You had to know it was coming as I can't help myself. But I am going to do something different here from my other Rays dynasties - I'm going to post mostly on a seasonal basis instead of series-by-series or even month-by-month. I'm simming out most of these games rather than managing them so as to get through the season quickly but still GMing.
So here's the story of the 2023 Rays. Coming off an 86-76 season in which they made the third wild card but were summarily dismissed by Cleveland after scoring one run in two games, the big question going into the season was the offense. Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco missed large chunks of 2022 and the hope was that they a healthy return by both and perhaps some contributions from Josh Lowe and Luke Raley who spent most of last year at Durham would get the offense to a respectable level to go with the club's customary great pitching. And the pitching really is something to behold, especially beefed up this year with the return from injury of Tyler Glasnow and the free agent signing of Zach Eflin.
Things did not start out all that great, despite an easy schedule that opened with the likes of Detroit, Washington and Oakland as the Rays struggled through April at 14-14. Glasnow missed the month with a strained oblique but came back in May and pitched well (a 2.78 ERA with 45 whiffs in 32 IP). May was a bit better month at 17-12 but the Rays found themselves in a third wild card dogfight and were 7 1/2 back of first-place Toronto with the offense continuing to struggle.
So a big trade was made:
Even though he was signed to an extension in the offseason, it was always a matter of time before Glasnow was traded, especially with him due to be paid $25M next season. In return we received what we feel will be an impact bat in Vargas, and a live arm in Pepiot who can take Glasnow's place in the rotation with both under team control for several more years to come. The Dodgers meanwhile are off to a blazing start and are dreaming of another World Series title. We had to include Bitsko, our 2020 1st-round pick, to get the deal done but after surgeries the bloom is off his rose.
The deal helped energize the team, and the Rays had a 19-8 June to propel them into contention. They weren't quite as hot in July at 14-10 but Toronto had gone into a slump and the Rays still moved into first place. Sensing another bat was needed, we hooked up with the Cubs on a rental:
Happ is a quintessential Rays player: able to play multiple positions on the IF and OF with a good glove, draws walks, etc. Wilcox is a good prospect but wasn't delivering on his promise this year at AA.
We also made a minor deal to make room for Happ, sending Harold Ramirez, who had lost most of his ABs to Vargas, to Seattle for minor league hurler Isaiah Campbell, the kind of sneaky arm this club picks up and turns into an effective reliever with 55/55/55 ratings and some 60s in there for potential.
Between the Vargas and Happ acquisitions, and guys like B.Lowe and Isaac Paredes shaking off slow starts, the offense kicked into high gear and we ended up running away with the division, clinching on September 19 and finishing 103-59, the best record in the AL after going 39-14 over the last two months. The final standings:
Yandy Diaz, who took a step up in 2022, took an even bigger step up in 2023 and nearly won the batting title.
We may have slightly outplayed our Pythagorean record but we were every bit the deserving 100-win team. In April and May there were a lot of double-digit rankings in the offensive numbers but that turned around in a big way. The only thing here you can ding us for is the bullpen, which had its ups and downs but really didn't blow too many games.
Wander had the star-caliber full season we knew he was capable of and would have pushed 6 WAR had he not missed most of September with a groin injury. He'll be back for the playoffs though. As mentioned Yandy had an incredible year, amassing 200 hits and nearly 100 walks, leading MLB with a .416 OBP with Juan Soto nearest at .402. The other very pleasant surprise was the production from the catching tandem of Francisco Mejia and Christian Bethancourt. Seen as a weak spot going into the year the pair combined for 19 HR, 100 RBI and almost a .280 BA. And Vargas was everything as advertised, becoming a middle-of-the-lineup offensive force and combined with his LA numbers finished 311/376/524 with 25 HR and 111 RBI.
The pitching of course was its typical team strength, and the top four starters all had fine years with Eflin doing what we envisioned him doing when he was signed as a free agent. Pepiot had his ups and downs as a fifth starter but the arm is special and he'll be a nasty multi-inning reliever in the playoffs. The revelation of the staff was Jalen Beeks, who became a nasty multi-inning reliever of his own, earning 2.3 WAR with 133 whiffs in 84 IP. Yonny Chirinos didn't spend much time at Durham before we pulled the plug on Josh Fleming as the fill-in for Glasnow and had a great year as a swingman. There was a fair amount of churn after Beeks, Fairbanks and Adam (we returned Rule 5 guy Kevin Kelly to Cleveland after some lousy pitching), and that's part of why we finished 9th in the AL in bullpen ERA. But we didn't win 103 games without all phases of the team contributing.
The farm remained a strength with Durham and Bowling Green having big years and moving on in their playoffs. A look at the prospects at season's end:
Kyle Manzardo had a massive year (42 HR) at Durham and is ready to rake in the majors, although with Yandy and Vargas holding down 1B and DH on the big club it might be a tough fit. Ditto for Taj Bradley as the five starters in the rotation should all return in 2024. It was a lost year for Carson Williams though as he missed most of it after a ruptured Achilles tendon. Curtis Mead got a run for a couple of weeks with the big club before Miguel Vargas was acquired and didn't hit much but still has a special bat. He's in the same boat as Manzardo when it comes to being blocked, though.
The draft:
BNN isn't very high on Gasparino as he was absent from the list above, ranked as our #30 prospect. He did only hit .148 in 27 complex league games. They do like Cuvet however, making him the #45 overall prospect. Cuvet has 75 potential power and was a respectable 247/363/455 with 4 homers in 27 complex games. All five of our top picks were high-schoolers.
Next up: The 2023 playoffs!