Lowe broke his thumb and will be out 3-4 weeks.

Transaction: J.Lowe goes on the IL and Jonny DeLuca comes back up from Durham.

September 4: vs Minnesota 3-1 W. WP-Contreras (4-0). S-Fairbanks (24). Starter-Pepiot (5 3 1 1 1 9). Jonny DeLuca was the hero in his first game back, hitting a bases-clearing double in the 8th to provide the margin of victory.

September 5: vs Minnesota 9-2 W. WP-Littell (7-8, 5.2 5 2 2 0 5). DeLuca had a double and two more RBI and Parker Meadows broke it open with a bases-clearing double as the Rays actually swept a series! Certainly for the first time since I took over in May and perhaps all season.

September 6: at Baltimore 6-5 W. WP-Springs (1-4, 6 3 2 2 3 7). S-Fairbanks (25). HR-Paredes (34), Aranda (5). Jeffrey Springs picked up his first win in 17 months while Aranda was 3-4 with a homer and 2 RBI as the Rays have an honest-to-goodness win streak going at 5 and have taken 8 of 9 overall. A bit too little, too late but enjoyable nonetheless.

September 7: at Baltimore 9-4 W. WP-Enright (1-0). S-K.Kelly (1). Starter-Bradley (4.1 5 4 2 1 4). HR-Campusano (4/6), B.Lowe (16), Caminero (15). That's 6 straight for Tampa Bay as Caminero has stayed red-hot since his recall with 3 hits and his 3rd homer of the week and Diaz, Aranda and B.Lowe each drove in a pair.

September 8: at Baltimore 6-10 L. LP-Rasmussen (2-3, 3 8 6 6 1 3). HR-Caminero (16). Ras and the pen just didn't have it today as the Rays missed out on a perfect week and saw their 6-game win streak snapped. Caminero did complete a 4-homer week though.

Record: 68-75. No shot at the playoffs, but if they stay hot they can make a run at. 500. Next week: They'll have to get it done on the road with 3 in Philly followed by 4 in Cleveland.

Players of the Week:

AL: This guy:

https://i.imgur.com/P1KL13C.png

NL: Marcell Ozuna (ATL), 8-21, 5 HR, 6 RBI. Ozuna's ridiculous season continues as he has 56 HR and 149 RBI with three weeks still to go.

September 9-15, 2024
 

September 9: at Philadelphia 5-3 W. WP-Pepiot (11-9, 6 6 3 3 2 5). S-Fairbanks (26). HR-Siri (10). Paredes was 3-3 with 3 RBI as the Rays' good run continues.

September 10: at Philadelphia 6-4 W. WP-Littell (8-8, 5.2 3 3 3 3 2). S-Maton (3). HR-Siri 2 (12), DeLuca (2). Siri homered twice and knocked in 3 while DeLuca homered and drove in the other 3 as the Rays won again.

September 11: at Philadelphia 1-2 L. LP-Maton (4-5). Starter-Springs (5.2 8 1 1 0 2). Rays drop a heartbreaker when Philly scores in the 8th off Maton.

September 12: at Cleveland 1-3 L. LP-Bradley (6-6, 6.2 5 2 2 2 3). HR-Y.Diaz (16). Tough night as the offense only managed three hits.

September 13: at Cleveland 7-3 W (10). WP-Cleavinger (6-1). Starter-Rasmussen (7 6 2 2 0 4). Loftin's pinch-RBI double in the 9th tied it up and 4 in the 10th with DeLuca's RBI single the winner.

September 14: at Cleveland 3-4 L. LP-Pepiot (11-10, 6.1 5 4 4 2 7). HR-Palacios (7), Loftin (1/3). Rays had a 3-2 lead in this one but Pepiot's bugaboo the homer came back to haunt him when he gave one up in the 7th to lose it, his 32nd allowed in 159 IP this year. Nick Loftin had his first Rays homer, a 2-run shot, to put them ahead.

September 15: at Cleveland 0-2 L. LP-Littell (8-9, 6.1 3 1 1 0 3). It was scoreless before the Guardians broke through for 2 in the 7th. Another tough night for the bats with only 4 hits.

Record: 71-79. Next week: The final homestand of the year with Monday off before 3 against Boston and 3 vs Toronto.

Players of the Week:

AL: Brent Rooker (OAK), 7-13, 3 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Matt Olson (ATL), 9-19, 2 HR, 3 RBI

September 16-22, 2024
 

September 16: Off-Day.

September 17: vs Boston 13-4 W. WP-Springs (2-4, 6 3 3 3 4 6). HR-Siri (13), Pinto (13), Caballero (6), Caminero (17). Caminero was 4-5 with the homer and 5 RBI, Mead & Pinto knocked in 3, and Paredes was 3-3 with 4 runs scored in the rout.

September 18: vs Boston 1-9 L. LP-Bradley (6-7, 5 5 4 4 1 6). HR-Campusano (5/7). Red Sox returned the favor of last night's rout.

September 19: vs Boston 5-9 L. LP-Rasmussen (2-4, 2.2 5 6 6 5 4). HR-Aranda (6). Brutal outing by Ras and 4 errors made it a long night.

September 20: vs Toronto 1-2 L. LP-Pepiot (11-11, 5.2 5 2 2 4 7). Rays got the pitching for a change but not the hitting.

September 21: vs Toronto 9-6 W. WP-Vasquez (2-1). S-Fairbanks (27). Starter-Littell (3.1 7 5 5 3 1). HR-DeLuca (3), P.Meadows (4/8). Littell put them in an early 5-1 hole but they rallied back thanks in large part to a career game from Jonny DeLuca, who was 3-4 with a homer and 4 RBI while Curtis Mead was 3-5 with 2 RBI as well.

September 22: vs Toronto 2-1 W. WP-Springs (3-4, 7 4 1 1 3 8). S-Adam (6). Springs pitched his best game of the year and Brandon Lowe had 3 hits as the Rays won their final home series of the season.

Record: 74-82. Earlier in the week we were officially eliminated from playoff contention, confirming what's been known for months. Next week: We close out the regular season on the road with 3 in Boston and 3 in Detroit after an off-day on Monday.

Down on the Farm: AA Montgomery was our only affiliate to make the playoffs, and they likely won't be for long as they're down 0-3 in their first round series against Biloxi.

Players of the Week:

AL: Yoan Moncada (CHI): 13-22, 0 HR, 4 RBI
NL: Pete Alonso (NY): 11-24, 4 HR, 11 RBI

September 23-29, 2024
 

September 23: Off Day.

September 24: at Detroit 9-2 W. WP-Bradley (7-7, 7 4 2 2 1 9). HR-Paredes (35), Aranda (7), Campusano (6/8). Rays coasted behind a great Taj outing and Aranda's 4-4, 2-RBI day.

September 25: at Detroit 6-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (3-4, 7 2 1 1 2 5). HR-DeLuca (4), P.Meadows (5/9). Ras finished the regular season on a high note while DeLuca was 3-5 with a homer and 3 RBI.

September 26: at Detroit 3-5 L. LP-Cleavinger (6-2). Starter-Pepiot (6.1 6 1 1 0 5). Rays took a 2-1 lead into the 8th before Cleavinger gave up a 3-run homer to lose it.

September 27: at Boston 2-7 L. LP-Littell (8-10, 4 8 3 3 1 5). HR-Caminero (18). Rays were never in this one.

September 28: at Boston 6-17 L. LP-Springs (3-5, 4 10 5 5 2 5). HR-Loftin (2/4), Caminero (19). Oof. Rays were down 16-0 in this one before getting on the board.

September 29: at Boston 10-2 W. WP-Bradley (8-7, 5 7 2 2 1 6). HR-Aranda (8), B.Lowe (17), Paredes (36), Siri (14). Tampa Bay closed out its regular season in fine fashion, getting 4 in the first and rolling from there, including a Siri slam.

Final Regular Season Record: 77-85. Next will be a full season-ending stats and standings post.

For some reason OOTP doesn't do Players of the Week for the final week of the regular season, so we don't have those this time. But we do have Players of the Month for September:

AL Batter: Henry Ramos (BOS), .347-12-28
NL Batter: Marcell Ozuna (ATL), .392-15-30
AL Pitcher: Chris Paddack (MIN), 3-0, 1.33, 23 K in 27 IP
NL Pitcher: Aaron Nola (PHI), 3-0, 0.94, 27 K in 28.2 IP
AL Rookie: Wyatt Langford (TEX), .361-8-20
NL Rookie: Cole Henry (WAS), 4-1, 2.79, 29 K in 29 IP

Ozuna just capped a power year not seen in decades, finishing with 66 HR and 173 RBI. The 66 homers tied Sammy Sosa for the third-most in a single season all-time, and the ribbies were the most since Jimmy Foxx's 175 in 1938, and the 7th-best single-season total in MLB history!

2024 Final Standings & Rays Stats
 

https://i.imgur.com/j5Rrqi3.png

The shocking thing here is how few ERA qualifiers there were - apparently Aaron Nola was in the only one in the NL and there weren't too many in the AL as Ryan Pepiot finished 3rd despite a 4.31 ERA. Meanwhile the Yankees squeaked in as the third wild card, tied with Houston but getting the nod since they swept the Astros 7-0 in their season series.

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

This is pretty ugly all around, looking at those team stats I wonder how we won 77 games. Aside from running the bases well and having halfway-decent starting pitching with a good BB/K rate there's nothing here to like.

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

I don't know why OOTP 25 puts all the pitchers in the batting report as well, especially since none of them came to the plate. Paredes was the clear team MVP, continuing to improve each year. Yandy had a dreadful first half but reverted to his 2023 form in the second to have a fine season. After that it was a lot of ugly although nobody than the two above had much more than 100 games player or 350 at-bats as injuries, trades, and platoons kept us from having a set lineup. One bright spot is that three of our young hitters had big Septembers: Caminero hit 337/379/600 with 7 HR, Aranda 321/400/513, and Mead 348/426/391.

https://i.imgur.com/Qob6OS1.png

An uncharacteristically bad performance from the pitching staff in 2024, although Taj took a step forward this year and Littell looks like the real deal as a starter. With McClanahan coming back and Rasmussen and Springs with a full winter to prepare, hopefully the rotation will be strong and deep next year. The bullpen needs a big-time makeover, though.

https://i.imgur.com/UlcejQ2.png

There is some hope for the future. Williams will get the chance to win the SS job next season, Isaac will probably be at AAA but could help the team, and Smith has an outside shot at the big club although with our starting depth he'll likely be in the minors.

Next up: The Wild Card round of the playoffs.

The 2024 Wild Card Round
 

https://i.imgur.com/BlsoB1g.png

Minnesota advances to face Baltimore in the ALDS.

https://i.imgur.com/M5KlIDe.png

Big series for Stanton (4 HR) as he leads the Yankees to move on and play Cleveland in the ALDS.

https://i.imgur.com/X2pRdlq.png

Cards made quick work of the Cubs at Wrigley and now will have to go up against mighty Atlanta in the NLDS.

https://i.imgur.com/npFKjI8.png

Is there another WS run in Arizona's future? There could be after they dispatched the Dodgers, ending a season LA fans thought would be a big one after adding Ohtani and Glasnow. Instead the D-Backs will advance to face Milwaukee in the other NLDS.

The 2024 Division Series Round
 

https://i.imgur.com/gdaNgP4.png

https://i.imgur.com/RL04i87.png

Andres Gimenez was named MVP of this series.

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

https://i.imgur.com/nWCxYq6.png

Rookie Jackson Chourio was named MVP of the series.

The 2024 LCS Round
 

https://i.imgur.com/OixmXtz.png
https://i.imgur.com/2jgflVS.png

https://i.imgur.com/6cCPIdG.png
https://i.imgur.com/aFQTLrj.png

In the end it went chalk as the top team in each league advanced to the Fall Classic, although Atlanta had to come back from 3-1 down in the NLCS.

The 2024 World Series
 

Congrats, Baltimore!

https://i.imgur.com/zb61BTF.png
https://i.imgur.com/xRDiYUi.png

2024-25 Offseason: State of the Team
 

With the 2024 version this is the first time I've taken over a mediocre team in a Rays save so it's going to be a bit of a challenge. While there are some good players in the pipeline and the staff should be better next year with everyone back from injuries, the bullpen is pretty bad and the offense is going to be a work in progress.

First of all, according to the email I got from Stuart Sternberg he wants the payroll slashed to $75M. What I've noticed in OOTP 25 is that despite what the owner says I should have for payroll it appears that under "money for free agents" it shows availability up to the full budget amount. Nevertheless I'm still going to try and honor Stu's wishes and keep the payroll in the $75-80M range. The options of Phil Maton ($7.5M) and Chris Devenski ($2M) were not picked up, and we're going to non-tender Tyler Alexander, Colin Poche, and Taylor Walls which should save a combined $6M. With that in mind, here's how things shake out position-by-position:

C: Outside of Mike Zunino's career year in 2021 this position has been a black hole for the franchise ever since it famously took Tim Beckham ahead of Buster Posey in the 2008 draft. It's not quite horrible as midseason acquisition Luis Campusano and holdover Rene Pinto give us a halfway-decent combo. The two combined for 19 HR and 67 RBI and 1.3 worth of WAR. Down the road we could hear from Dominic Keegan, who hit 312/410/566 with 26 HR at AA Montgomery. Keegan's only a 40-rated catcher with 45 potential though, so he's a true bat-first guy.

1B: Yandy Diaz's 3-season run of 12.6 WAR is one of the best at the position in baseball and the 33-year-old is slated to make $10M in 2025 which makes him a big-money guy on this team. While it would give us some financial flexibility to deal him (he has a 2026 $12M team option so he wouldn't be a rental), I hold out hope we can at least contend for a wild card in 2025 so Yandy will stay. His heir apparent though is one of our top prospects, Xavier Isaac (ranked #23 overall by OSA), who hit 43 homers between A+ and AA last year and has potential 70 power. So if things go badly in 25, we deal Yandy and if they go well, Isaac takes over in 2026.

2B: Although he's not a great fielder at the position, 2B looks like the domain of our top young player Junior Caminero. Junior had a literal up-and-down season in 24, hitting well after a late May recall then slumping so badly he was sent back down in July, only to return red-hot in September. He still managed 19 HR and 51 RBI in 88 games at the MLB level, so he's up to stay now.

SS: Jose Caballero and Nick Loftin played the position for us in 24 and were kind of a weak link with neither spectacular defensively and the way this team is built we need good SS play. Fortunately it just so happens we have the overall #4 prospect in baseball hopefully ready to take over in Carson Williams. He should relegate Caballero and Loftin to utility roles after a season which saw him hit 302/391/598 with 32 HR at Montgomery and add 6 more homers at Durham for good measure in 67 at-bats (albeit with a .209 average). His defense is way above average, and if he can hit .230 or better with 25-homer power at the big-league level, he'll be valuable indeed with a ceiling higher than that.

3B: Team MVP Isaac Paredes mans the position, and he'll be getting a raise to $8M but is well worth it, after a 5-WAR, 36 HR, 109 RBI year.

IF: Caballero, Loftin, and Richie Palacios (2B) are in the mix, as is Curtis Mead, who can play 1B, 2B and 3B but not that well but he has the best bat of the lot (still considered MLB's #46 prospect) and could figure in at DH. Palacios plays the OF so his versatility and good eye make him a likely roster candidate.

LF: Brandon Lowe was moved here to make room for Caminero at 2B and the one-time MVP vote-getter has fallen off due to injury the last few years. He's a prime candidate to be dealt as he'll make $10.5M next season. Consequently, we'll be looking for someone to man this spot.

CF: After we picked up Parker Meadows mid-season he platooned with Jose Siri. They're both outstanding defensive CFs but neither can hit much above the Mendoza Line. They did hit 23 HR and steal 45 bases between them so they're not total offensive zeroes at least.

RF: Josh Lowe had a breakout year in 2023 but injuries set him back last season and he ended up 245/320/401 last year. Some of the reduced numbers were due to playing more against lefties but we're going to need him to bounce back next year.

OF: One of Meadows/Siri will be on the bench and we also have Jonny DeLuca, who also hit well after coming back up late in the season and can spell J.Lowe against lefties in RF and play some in LF.

DH: Yet another guy who hit a lot better in his second call-up was lefty-swinging Jonathan Aranda, but he needs a platoon partner at DH. This is where Mead could come in, but we only have so many roster spots.

Others: I haven't even mentioned Spencer Torkelson, acquired from Detroit and who had a miserable season which concluded in Durham. He'll be in the mix again for the LF job if B.Lowe is dealt, but he's going to have to hit a lot better to overcome his poor defense. C Alex Jackson hit 36 homers at Durham but is rated a poor 35 behind the plate so he's really an emergency option. OF Kameron Misner is similar to Siri & Meadows with good D but iffy contact.

Rotation: This could be a strength next season as we welcome the return of Shane McClanahan, one of the game's better pitchers. Of course after Tommy John surgery we have to be careful to see if he's downgraded in his ratings, including stamina. Ryan Pepiot and Zack Littell had solid seasons, although Pepiot was somewhat homer-prone, Taj Bradley was very good in his first full season after missing most of April and May with a muscle injury, and then we have Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmsussen, who were great in 2022-23 and had mixed results after returning in the second half of 2024. Both are still rated well and hopefully will be a better a year further removed from surgery, so we have potentially six starters and that's not including Shane Baz, who was a mixed bag in his return from injury and spent much of the season at Durham. Further down the depth chart are a couple of guys we acquired in trade, Randy Vasquez and Reese Olson. Vasquez pitched in long relief and probably will return to that role while Olson likely starts the year at Durham to give us depth.

Bullpen: The pen was horrible last year, although closer Pete Fairbanks did his job and will return. It's getting to him that's the problem. We'll likely give his erstwhile setup man Jason Adam another shot, he still has good ratings including 65 stuff but had a terrible year (5.62 ERA, 11 HR in 56 IP). Maton had taken over the primary setup role and had a good season, but $7.5M was just too much to pay for him. Garrett Cleavinger is a solid option from the left side, but with Poche being shown the door the next lefty up is Jacob Lopez, who looked good at times and is more a multi-inning guy. After that though it's a jumble of mediocrity with righties Luis Contreras, Nic Enright and Kevin Kelly all options but all with their warts. It's possible we try to turn someone who's out of the rotation like Baz into a power reliever and we'll definitely need to add a quality arm or three. Unlike on offense where we have some elite prospects, the once-legendary Rays pitching pipeline has run mostly dry, except for 2024 first-rounder Hagen Smith, who struck out a whopping 69 men in 45 pro innings between low and high-A ball but was also touched for a whopping 12 homers in those innings. He'll need some refinement.

So in short the goals for the offseason are

*Trade some more salary, likely B.Lowe
*Find an impact OF bat if possible
*Get some quality arms for the bullpen

2024-25 Offseason: Part 1
 

We kicked the offseason with a big trade:

https://i.imgur.com/lGzP2oH.jpeg

It was no secret we were looking to deal Brandon Lowe and deal him we did, obtaining a promising young outfielder in return. I'm not sure what plans the defending World Series champs have for Lowe but it's not my problem. Kjerstad will slide into LF and have a shot at playing every day since his platoon ratings aren't that bad. So with the guys we're non-tendering the payroll should clock in at about $71-72M.

Notable retirements around MLB: Joey Votto, Elvis Andrus, Yuli Gurriel, Adam Wainwright (Cards retired #50), Johnny Cueto, Carlos Carrasco, Dallas Keuchel. Also managers Bruce Bochy (Texas) and Ron Washington (Angels) called it a career.

In other big Rays news, I allow my AGM to handle team personnel and Erik Neander fired pitching coach Kyle Snyder and batting coach Chad Mottola after 2024's disappointing season, the first time we've missed the playoffs since 2018.

November 6: The Red Sox traded Jarren Duran and a minor leaguer to Texas for C Sam Huff and pitching prospect Kumar Rocker.

Another deal:

https://i.imgur.com/gM7noHg.png

We were going to non-tender Poche anyway so why not get something for him? Lara is a 19-year-old prospect who has 60 contact potential, 60 eye, and 70 avoid Ks (but only 40 power) with above-average OF ability and speed. In other words in an ideal world he'd make a great leadoff hitter. He now slots in as our #8 prospect and #247 overall. Also our batters will look forward to homering off Poche in division games.

November 7: Cincinnati shipped Christian Encarnacion-Strand to Pittsburgh for a couple of prospects.

Awards Season:

Gold Gloves: We have a winner! Zack Littell won the AL pitcher award.

Reliever of the Year: Minnesota's Jhoan Duran was a unanimous winner in the AL, off a 34-save, 1.55 ERA, 3.1-WAR season. Pittsburgh's Carmen Mlodzinski won in the NL for a 32-save, 2.06 ERA year, garnering 27 first-place votes. Finishing second was former Ray Andrew Kittredge, who split the year between the Cards and Cubs.

Silver Slugger: No Rays won. Paredes had the best chance at 3B, but he was beaten out by Rafael Devers.

Rookie of the Year: Baltimore's Jackson Holliday was the unanimous AL choice, thanks to a .305-30-88, 7.5-WAR performance that has him in the MVP race as well. The NL nod went to San Diego's Jackson Merrill in an extremely tight race over Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes. Skenes actually got more first place votes (14-10) but lost on points 104-92. Merrill hit 274-10-63 and earned 1.8 WAR while Skenes was 7-7, 2.87 with 146 Ks in 141 IP and earned 4.4 WAR which actually led the NL among pitchers so he seemed clearly more deserving.

Cy Young: The surprise winner was Baltimore's Bruce Zimmerman, who was 11-5, 3.20 and only pitched 132 innings. He nosed out Cleveland rookie Daniel Espino, who was 9-4, 3.42 in 134 IP, by a 158-152 margin and 15-13 on first-place votes. The NL winner was Chicago's Justin Steele, who took 27 first-place tallies after a 12-4, 2.91 year. He too was not an ERA qualifier at 142 IP as across the board very few pitchers seemed to throw 162+ innings.

MVP: Gunnar Henderson was the runaway AL winner, getting 28 first-place votes after a .278-42-141, 7.4 WAR season. Rookie teammate Jackson Holliday was a distant second. Marcell Ozuna took the NL MVP after his historic 66-homer, 173-RBI season with 27 first-place votes.

November 15: The Pirates dealt Reliever of the Year Carmen Mlodzinski to the Dodgers for a couple of prospects.

November 16: The Dodgers continued to add relievers as they acquired Mason Miller from the A's for catching prospect Thayron Liranzo.

November 17: The wheeling and dealing continues as Cincinnati sent C Tyler Stephenson to Miami for OF Alex Canario, P Dax Fulton and a minor leaguer.

November 22: Milwaukee traded IF Joey Ortiz, the key guy they got from Baltimore the winter before for Corbin Burnes, to Oakland for P Francisco Perez and OF Lawrence Butler.

November 23: Drew Rasmussen was the only one who took us to arbitration and we won as the arbitrator sided with our $4.2M offer over his $4.8M demand.

November 25: Big trade between NL West rivals as the Giants shipped Mike Yasztremski to the Dodgers for Max Muncy.

December 1: The Dodgers traded catching prospect Diego Cartaya to the Marlins for Luis Arraez, and the Blue Jays dealt SS Bo Bichette to the Giants for SS prospect Maui Ahuna.

December 6: First big free-agent signing of the winter and it was the big Kahuna - Juan Soto goes to the Mets for 8/298 which seems kind of...low? That's around $37M/year.

December 10: The Blue Jays continue to move out salary, sending closer Jordan Romano to Minnesota for a prospect.

December 11: The Toronto fire sale burns on, with Justin Turner shipped to Milwaukee for a prospect.

December 12: The draft lottery was held and we didn't move up from the 12 spot. In fact the A's and Angels held on to the #1 and #2 picks with Washington's move from 6 to 3 the most significant.

December 13: The Dodgers keep adding relievers, this time signing the top free agent closer in Paul Sewald for 2/35.

December 14: News out of Chicago is that Cub CF Pete Crow-Armstrong will miss the entire 2025 season with a torn labrum in his shoulder.

December 16: Added SS Carson Williams and Ps Joe Rock and Trevor Brigden to the 40-man roster, designated C Ben Rortvedt for assignment. Roster shuffling ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. Williams was a no-brainer, while Rock and Brigden are useful pitching depth I didn't want to lose. There's a chance we lose Brendan McKay tomorrow.

Meanwhile longtime Baltimore OF Anthony Santander joined the Angels on a modest 2/12 deal.

December 17: And McKay was the first pick of the Rule 5 Draft, taken by Oakland. We also lost P Logan Workman to Philly, P Nathan Wiles to Miami, and P Ian Seymour to Kansas City as Durham was raided. We'll probably see 2-3 of the guys returned to us next year.

Former Rays on the move: Luke Raley went fifth to Washington from Seattle, and he was followed at 6th by C Francisco Mejia and Alex Verdugo, up with us briefly, was nabbed by San Diego from Miami. The full draft list:

https://i.imgur.com/7izK4D9.png

December 20: And another Blue Jay is set free as George Springer heads to Cleveland for a couple of minor leaguers.

December 25: Christmas Day action as the Rockies ship starter German Marquez to Baltimore for a couple of prospects.

December 27: Minnesota signed perhaps the top free agent starter available, nabbing Jordan Montgomery for 5/105.

December 29: Washington signed the top professional international free agent, inking 30-year-old Cuban CF Jorge Fonseca for 7/106. He projects to be a .285, 15-HR, 45-double guy.

December 30: A couple of more big free agents signed with former Ray Willy Adames joining Seattle for 6/148 and Joc Pedersen agreeing to terms with Oakland on a 4/48 deal.

2024-25 Offseason: Part 2
 

January 3: Another grizzled vet is on the move as Philly dealt C JT Realmuto to Cleveland for a pair of prospects.

January 4: Tyler O'Neill, who started last season with Boston before being traded to Seattle at the deadline, returned to the Red Sox on a 4/85 deal. O'Neill homered 36 times last season between the two clubs.

January 8: The Phillies parted with another of their vets, sending Kyle Schwarber to the Giants for a SS prospect.

January 10: The Orioles offered us Austin Hays for Jose Siri, thanks but no thanks. Meanwhile the Yankees signed veteran OF Max Kepler to a 2/20 deal.

January 11: We didn't trade them Siri but our talks over the deal led to this one being made, our second of the winter with our division rivals:

https://i.imgur.com/VH3NtlE.png

Despite being rated a 50 at 3B, Westburg won the AL Gold Glove last season at the position and hit 264/343/444 with 18 HR and 65 RBI. We really don't have a place for him as we have Paredes at 3B and Caminero at 2B but I couldn't turn this down given that the three prospects we're sending aren't anyone we can live without.

And we weren't done wheeling and dealing. To make room for Westburg on the 40-man I shopped Austin Shenton and was able to pry a good-hitting catcher loose from Houston in Yainer Diaz, who hit 305/351/478 in 272 AB with the Astros. He's a bit suspect defensively, rated at 45, but if he can hit like that we don't care:

https://i.imgur.com/bXytc4m.png
I have to concur with Neander who thinks it's a steal while Misner got the deal over the top and opened up a second 40-man spot for Diaz. This gives us three MLB catchers as we already had Pinto and Campusano, and suddenly it's a position of strength as we still haven't done enough to upgrade the bullpen.

January 13: St. Louis acquires LaMonte Wade Jr. from the Giants for a prospect.

January 14: It was quiet for a couple of weeks but the Great Blue Jay Fire Sale is still on as they dealt starter Kevin Gausman to Texas for an 18-year-old power prospect. Vlad Guerrero Jr. and his $26M arbitration contract are on the trade block as well. Meanwhile 37-year-old DH JD Martinez signed for one year and $8M with the White Sox.

January 15: We finally made a move to help the bullpen:

https://i.imgur.com/AD8NRvG.png

There's something about all our slap-hitting infielders ending up in Miami as Basabe follows the same trail as Joey Wendle, Vidal Brujan and Xavier Edwards over the last few years. With the Westburg pickup Basabe was surplus to requirements and in return we get Maldonado, rated 65/50/50 and who saved 31 games for the Marlins last season. He'll compete with Jason Adam for the primary setup role.

January 21: It's international amateur free agent signing time again and we nabbed a potentially good one in 2B David Guerra. The 16-year-old has potential 80 power, 60 contact and a 65 eye. I guess we'll find out in 5 years or so if he'll approach that.

January 22: After not signing until the last minute the previous winter and getting a one-year deal, former Rays ace Blake Snell got his payday as he joined Boston for 6/183. Also former Yankee closer Clay Holmes is headed to the White Sox for 2/20.

January 23: The Hall of Fame voting is in:

https://i.imgur.com/5YbYGOR.png

Congrats to Helton, who had to wait, and Ichiro, who didn't. First-timers Beltre and Sabathia came very close and should get in during the next year or two. Heartbreak for Billy Wagner though, who drops off the ballot.

January 25: We continue to haul in some impressive IFAs as 16-year-old Japanese C Ryuemon Naki signed. He has potential 60 power and 75 contact, so he could become the Japanese Mike Piazza. Or not.

Meanwhile starter Walker Buehler inked a 2/49 pact with Washington as they look to accelerate their rebuild.

January 28: The Yankees solved their 3B problem by signing veteran Matt Chapman to a 2/37 deal.

February 23: Some well-known names had to settle for minor league deals as the free agent market has cooled considerably: Michael Conforto (Toronto), Alex Bregman (Toronto), Josh Bell (Washington), Yoan Moncada (Seattle), CJ Cron (Minnesota). Amed Rosario, who took a modest 1-year deal with us last year, has done likewise with the rebuilding Jays, signing for $1.2M.

March 6: We got in on the minor league deal action by signing Teoscar Hernandez, fresh off a 33-homer season with the Dodgers last year. We need a RH power bat in the OF and he'll only cost us $1.7M if he makes the club. He also remains solid defensively as he had a +3.8 ZR with LA last season and he didn't waste any time, homering and doubling in his first preseason action with us.

2025 Opening Day Roster and Preseason Predictions
 

We came through Spring Training unscathed in the injury department, although Isaac Paredes managed to get himself suspended for the first two games of the regular season after throwing a tantrum in a preseason game.

So with Paredes on the restricted list to open the year, here's the Opening Day roster:

C-Yanier Diaz, Campusano
1B-Yandy Diaz
2B-Caminero
SS-C.Williams
3B-Westburg
IF-Mead
LF-Kjerstad
CF-P.Meadows
RF-J.Lowe
OF-T.Hernandez, Siri
DH-Aranda

SP-McClanahan, Springs, Rasmussen, Bradley, Littell
LR-Pepiot
MR-J.Lopez, Enright, Baz, Cleavinger
SU-Adam, A.Maldonado
CL-Fairbanks

Someone will have to go to Durham once Paredes is back and it's likely going to be Parker Meadows with Josh Lowe playing CF against RHP and Teoscar Hernandez taking over in RF.

Also thanks to the new acquisitions and a 100% healthy roster, there are quite a few players who spent significant time with the team in 2024 who are starting the year at Durham: Jose Caballero, Spencer Torkelson, Rene Pinto, Kevin Kelly, Reese Olson, Richie Palacios, Jonny DeLuca, Randy Vasquez, and Nick Loftin, with Meadows soon joining them.

And while I was feeling good about this squad going in OOTP likes them even more, predicting them to have the best record in baseball:

https://i.imgur.com/8rAm6m3.png

I believe this is even without Paredes, who was our best player last year, since he's not on the OD roster. It's thanks of course (as you can see above) to OOTP's belief that we'll have the best pitching staff in baseball with four of our starters among the league's best. So no pressure I guess.

March 28-April 7, 2025
 

The traditional Opening Day box:

https://i.imgur.com/UMC3wpe.png

A frustrating opener for the Rays as Shane McClanahan was hit hard and although the offense banged out 13 hits they had a difficult time getting th runners home. One bright start was that mega-prospect Carson Williams had a nice MLB debut, getting on base three times including his first big-league hit.

March 29: at Seattle 8-9 L. LP-Adam (0-1). Starter-Springs (3 8 6 6 2 7). HR-Caminero (1), Kjerstad (1). A painful loss as they came all the way back from a 6-2 deficit thanks to a rough outing from Springs with Kjerstad's grand slam putting them up 8-7 in the top of the 8th. But Jason Adam looked more like the 2024 version than the one from 2022-23, allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the frame to lose it.

Transaction: Isaac Paredes comes off the restricted list and Parker Meadows is optioned to Durham.

March 30: at Seattle 1-2 L. LP-Enright (0-1). Starter-Bradley (5 3 1 0 6 2). After allowing 14 runs in the first two games the Rays got the pitching (although Bradley was unusually wild) but the offense took the day off as they get off to a rough 0-3 start.

March 31: at Seattle 6-5 W. WP-Rasmussen (1-0, 6 7 5 4 1 3). S-Fairbanks (1). HR-Caminero (2). Trailing 5-1 through 6 the Rays were staring at an 0-4 start to the year before exploding for 5 in the 7th and holding on for their first win of 2025. The big blow was Caminero's 3-run homer, which capped the rally and put them on top.

April 1: at San Francisco 4-1 W. WP-Littell (1-0, 5.2 7 1 1 1 5). S-Maldonado (1). HR-Caminero (3), T.Hernandez (1), C.Williams (1). Quality pitching and a trio of solo homers, including the first MLB homer for Carson Williams and Teoscar Hernandez's first Rays shot, led the way for a 2nd straight win.

April 2: at San Francisco 4-3 W. WP-McClanahan (1-1, 6.1 3 1 1 2 4). S-Maldonado (2). Rays scored 4 times in the 5th to go ahead 4-0 and then hung on by their fingernails to make it 3 straight wins and back to .500. Mac bounced back nicely from his rough Opening Day and got his first win since 2023 and Hernandez's 2-run single was the big hit.

April 3: at San Francisco 1-2 L. LP-Fairbanks (0-1). Starter-Springs (6 5 1 1 1 7). This one was lost in the bottom of the 9th when Fairbanks walked the bases loaded with one out, got a whiff, but then gave up a walk-off single. Not much offense with a Williams triple leading to their only run.

April 4: Off Day.

April 5: vs NY Yankees 4-1 W. WP-Bradley (1-0, 9 4 1 1 1 6). HR-T.Hernandez (2). Taj took a 3-hit shutout into the 9th before giving up a homer to Anthony Volpe with two out but still managed a 103-pitch complete game as he was masterful in the home opener. Teoscar's 2-run homer in the 5th broke a 0-0 deadlock and turned out to be all the runs Bradley would need.

April 6: vs NY Yankees 4-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (2-0, 7 3 1 1 1 7). S-Fairbanks (2). HR-J.Lowe (1), Kjerstad (2), Yanier Diaz (1). Those three guys hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the 2nd and Ras rolled from there as ever since the Seattle series the formula of modest offense + great pitching that OOTP said would win 96 games has settled into place.

April 7: vs NY Yankees 5-4 W. WP-Maldonado (1-0). Starter-Littell (5 6 3 3 1 2). HR-Aranda (1). High drama at the Trop as the Rays came back from 4-1 down in the 7th to tie, then walked it off on back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the 9th from Carson Williams and Yandy Diaz to complete the sweep and make it six wins from seven after starting the year 0-3.

Team record: 6-4, good for a share of first place in the AL East. Next week: NL champs Atlanta visit for 3 before a day off and a trip to Chicago to play 3 against the White Sox.

April 8-14, 2025
 

April 8: vs Atlanta 7-3 W. WP-McClanahan (2-1, 6.2 6 3 3 1 7). HR-T.Hernandez (3), Caminero 2 (5), C.Williams (2). Teoscar was 3-3 with a homer and Caminero hit shots of 471 and 473 feet to dead center as the Rays handled the defending NL champs.

April 9: vs Atlanta 5-7 L (11). LP-Maldonado (1-1). Starter-Springs (5 4 3 1 1 7). HR-Paredes (1). The team's leading HR hitter the last 2 years picked a great time to hit his first of the year, a 3-run shot in the 8th to tie it up, but they squandered chances in the 9th and 10th to win it and ultimately succumbed in the 11th.

April 10: vs Atlanta 4-3 W. WP-Bradley (2-0, 6 3 3 0 3 8). S-Fairbanks (3). HR-Mead (1), Campusano (1). The bats only managed 3 hits on the night but two of them were 2-run homers in the 2nd off Max Fried and they stood up for the duration. With the 3 runs against him unearned Taj lowered his ERA to 0.44.

April 11: Off-Day.

April 12: at Chicago White Sox 5-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (3-0, 6 3 1 1 3 3). HR-Paredes (2), Kjerstad (3). A pair of 2-run homers again and a solid outing from Ras gave the Rays the win.

April 13: at Chicago White Sox 3-6 L. LP-Littell (1-1, 6 5 3 3 1 5). HR-Paredes (3). A game they trailed 3-2 in the 7th got away from them with a key Carson Williams error leading to 3 unearned runs for Chicago.

April 14: at Chicago White Sox 6-2 W. WP-McClanahan (3-1, 7 4 1 1 2 7). Mac is back as he turned in his third excellent start after a rough Opening Day, and Heston Kjerstad knocked in 3 with a pair of singles to lead the offense.

Team record: 10-6, a game behind Boston. Next week: Divisional matchups as we go to the Bronx for 3 against the Yankees, followed by a day off to travel home where we'll play 3 against Boston.

Players of the Week:

AL: Marcelo Mayer (BOS), 12-26, 2 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Matt Olson (ATL), 9-20, 4 HR, 8 RBI (3 of those homers came against us)

Rays News: We signed veteran lefty reliever Josh Taylor to a minor league contract as we're a bit thin from the port side in the upper levels of the organization.

April 15-21, 2025
 

April 15: at NY Yankees 12-5 W. WP-Springs (1-0, 6 6 2 2 0 5). HR-Paredes (4). Rays offense exploded today, led by Paredes (3-3, HR, 3 RBI, 4 RS), Caminero (2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI) and Tesocar (2-5, 3 RBI). Springs finally got a decision in his fourth start.

April 16: at NY Yankees 4-1 W. WP-Bradley (3-0, 7 2 1 1 2 8). S-Fairbanks (4). HR-Paredes (5). Taj was brilliant again, although with the one run allowed his ERA ballooned to 0.67 while Paredes homered for the fourth time in five games and drove in a pair.

April 17: at NY Yankees 5-3 W. WP-Maldonado (2-1). S-Fairbanks (5). Starter-Rasmussen (4.2 6 3 2 4 6). The red-hot Isaac Paredes' 2nd hit of the tie was a tiebreaking RBI single in the 9th as the Rays stayed scorching hot with the 13th win in their last 16 games.

April 18: Off Day.

April 19: vs Boston 4-3 W (10). WP-Maldonado (3-1). Starter-Littell (4 3 1 1 3 8). Maldonado gave up a tying homer in the 9th but his mates picked him up as Josh Lowe's walk-off single, his third hit of the game, won it to make it 5 straight and 14 of 17 since starting the year 0-3.

April 20: vs Boston 3-4 L (10). LP-Fairbanks (0-2). Starter-McClanahan (5.1 3 2 2 2 11). The mirror image of yesterday's game as it was the Rays who tied it in the 9th on a Yanier Diaz single only to lose it in the 10th.

April 21: vs Boston 2-0 W. WP-Springs (2-0, 7 4 0 0 1 8). S-Adam (1). HR-T.Hernandez (4). Springs was great again (5/34 K/BB in 27 IP so far), and was supported by a Carson Williams RBI double and Teoscar's solo homer as they won a big early season series with the Red Sox.

Team record: 15-7, 2 1/2 up on Boston atop the AL East. Next week: The Angels visit for 4 games before we travel to Pittsburgh for 3.

Players of the Week:

AL: Jackson Holliday (BAL), 11-24, 2 HR, 4 RBI
NL: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), 11-20, 4 HR, 6 RBI

April 22-28, 2025
 

April 22: vs LA Angels 6-1 W. WP-Bradley (4-0, 5.2 1 0 0 3 11). HR-Paredes (6), T.Hernandez (5). Taj was utterly dominant in lowering his ERA to 0.55 and Paredes and Teoscar belted 2-run homers to back him.

April 23: vs LA Angels 6-8 L. LP-Maldonado (3-2). Starter-Rasmussen (4.1 3 4 4 4 3). HR-Westburg (1). Rays got a rare bad start from Ras and found themselves down 5-1 before Westburg's slam gave them a 6-5 lead in the 6th. Unfortunately Maldonado served up a 2-run homer to Jo Adell and the Rays suffered a rare of late defeat.

April 24: vs LA Angels 7-3 W. WP-Adam (1-1). Starter-Littell (5 4 2 2 2 7). HR-J.Lowe (2). Adam blew a 3-2 lead in the 6th but Jose Siri's 2-run single in the bottom of the inning put them ahead to stay and he added another RBI single afterward.

April 25: vs LA Angels 4-1 W. WP-McClanahan (4-1, 5.2 9 1 1 1 5). S-Fairbanks (6). HR-Caminero (6), T.Hernandez (6), Westburg (2). Rays were outhit 10-4 in this game but they made theirs count with the three homers while the staff stranded 12 Angels.

April 26: at Pittsburgh 4-3 W. WP-Springs (3-0, 6.1 3 1 1 2 6). S-Adam (2). HR-Aranda (2). Josh Lowe hit 3 doubles including one that knocked in a pair and Aranda's 9th-inning insurance homer proved large when Adam gave up a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 9th.

April 27: at Pittsburgh 1-4 L. LP-Bradley (4-1, 5 5 4 4 2 7). Regression came for Taj's ERA as he gave up a 3-run Jack Suwinski homer in the first and the bats were lifeless today.

April 28: at Pittsburgh 0-2 L. LP-Rasmussen (3-1, 6 7 2 2 1 7). Another day of lousy hitting as the bats managed only five hits and a good start from Ras was wasted.

Team record: 19-10. Nobody else in the East is doing much, so they've maintained a 4-game lead over Boston (and now Baltimore also) despite 3 losses this week. Next week: 4 games in Toronto then home for 3 against Kansas City.

Players of the Week:

AL: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), 7-21, 4 HR, 6 RBI
NL: Andy Pages (LA), 8-18, 5 HR, 7 RBI

April 29-May 5, 2025
 

Transaction: Luis Contreras is activated from his rehab assignment and Nic Enright is optioned to Durham as we do some bullpen shuffling.

April 29: at Toronto 13-4 W. WP-Littell (2-1, 6 4 3 3 2 4). HR-Yanier Diaz (2), T.Hernandez (7). After scoring one run over the previous two games the offense broke out in a big way with 13 runs on 16 hits and everyone in the lineup getting at least one. Josh Lowe and Yanier Diaz led the way with 3 RBI each.

April 30: at Toronto 4-10 L. LP-McClanahan (4-2, 4 6 6 6 3 2). HR-T.Hernandez (8). Jays returned the favor of the rout, scoring 5 in the first off McClanahan.

May 1: at Toronto 6-4 W. WP-Maldonado (4-2). S-Fairbanks (7). Starter-Springs (6.1 6 3 3 2 6). HR-T.Hernandez (9). Jonathan Aranda's pinch-RBI double in the 8th broke a 4-4 tie as the Rays picked up the win. Teoscar homered for the third straight game in his old ballpark with tonight's a grand slam.

May 2: at Toronto 5-7 L (10). LP-Fairbanks (0-3). Starter-Bradley (4 4 3 3 4 2). HR-Caminero (7). A tough one as Fairbanks blew a 5-4 lead in the 9th and then gave up a 2-run walk-off homer in the 10th to Davis Schneider. Caminero knocked in 3 including a 2-run homer.

May 3: vs Kansas City 2-0 W. WP-Cleavinger (1-0). S-Maldonado (3). Starter-Rasmussen (6 4 0 0 3 6). Josh Lowe tripled in a run in the 7th and score on Kjerstad's single, all the offense they'd need thanks to Ras and the bullpen.

May 4: vs Kansas City 5-8 L. LP-Littell (2-2, 5.1 8 6 6 1 3, 4 HR). HR-Campusano (2), Caminero (8). Rays pitching gave up 6(!) homers to KC, putting them in a 7-0 hole before they made a game of it but still lost.

May 5: vs Kansas City 6-4 W. WP-Adam (2-1). S-Fairbanks (8). Starter-McClanahan (7 4 4 4 1 9). HR-Paredes (7). Rays took the series thanks to Paredes' 2-run homer in the 8th which erased a 4-3 Royals lead.

Team record: 23-13. Our division lead is down to 1 1/2 games over the red-hot Orioles, winners of 7 straight games. Next week: A day off then Seattle visits for 3 before we head to Fenway for 3 against Boston.

Players of the Week:

AL: Davis Schneider (TOR), 8-22, 4 HR, 6 RBI
NL: Patrick Wisdom (CHI), 12-23, 6 HR, 10 RBI, including a 3-homer game

Players of the Month (April):

AL Batter: Tyler O'Neill (BOS), .320-11-21
NL Batter: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), .294-9-17
AL Pitcher: Taj Bradley (TB), 4-1, 1.65, 40K in 32.2 IP
NL Pitcher: Kirk McCarty (COL), 5-1, 1.77, 41K in 40.2 IP
AL Rookie: Luis De Avila (TOR), 3-1, 2.70, 29K in 30 IP
NL Rookie: James Wood (WAS), .307-6-15

On the farm:

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

https://i.imgur.com/WWLcpe6.png

I am seriously considering calling up Isaac to play LF as Heston Kjerstad has slumped after a good start, hitting 226/291/366, and we need a boost on offense. We'd sacrifice some defense as Isaac is a below-average defender in LF and is really our heir apparent to Yandy at 1B.

May 6-12, 2025
 

May 6: Off-Day.

May 7: vs Seattle 4-2 W. WP-Maldonado (5-2). S-Fairbanks (9). Starter-Springs (6 6 2 2 0 8). HR-J.Lowe (3). Josh Lowe, who had earlier doubled in a run, hit a game-winning 2-run homer in the 8th.

May 8: vs Seattle 5-2 W. WP-Bradley (5-1, 6.2 3 0 0 3 2). Taj lowered his ERA to 1.68 while J.Lowe stayed hot with 2 more RBI and a steal.

May 9: vs Seattle 2-3 L (11). LP-Maldonado (5-3). Starter-Rasmussen (5 0 0 0 4 4, 96P). HR-Caminero (9). They led 1-0 going into the 8th before Cleavinger gave up a 2-run homer to Cal Raleigh. A clutch Yandy RBI tied it but Raleigh got them again in the 11th with an RBI double to win it for Seattle.

Transaction: The move has been made. With the offense sluggish we've called up top prospect Xavier Isaac from Durham, where he had 11 homers in 83 AB plus 2 more in 15 at AA Montgomery. Going to the other way is Jonathan Aranda, who never really got untracked at 211/290/337 with only 2 HR while serving as the DH against RHP. Isaac will take that job and also play some LF/1B.

May 10: at Boston 2-4 L (10). LP-Pepiot (0-1). Starter-Littell (6.1 5 2 2 2 7). HR-Paredes (8). Another tough loss in extras when Pepiot coughed up a homer to Tyler O'Neill with the ghost runner on. Xavier Isaac was 0-4 in his MLB debut.

May 11: at Boston 5-11 L. LP-McClanahan (4-3, 4.1 10 6 6 0 4). HR-Kjerstad (4). Mac was toasted today as Red Sox hitters battered Rays pitching for 5 doubles, a triple and 3 homers including a 2-double, 1-homer, 4-RBI game from Trevor Story. Meanwhile Rays batters fanned 9 times in 5 innings against a guy with 40 stuff before scoring some late meaningless runs. Xavier Isaac's first MLB hit was a double and he added a sac fly.

May 12: at Boston 5-1 W. WP-Springs (4-0, 6.2 4 1 1 2 9). HR-Westburg (3). Springs was absolutely brilliant and Yandy was 4-5 with a double and 2 RBI to lead the offense. Unfortunately Junior Caminero, who was playing with a minimal rib cage strain, turned it into a moderate rib cage strain and will have to miss a couple weeks on the IL.

Team record: 26-16. Fortunately Baltimore cooled off this week and remains a game behind. Next week: An off-day to travel to Detroit for 3 followed by a return home for 3 against Minnesota.

Players of the Week:

AL: Tyler O'Neill (BOS), 11-22, 6 HR, 11 RBI (seems like every AL PotW does his damage against us)
NL: Marcell Ozuna (ATL), 11-24, 3 HR, 7 RBI

May 13-19, 2025
 

Transaction: Junior Caminero goes on the IL with a rib cage strain that will sideline him a couple of weeks so 2B/OF Richie Palacios is up from Durham and will likely platoon with Curtis Mead at the keystone in Caminero's absence.

May 13: Off-Day.

May 14: at Detroit 5-1 W. WP-Bradley (6-1, 5 2 1 1 3 5). HR-Siri (1). Taj was very good although it took him 92 pitches to get through 5 while Siri had a big game with a 2-run homer and RBI double.

May 15: at Detroit 1-5 L. LP-Rasmussen (3-2, 5 9 4 4 1 10). Ras piled up the Ks but was hit hard otherwise as the Rays lost by the same score they won the night before.

May 16: at Detroit 9-0 W. WP-Littell (3-2, 8.1 3 0 0 2 6). HR-T.Hernandez (10), Paredes (9), Yandy Diaz (1). Tried to get Littell the shutout but he had to leave at 115 pitches after putting on a couple in the 9th. Otherwise it was a fun rout that saw Paredes homer and drive in 3 while Yandy finally hit his first homer of 2025 as part of a 2-3, 2-RBI, BB game.

May 17: vs Minnesota 2-0 W. WP-McClanahan (5-3, 6.1 3 0 0 1 8). S-Fairbanks (10). HR-Isaac (1). Shane was Mac-nificent and the Rays got their insurance run in the 7th on Xavier Isaac's first MLB homer.

May 18: vs Minnesota 2-6 L. LP-Springs (4-1, 4.1 5 5 2 1 7). Springs suffered his first loss of the year although it all wasn't his fault as a couple of Jordan Westburg errors were costly.

May 19: vs Minnesota 9-8 W. WP-Fairbanks (1-3). Starter-Bradley (5.2 6 6 5 3 7, 2 HR). HR-Yandy Diaz (2), Isaac (2), T.Hernandez (11). Rays came out on top in the wildest game of the year when Teoscar walked it off in the bottom of the 9th with a tie-breaking homer after Fairbanks had blown a one-run lead in the top of the frame. Before that the lead changed hands several times with Yandy hitting a 3-run homer and Xavier Isaac having the best game of his young MLB career with a triple, homer, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.

Team record: 30-18. Despite winning both series this week, Baltimore is even that much hotter and has taken a 1/2-game lead on the Rays in the division. Next week: A full slate with 4 at home against Texas before we hit the road for 3 in Colorado.

Players of the Week:

AL: Logan O'Hoppe (LA), 8-14, 2 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Ryan McMahon (COL), 11-20, 3 HR, 12 RBI

Also of note: The Dodgers' Mookie Betts hit career homer #300.

May 20-26, 2025
 

May 20: vs Texas 5-7 L. LP-Adam (2-2). Starter-Rasmussen (6.1 5 5 5 1 6). HR-Palacios (1), Kjerstad (5). Rays were up 5-0 and Ras took a no-hitter into the 6th. What could go wrong? It turned out everything as former Ray Nate Lowe wreaked vengeance on his former team with a 3-run homer off Ras in the 6th then another 3-run shot off Adam in the 7th to give Texas the win.

May 21: vs Texas 6-3 W. WP-Contreras (1-0). Starter-Littell (5.2 7 3 3 0 2). Turnabout is fair play as the Rays scored 5 times in the 8th to turn a 3-1 loss into a 6-3 win. Kjerstad capped a 3-4 day with a 2-run single to score the winning runs while Yandy also plated a pair.

May 22: vs Texas 4-5 L. LP-Fairbanks (1-4). Starter-McClanahan (6 5 1 1 0 8). No late lead is safe in this series as Texas took their turn with the late comeback, scoring 3 off Fairbanks in the 9th to pull off the win. A Paredes error kept the inning alive long enough for Fairbanks to allow a game-tying 2-run homer and then a solo shot to lose it. Yandy was 3-5 with 2 RBI in the losing cause.

May 23: vs Texas 4-3 W. WP-Maldonado (6-3). Starter-Springs (5 4 3 3 3 10). Yes, yet another game decided late as the Rays had a 3-0 lead on a 2-run Josh Lowe double but lost it and we were tied 3-3 in the 9th when the winning run scored on a wild pitch from Texas's Craig Kimbrel. Maldonado now has 6 wins in relief and is tied for AL lead with teammate Taj.

May 24: at Colorado 8-2 W. WP-Bradley (7-1, 5.1 4 2 2 2 5). S-J.Lopez (1). HR-Westburg 2 (5), Mead (2), Paredes (10). Rays got a well-pitched game at Coors from Taj and Jacob Lopez, who went the final 3 2/3 hitless for his first save. Meanwhile Westburg had his best game a Ray, going yard twice as part of a 4-4, 3-RBI day.

May 25: at Colorado 7-6 W. WP-Baz (1-0). S-Fairbanks (11). Starter-Rasmussen (6.1 5 4 4 1 4). HR-Paredes (11), J.Lowe (4). Yet another late comeback in a week full of them as the Rays scored 4 times in the 9th to shock the Rockies. Mead's 2-run double tied it and Campusano singled him home for the go-ahead run. They then had to survive another shaky Fairbanks outing as he gave up a 2-out homer and walked the next two before getting the final out on a fly ball to the deepest part of CF.

May 26: at Colorado 6-10 L. LP-Littell (3-3, 2.2 7 5 5 1 4). HR-Paredes (12), Isaac (3), Campusano (3). Littell was hit hard and the Rays were behind 8-2 before 2-run homers from Isaac and Campusano in the 8th got them back within 8-6 but that was as close as they'd get. Paredes had an early 2-run shot to homer in each of the 3 games of the series.

Team record: 34-21. We're now 3 behind Baltimore, which has won 12 straight and 22 of their last 25 games. Next week: An off-day then we visit Houston to play 3 followed by 3 in LA against the Dodgers, who got off to a very poor start (16-23) have won 14 of 16 including their last 7.

Players of the Week:

AL: Vinnie Pasquantino (KC), 8-25, 4 HR, 11 RBI
NL: Mookie Betts (LA), 9-23, 4 HR, 11 RBI

MLB News: Superstar Mike Trout's latter-day career has been bedeviled by injuries and this year is no exception as he'll miss 4 months with a ruptured finger tendon, so that's pretty much the rest of the season. Truly done of the year is Washington's Josh Bell, who ruptured an achilles tendon.

May 27-June 2, 2025
 

May 27: Off-Day.

May 28: at Houston 1-0 W. WP-McClanahan (6-3, 6.2 2 0 0 2 7). S-Fairbanks (12). HR-T.Hernandez (12). It was billed as a pitching duel with Mac going up against Framber Valdez and it did not disappoint, unless you're an Astros fan. Teoscar's 6th-inning homer was the game's only run.

May 29: at Houston 8-3 W. WP-Pepiot (1-1). Starter-Springs (5 4 2 2 2 8). HR-Yainer Diaz 2 (4), C.Williams (3). This was also seen as a pitchers' duel with Springs up against Justin Verlander, and through 7 it was with Houston up 2-1. But the Rays erupted for 7 runs in the 8th as Yainer Diaz got back at his old mates with his second homer of the night, a grand slam to break a 2-2 tie.

Transaction: Junior Caminero comes off the IL and Richie Palacios goes back to Durham.

May 30: at Houston 16-5 W. WP-Bradley (8-1, 5.2 8 4 4 1 4). HR-C.Williams (4), Yanier Diaz (5), Paredes (13), Isaac (4). A very silly game that saw the Rays go up 7-1 in the 2nd and 14-1 after tacking on 7 more in the 5th, completing the sweep. They banged out a season-high 22 hits and the biggest day of all was had by rookie Xavier Isaac, 4-6 with a homer and 6 RBI. Paredes knocked in 3 with his homer and Yandy was 3-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored.

May 31: at LA Dodgers 7-2 W. WP-Rasmussen (4-2, 5.1 6 2 2 1 5). HR-Kjerstad (6), Isaac (5), Paredes (14). This was scoreless until the 5th when Kjerstad belted a 2-run shot and they piled on from there. The bullpen was 3 2/3 hitless to preserve the lead.

June 1: at LA Dodgers 11-10 W. WP-Adam (3-2). S-Fairbanks (13). Starter-Littell (2 8 7 7 0 0, 3 HR). HR-Kjerstad (7), Yanier Diaz (6), Caminero (10), Isaac (6). What a wild one. Littell was throwing meatballs and the Dodgers were up 7-3 after 2 and 8-3 after 5. But the Rays kept chipping away and went ahead in the 8th on Isaac's 2-run homer. They tacked on two more in the 9th and needed them when Fairbanks gave those runs back in yet another shaky save. Yanier Diaz, who didn't look like the bat-first catcher we thought we were trading for, made it 4 HR and 8 RBI in his last 4 games.

June 2: at LA Dodgers 5-4 W. WP-McClanahan (7-3, 6.2 5 3 3 3 7). S-Cleavinger (1). HR-J.Lowe (5). An incredible week concluded with another late comeback as the Rays followed up a sweep in Houston with a sweep at Dodger Stadium, an outstanding feat. The Rays were held to only 3 hits on the day but one of them was Josh Lowe's grand slam in the 7th to erase a 2-1 deficit. LA fought back but Cleavinger was impressive in getting the final 5 outs for the save and with Fairbanks shaky, he might just be getting more opportunities.

Team record: 40-21. So what did a 6-0 week earn us in terms of the standings? Not as much as it normally should as while Baltimore did prove human this week they still went 5-2, so we halved their division lead to 1 1/2 games. Next week: A day off then home for 3 against Detroit and 3 versus San Diego.

Players of the Week:

AL: Xavier Isaac (TB), 11-21, 4 HR, 11 RBI. Thinking his closest competition was Yanier.
NL: Luis Arraez (LA), 10-20, 2 HR, 9 RBI

Players of the Month:

AL Batter: Gunnar Henderson (BAL), .360-7-22
NL Batter: Mookie Betts (LA), .330-9-27
AL Pitcher: Trace Bright (BAL), 5-0, 4 SV, 16 K in 14 IP
NL Pitcher: Dustin May (LA), 4-0, 2.12, 34 K in 29.2 IP
AL Rookie: Bright
NL Rookie: Jacob Berry (MIA), .295-7-22

MLB News: Houston's Yordan Alvarez strained a hip muscle against us early in the week and will miss 3 weeks while the Mets' big free-agent signing Juan Soto strained his oblique and will be lost 3-4 weeks.

A look at the standings and leaders as we're a bit past the 1/3 mark of the season:

https://i.imgur.com/vlYnH9L.png

June 3-9, 2025
 

June 3: Off-Day.

June 4: vs Detroit 10-9 W (10). WP-Fairbanks (2-4). Starter-Springs (3 2 2 2 0 6). HR-Yandy Diaz (3), T.Hernandez 2 (14). Another crazy one for the Rays as an early 7-2 lead was lost as was a late 9-8 lead but they still prevailed when J.Lowe delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 10th. Teoscar had a massive game, 3-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI and Fairbanks earned the win by striking out the side in the top of the 10th.

June 5: vs Detroit 5-4 W. WP-Bradley (9-1, 6.2 2 2 2 0 9). S-Adam (3). HR-Mead (3), J.Lowe (6), Campusano (4). Rays were up 5-0 and Taj was perfect through 6 before things got dicey and they had to hold on for the win.

June 6: vs Detroit 3-4 L (10). LP-Contreras (1-1). Starter-Rasmussen (5.1 5 2 2 2 9). HR-C.Williams (5). Cleavinger lost a 4-3 lead in the 8th and they lost the game in the 10th, missing out on a sweep.

June 7: vs San Diego 4-3 W (10). WP-Fairbanks (3-4). Starter-Littell (6.2 6 2 2 0 3). HR-Caminero (11), Yandy Diaz (4), Westburg (6). Littell bounced back nicely after a couple of bad starts and Yandy's RBI single won it in the 10th. They have developed a bad habit of late of blowing leads and a 3-1 lead disappeared in the 7th and 8th, but have managed to overcome them so far.

June 8: vs San Diego 0-1 L. LP-McClanahan (7-4, 6 5 1 1 1 5). A tough one as they were shut down by San Diego's Robbie Snelling and managed only 4 hits on the night. Mac deserved a better fate.

June 9: vs San Diego 2-7 L. LP-Springs (4-2, 5 6 4 4 1 11). Springs had trouble with Manny Machado, who knocked in 3 of the 4 runs against him and former Ray Zach Eflin largely shut down the offense as the Rays lost two in a row for the first time since May 10-11 at Boston, which was also the last time they lost a series.

Team record: 43-24. We've now dropped 3 1/2 behind seemingly unstoppable Baltimore, which has gone 32-6 since starting the season 14-14. Next week: Road trip time as we start with 4 in Cleveland before finally getting a crack at those Orioles with 3 in Camden Yards.

Players of the Week:

AL: Jackson Holliday (BAL), 11-21, 1 HR, 2 RBI
NL: Adael Amador (COL), 12-25, 1 HR, 5 RBI

On the Farm: Just a note that Durham has the best record in the International League at 37-19, which stands to reason given most of the lineup played for us in the bigs last season. Jose Caballeros, Jonny DeLuca, Richie Palacios, Rene Pinto, Jonathan Aranda, Parker Meadows, Nick Loftin, Randy Vasquez, Reese Olson, Kevin Kelly, Manuel Rodriguez and Nic Enright all could be playing in MLB right now for other teams and give us tremendous depth as we saw when Palacios came up and played well while Caminero was out.

June 10-16, 2025
 

June 10: at Cleveland 0-2 L. LP-Bradley (9-2, 6.2 7 2 2 1 5). Rays only managed 4 hits against Joey Cantillo and the Cleveland bullpen as they were shut out for the second time in three games and have lost three straight for only the second time all season.

June 11: at Cleveland 3-8 L. LP-Cleavinger (1-1). Starter-Rasmussen (6 5 3 3 0 9). You wouldn't know it by the final score but the Rays battled back from a 3-0 deficit to tie it up in the 8th, only for Cleavinger to implode with he and Baz combining to allow 5 in the bottom of the 8th to send them to their 4th straight defeat.

June 12: at Cleveland 0-8 L. LP-Littell (3-4, 4 5 5 5 3 4). Littell was shelled for the third time in four games, the team was shut out for the third time in five and the losing streak reached 5 as the Rays are really in a bad run. Littell's rotation days may be numbered with Baz and Pepiot ready to step in.

June 13: at Cleveland 0-2 L. LP-McClanahan (7-5, 6.2 6 2 2 2 4). This is getting ridiculous now as Shane Bieber went 8 1 0 0 0 11 against them with Isaac's single in the 6th their only hit. 6 straight losses and 4 shutouts in that stretch, not the way they wanted to be heading into Baltimore.

June 14: at Baltimore 4-6 L (10). LP-Adam (3-3). Starter-Springs (7 6 2 2 1 7). HR-Caminero (12). This one really hurt. Aside from being their 7th straight defeat they took a 4-2 lead into the 8th only for Cleavinger to melt down again, allowing a 2-run homer to the immortal Tyrone Taylor. And then in the 10th Adam lost it on a 2-run homer by...Taylor again.

June 15: at Baltimore 0-3 L. LP-Bradley (9-3, 5.2 7 3 3 2 7). Here we go again, shut out for the fifth time in eight games and 8 straight defeats as the Rays suffer a June swoon of epic proportions. Only 4 hits today.

June 16: at Baltimore 9-21 L. LP-Rasmussen (4-3, 3.2 8 7 7 2 6). HR-Mead (4), Yandy Diaz (5), Siri (2). The good news - we scored 9 runs! That's as many as they scored in the previous 8 games combined. The bad news - well duh, 21 runs against and a 9th straight loss. Everyone who took the mound today was torched and we had to have Jordan Westburg pitch the 8th against his old team, giving up a 2-run homer to put the O's over 20. Don't think I've had a Rays team in all of my many saves lose 9 straight, but here we are all the more shocking as they were 43-21 before this streak started. By the way former Ray Brandon Lowe got his revenge in this series, going 7-12 with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

Team record: 43-30. We're now a whopping 9 1/2 behind the Orioles, who continue to run roughshod on MLB on a 38-7 run. Next week: Mercifully we get a day off before a chance to finally get right with 3 games against the 25-47 Blue Jays, beginning a homestand that sees Washington follow for 3.

Players of the Week:

AL: Taylor Ward (LA) 12-25, 2 HR, 8 RBI
NL: Manny Machado (SD) 9-20, 3 HR, 10 RBI. He started heating up the previous weekend against us.

June 17-23, 2025
 

June 17: Off-Day.

June 18: vs Toronto 2-3 L (10). LP-Fairbanks (3-5). Starter-Littell (5.1 4 1 1 1 3). Returning home to play a bad Blue Jays team wasn't enough to end the Rays' losing streak which now stretches to double digits as they dropped a tough one. Carson Williams had a double and a triple in a losing cause.

June 19: vs Toronto 6-0 W. WP-McClanahan (8-5, 9 4 0 0 1 10). HR-Paredes (15), T.Hernandez (15), Caminero (13). Hallelujah, a win! Mac hurled the game of the season, a 109-pitch gem, and back-to-back-to-back homers from the three guys listed above broke open a 1-0 game in the 6th.

June 20: vs Toronto 4-2 W. WP-Springs (5-2, 6 4 2 2 2 4). S-Fairbanks (14). HR-Campusano (5). After 10 straight losses the Rays now have a mini-win streak as Springs was solid, Fairbanks struck out the side in the 9th and Campusano supplied the offense with a 2-run homer and RBI single.

June 21: vs Washington 4-3 W. WP-Cleavinger (2-1). S-Maldonado (4). Starter-Bradley (5.2 8 1 1 1 6). HR-Paredes 2 (17). Paredes' pair of dingers put them up 3-1 but they couldn't hold onto the lead and the Nats tied it up. Enter Jordan Westburg, whose 2-out pinch-single in the 8th brought home the winner. Maldonado put men on 1st and 3rd with nobody out in the 9th but got two whiffs and a popup to end the game.

June 22: vs Washington 1-8 L. LP-Rasmussen (4-4, 4 11 8 7 1 2). HR-T.Hernandez (16). Ras was rocked for the second straight start, has allowed 14 ER in his last 7 2/3 and seen his ERA leap from 3.86 to 4.97. Teoscar's 9th-innng homer averted another shutout.

June 23: vs Washington 5-4 W. WP-Adam (4-3). Starter-Littell (4.2 4 4 4 4 3). HR-Paredes (18), Yandy Diaz (6). It looked bleak for Tampa Bay, trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th with two out and nobody on but once again Westburg came off the bench with a big pinch-hit and Yandy followed with a 2-run walk-off homer to give the Rays their second straight series win.

Team record: 47-33. Still 8 1/2 behind the Orioles, who did lose a few games this week including a 17-2 hammering at Wrigley, so they are still human. More importantly and realistically, they're still the #1 wild card in the AL, 4 1/2 up on 2nd-place Minnesota and 6 1/2 up on 4th place. Next week: An off-day then 2 in Philly followed by 4 at Yankee Stadium.

Players of the Week:

AL: Oswald Peraza (NY), 18-26(!), 3 HR, 10 RBI. All 3 of those homers came in one game against the White Sox.
NL: Cody Bellinger (CHI), 11-29, 5 HR, 11 RBI

Also Jonathan Aranda, who has done nothing but rake since being sent down earlier this season, was the IL Player of the Week after going 14-25 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He's now hitting 349/437/557 with the Bulls and spoiler alert, you may be seeing him soon as Xavier Isaac is in a 3-36 slump with 0 HR and 0 RBI.

MLB News: One player we won't see in Philly is frontline starter Zack Wheeler, who is done for the season with a ruptured bicep tendon.

As we've essentially reached the halfway point of the season, the next post will be a stat-filled midseason recap.

June 24-30, 2025
 

Transaction: As hinted at in the previous post, we did send down the slumping Xavier Isaac and promoted Jonathan Aranda.

June 24: Off-Day.

June 25: at Philadelphia 1-0 W. WP-McClanahan (9-5, 8 2 0 0 1 11). S-Fairbanks (15). Coming off a shutout in his previous start Mac was it again with 8 more zeroes. Teoscar's RBI single in the 3rd plated the only run.

June 26: at Philadelphia 0-5 L. LP-Springs (5-3, 5 7 3 3 1 3). Another brutal day at the plate for Rays hitters, who only managed 5 hits.

June 27: at NY Yankees 1-4 L. LP-Bradley (9-4, 5.2 6 4 4 5 4). HR-Caminero (14). The offensive drought continued in another dispiriting loss.

June 28: at NY Yankees 2-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (5-4, 6 2 0 0 2 9). S-Fairbanks (16). HR-Yanier Diaz (7). Diaz was the only bat to show up, going 3-4 with a homer and both RBI, but it was enough thanks to a brilliant start from Ras who bounced back from a couple of bad outings.

June 29: at NY Yankees 3-5 L. LP-Baz (1-1). Starter-Littell (5.1 4 2 2 0 6). HR-Westburg (7), Caminero (15). 3 runs was a veritable offensive orgy for the Rays these days and it should have been enough to win as they took a 3-2 lead into the 8th before Baz gave up the tying homer, put a man on, and Maldonado gave up a 2-run game-winning shot to Aaron Judge.

June 30: at NY Yankees 0-2 L. LP-McClanahan (9-6, 7 4 2 2 3 9). Mac merely great instead of otherworldly today and with an offensive that scored 7 runs in 6 games over the entire week that was enough to get him beat. The fact they won twice in that stretch is a surprise.

Team record: 49-37. The division's out of reach for now but they're still in the first wild card slot, 4 up on 2nd-place Minnesota and 5 1/2 up on 4th-place Seattle. Next week: A day off then we start a homestand with 3 against the 49-36 Cubs and 3 against the 58-25 Orioles.

Players of the Week:

AL: Bo Naylor (CLE), 10-21, 2 HR, 10 RBI
NL: Michael Harris II (ATL), 15-28, 4 HR, 10 RBI

Players of the Month (June):

AL Hitter: Corey Seager (TEX), .414-7-20
NL Hitter: Ronald Acuna Jr (ATL), .361-8-20
AL Pitcher: Max Kranick (LA), 4-0, 1.69
NL Pitcher: Jameson Taillon (CHI), 4-0, 1.93
AL Rookie: Coby Mayo (BAL), .253-5-18
NL Rookie: Jacob Berry (MIA), .314-6-24

Had promised a midseason review last post but forgot so it's coming up next, a week into the second half.

2025 Midseason Review
 

*Slightly past the midseason mark

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

https://i.imgur.com/u0QXaLP.png

It was a brutal June, with the 10-game losing streak and all, and I'd hate to see what the team offensive numbers were for the month. As of now, they're respectable for the season thanks to our hot April & May but the team in a serious slump. The pitching remains outstanding and is propping us up now, although the defense seems to have slipped a bit.

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

Nothing to write home about from this bunch. The rookie Williams is leading the team in WAR thanks to Gold Glove-caliber defense, ditto for Siri in 3rd, who's been a part-timer but getting more play lately as J.Lowe has been a brutal defender when he plays CF. And our DHs (Mead, Isaac, Aranda) have combined for 0.1 WAR. Oof.

https://i.imgur.com/7Bm1HsV.png

On the other hand we have a starting rotation that's the envy of most of baseball, led by McClanahan who's having a Cy Young season and has shown no ill effects of his 2nd Tommy John surgery in late 2022. The bullpen has been extremely homer-prone though, with our back-end guys (Adam, Maldonado, Fairbanks) combining to allow 20 HR in 88 IP.

https://i.imgur.com/TgZv80e.png

Isaac has raked in the week since he was sent back down and I'm hopeful he'll be back up sooner than later. Elsewhere we don't need a starter right now with the five we've got plus Pepiot and Baz in the pen but if we did last year's first-rounder Hagen Smith is just about ready, dominating AA.

July 1-7, 2025
 

July 1: Off-Day.

July 2: vs Chicago Cubs 7-3 W. WP-Springs (6-3, 6 6 3 3 1 6). HR-Campusano (6). Finally some offense! Rays scored as many as they did all of last week tonight, and doing against one of the top hurlers in MLB, Justin Steele. Campusano led the way with 3 RBI, including a 2-run homer and Caminero was 3-4 with a double and an RBI.

Transaction: Carson Williams suffered an intercostal strain and will be out a couple of weeks. Nick Loftin, hitting 375/411/552 in 48 games at Durham, is up and will play SS along with Jordan Westburg.

July 3: vs Chicago Cubs 2-1 W. WP-Bradley (10-4, 7 4 1 1 2 6). S-Fairbanks (17). HR-Paredes (19), Mead (5). Taj was terrific and Mead's 6th-inning solo shot broke a 1-1 tie.

July 4: vs Chicago Cubs 2-5 L. LP-Rasmussen (4-5, 4.2 6 3 3 1 4). HR-Yandy Diaz (7). The pitching wasn't great and the offense left 11 men on base in a sloppy loss. Yandy was 3-5 with the homer and 2 RBI.

July 5: vs Baltimore 4-5 L. LP-Cleavinger (2-2). Starter-Littell (5 5 3 3 1 4). HR-Siri (3). A tough one to take as the Rays took a 4-3 lead into the 8th only for Cleavinger to put men on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out with Adam coming in and giving up a 2-run double to Coby Mayo to lose it.

Transaction: Didn't waste any team bringing Xavier Isaac back up as he seemingly snapped out of his slump with a big week at Durham while Jonathan Aranda (going back down) was 1-10 after getting 2 hits in the first game after his recall.

July 6: vs Baltimore 4-2 W. WP-McClanahan (10-6, 5.1 5 2 2 2 6). S-Fairbanks (18). Finally a win over the Orioles! It took five tries but thanks to Mac and a big 2-run double from a slumping Teoscar the Rays did it.

July 7: vs Baltimore 5-6 L. LP-Fairbanks (3-6). Starter-Springs (4.1 8 4 4 2 6). HR-Isaac (7). A touted pitching matchup didn't materialize as Springs and Kyle Bradish were both roughed up so it came down to the bullpens and as has been often this year, Tampa Bay's came up lacking. Westburg's RBI knock against his old team put them up 5-4 after 6, but Adam gave up a run in the 7th and then a Yandy error led to an unearned run off Fairbanks in the 9th to lose it.

Team record: 52-40. Still 4 up in the first wild card slot. Next week: An off-day then 3 in Boston followed by 3 in Toronto before we hit the All-Star break. We'll also have the draft.

Players of the Week:

AL: Marcus Semien (TEX), 11-20, 1 HR, 4 RBI
NL: Michael Harris II (ATL), 12-24, 4 HR, 11 RBI. Second straight week for Harris and if you combine the two weeks you get a 27-52, 8 HR, 21 RBI stretch which is pretty incredible.

MLB News: San Francisco's Kyle Schwarber hit career homer #300.