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Art Deco · 05-21-2023, 03:21 PM

Record: 12-13
3rd place AL East, 2 games behind Toronto.

Not the greatest of starts but fortunately for the Rays the AL East remains as mediocre as it did last year so we're not in any kind of hole. The month was a tale of two halves as after an Opening Day triumph the Rays went 2-8 but bounced back to go 9-5 over the final two weeks of the month, briefly getting to .500 before losing on the final day.

And we made a couple of major trades, acquiring one of the more exciting young players in baseball in the first one:

I was doing my usual due diligence shopping players around and noticed that 2023 2nd-round pick Ashton Larson (the #59 overall prospect) was drawing a lot of interest around the league and that in other shop attempts Cincinnati was making Elly De La Cruz available. You didn't have to ask me twice to complete this deal and it only took throwing in Hunley, a 5th starter if you squint hard, to get it done. The massive 6'5" De La Cruz is an athletic freak with 60 contact (65 potential) and 65 power to go along with 70 speed and plays a competent (55) 3B. He was acquired on the 21st and paid immediate dividends in a game with Oakland as he went 5-for-6 with 2 homers, including a game-tying 2-run shot in the bottom of the 13th after Oakland scored twice in the top of inning, a steal, and 4 RBI in an 8-7 win.

Of course you may be saying "Wait, don't you already have a power-hitting 3B named Isaac Paredes?". And to the answer to that would be "yes, but not any longer":

Paredes was off to a miserable 170/291/277 start with 1 homer in 15 games, although these deals were more the result of De La Cruz being available then souring on Paredes. But I was heavily skeptical of Paredes duplicating his 36-HR, 103-RBI 2024 especially as he's only rated 40 for contact. Add that to the fact he'll be due nearly $10M in arbitration next year and it wasn't that tough to part with him. The question of course then became what to get for him and Pittsburgh made the best offer with Acuna, the younger brother of Atlanta superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. Luisangel, primarily a MI who can also play some OF, didn't seem to fit a particular need with B.Lowe and Wander covering 2B & SS and he was assigned to Durham after the trade. But in that same game De La Cruz went nuts against Oakland, Wander left with elbow inflammation and will be out until around the first of June so Acuna was summoned to take over SS and responded by going 7-24 with a couple of homers to finish out the month. Given his versatility, he should be useful as he's a solid 50-55 in all the hitting categories, a 70 basestealer, 55 at 2B, 45 at SS and 60 in the OF corners.

What a start for the Twins, led by all-world SS Carlos Correa. Otherwise nobody's running away with anything in the AL so if the Rays can hold serve until Wander returns (he was one of their few bright spots over the first couple of weeks), they'll be OK.

As befits a team on the wrong side of .500 the Rays are mediocre-to-poor in most categories and they've been especially challenged getting on base. You'll see the details in a moment as numerous players with a track record are off to lousy starts. The team defense has been really bad, uncharacteristic of this Rays era, with the injured Wander one of the culprits as he sports a -3.5 ZR and already made four errors at SS, and has dragged the pitching numbers down as you can see they're up there in WAR and first in whiffs.

The lineup's been in constant flux, especially at 1B/DH/RF with a mix of Jung, J.Lowe, Manzardo and Wells, and lately Jung and Wells have been getting the playing time at the expense of Manzardo and Lowe who are off to miserable starts. The Lowes in particular have been Lowe-sy as Brandon only has one homer, which he finally hit late in the month and has done little else. Jung got off to a real slow start but was our hottest hitter late in the month including homers in three consecutive games. Manzardo meanwhile may find himself back in Durham before long.

Egads has Zach Eflin been bad after a couple of solid seasons. Those numbers include a decent opening day start which he won so you can understand how horrible he's been after that. And with him pulling down $18M this year he's essentially untradeable. But that doesn't mean he can't lose his rotation spot as Shane Baz has pitched very well in long relief, as has Ryan Pepiot. The other starters who have struggled some are BABIP victims while the defense seems to play great behind Rasmussen. Matt Brash has been as advertised after a slow first couple of starts.

Down on the farm:

Had we not just acquired Acuna I might have turned to Carson Williams to play SS in place of Wander as he'd at least provide a good glove at the position and he can at least hit some. Junior Caminero is having a ridiculous first month at Durham (11 HR) but we don't quite have a place for him at the moment.

So let's see how we survive May without Wander and we'll check back in.

05-21-2023, 03:21 PM	#24
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 6,930	April 2025 Record: 12-13 3rd place AL East, 2 games behind Toronto. Not the greatest of starts but fortunately for the Rays the AL East remains as mediocre as it did last year so we're not in any kind of hole. The month was a tale of two halves as after an Opening Day triumph the Rays went 2-8 but bounced back to go 9-5 over the final two weeks of the month, briefly getting to .500 before losing on the final day. And we made a couple of major trades, acquiring one of the more exciting young players in baseball in the first one: I was doing my usual due diligence shopping players around and noticed that 2023 2nd-round pick Ashton Larson (the #59 overall prospect) was drawing a lot of interest around the league and that in other shop attempts Cincinnati was making Elly De La Cruz available. You didn't have to ask me twice to complete this deal and it only took throwing in Hunley, a 5th starter if you squint hard, to get it done. The massive 6'5" De La Cruz is an athletic freak with 60 contact (65 potential) and 65 power to go along with 70 speed and plays a competent (55) 3B. He was acquired on the 21st and paid immediate dividends in a game with Oakland as he went 5-for-6 with 2 homers, including a game-tying 2-run shot in the bottom of the 13th after Oakland scored twice in the top of inning, a steal, and 4 RBI in an 8-7 win. Of course you may be saying "Wait, don't you already have a power-hitting 3B named Isaac Paredes?". And to the answer to that would be "yes, but not any longer": Paredes was off to a miserable 170/291/277 start with 1 homer in 15 games, although these deals were more the result of De La Cruz being available then souring on Paredes. But I was heavily skeptical of Paredes duplicating his 36-HR, 103-RBI 2024 especially as he's only rated 40 for contact. Add that to the fact he'll be due nearly $10M in arbitration next year and it wasn't that tough to part with him. The question of course then became what to get for him and Pittsburgh made the best offer with Acuna, the younger brother of Atlanta superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. Luisangel, primarily a MI who can also play some OF, didn't seem to fit a particular need with B.Lowe and Wander covering 2B & SS and he was assigned to Durham after the trade. But in that same game De La Cruz went nuts against Oakland, Wander left with elbow inflammation and will be out until around the first of June so Acuna was summoned to take over SS and responded by going 7-24 with a couple of homers to finish out the month. Given his versatility, he should be useful as he's a solid 50-55 in all the hitting categories, a 70 basestealer, 55 at 2B, 45 at SS and 60 in the OF corners. What a start for the Twins, led by all-world SS Carlos Correa. Otherwise nobody's running away with anything in the AL so if the Rays can hold serve until Wander returns (he was one of their few bright spots over the first couple of weeks), they'll be OK. As befits a team on the wrong side of .500 the Rays are mediocre-to-poor in most categories and they've been especially challenged getting on base. You'll see the details in a moment as numerous players with a track record are off to lousy starts. The team defense has been really bad, uncharacteristic of this Rays era, with the injured Wander one of the culprits as he sports a -3.5 ZR and already made four errors at SS, and has dragged the pitching numbers down as you can see they're up there in WAR and first in whiffs. The lineup's been in constant flux, especially at 1B/DH/RF with a mix of Jung, J.Lowe, Manzardo and Wells, and lately Jung and Wells have been getting the playing time at the expense of Manzardo and Lowe who are off to miserable starts. The Lowes in particular have been Lowe-sy as Brandon only has one homer, which he finally hit late in the month and has done little else. Jung got off to a real slow start but was our hottest hitter late in the month including homers in three consecutive games. Manzardo meanwhile may find himself back in Durham before long. Egads has Zach Eflin been bad after a couple of solid seasons. Those numbers include a decent opening day start which he won so you can understand how horrible he's been after that. And with him pulling down $18M this year he's essentially untradeable. But that doesn't mean he can't lose his rotation spot as Shane Baz has pitched very well in long relief, as has Ryan Pepiot. The other starters who have struggled some are BABIP victims while the defense seems to play great behind Rasmussen. Matt Brash has been as advertised after a slow first couple of starts. Down on the farm: Had we not just acquired Acuna I might have turned to Carson Williams to play SS in place of Wander as he'd at least provide a good glove at the position and he can at least hit some. Junior Caminero is having a ridiculous first month at Durham (11 HR) but we don't quite have a place for him at the moment. So let's see how we survive May without Wander and we'll check back in.