The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

A tough one...



The Rays dropped Game 2 at Publix Park in agonizing fashion and now head to Minnesota level at 1-1. Although Minnesota got a 2-run homer in the 4th for the runs they needed the game likely turned in 3rd inning when Dantel Chinchilla doubled but had to leave the game with a strained rib cage muscle that hopefully shouldn't keep him out of Game 3. But with Minnesota throwing lefties we had to replace Chinchilla with Alex Brown, a good glove but a weak hitter against southpaws. And that came back to bite us in the 7th when we had runners in scoring position but had to let Brown make the third out against a lefty, and then in the 9th the real pain occurred. Tampa Bay put men on 1st and 3rd with nobody out against former Ray lefty Chris O'Brien, but David Morales hit one right back to O'Brien for a force at 2nd and then Jose Machado popped one up on the infield. This brought Brown to the plate and instead of letting him hit we called a better lefty hitter (the righties were all in the starting lineup) in Joel Bland and he hit the ball hard but right at the CF to end it. I can't help but think Chinchilla would have come through in one of those situations. So now Randy Mastropietro, who missed most of August and September, will try to keep us from falling behind in the series in Game 3.

Meanwhile the Angels are all but in the ALCS:

[Art Deco]

Backs to the wall...



Tampa Bay's bullpen, a strength all season, let them down when it mattered most as a 4-3 lead in the 8th turned into a 5-4 walk-off loss to Minnesota to put them down 2-1 in the ALDS and wasted a legendary game from Jesus Avalos. Adan Guardado was the first culprit, giving up a lefty-on-lefty homer in the 8th to allow Minnesota to tie, and then closer Mario Berumen (after one of the franchise's all-time best relief seasons) surrendered a one-out walk-off blast in the bottom of the 9th. Before that it looked like Avalos would have one of the talked-about postseason games of recent history, doubling in a run in the first, hitting a solo homer in the 4th to get them back within 3-2, and then launching a majestic 442-hit shot to the second deck in center to put them ahead 4-3 in the 6th. Alas it was all for naught and now it will be up to rookie Elijah Whitaker to help save the season in tomorrow's Game 4 and get them back home with Dave Rose on the mound in Game 5.

In yesterday's NLDS action:



The Nationals move on to the NLCS, while in today's DS slate:



The Astros stay alive and the Rockies force a decisive Game 5.

[Art Deco]

Keeping the season going...



It was like pulling teeth, but the Rays found a way to keep their 2055 season alive by striking late to take a 2-0 win over the Twins and forcing a Game 5 back in Tampa with ace Dave Rose on the mound. The bats were held to a single hit through the first 7 innings but thanks to rookie Elijah Whitaker's ability to pitch out of trouble and some good middle relief from Melvin Lopez they held serve and broke through in the 8th. With two out and nobody on pinch-hitter Jose Lozada doubled into the RF corner and another guy who didn't start, Takayuki Tsujimura, singled him home. Tsuijmura was only in the game because starter Nesty de la Rosa was beaned in the first inning and had to come out with blurred vision, although he may have pinch hit against the lefty in that situation anyway. David Morales brought home an insurance run in the 9th on a sac fly and Mario Berumen put yesterday's loss behind him with a perfect 2-inning save. On to Tampa!

And if we do win that game we'll have a date with the Angels:

[Art Deco]

As dramatic as it gets...



It was another ultra-tense, low-scoring affair between these teams as they played a fifth and deciding game in their ALDS and Kang-cheol Lee made history, becoming one of the few men in MLB history to win the deciding game of a postseason series with a walk-off home and giving the Rays a 2-1 win and a berth in the ALCS alongside the Angels. Series MVP Jesus Avalos gave the Rays an early 1-0 lead (it could have been 2-0 had Jose Lozada not been caught stealing earlier in the at-bat) in the 3rd before Dave Rose ran into trouble in the 6th, giving up a run and loading the bases with one out before getting a strikeout and a ground out to escape the jam and end his day. We trudged on to the 9th and slow-footed C David Morales singled to lead off the inning and we brought in speedy Brian Whittaker to pinch-run but he too was thrown out by former Rays backup C Alvaro Alejandre, whose 75 throwing arm we found it almost impossible to run against this series. With two out and nobody on it looked like extra innings but Lee stepped up and deposited one in the RF bullpen, setting off pandemonium in Publix Park.

And there was also plenty of drama in yesterday's NLDS Game 5 between Arizona and Colorado:



The D-backs came through with 3 in the 9th to shock the Rocks and advance to the NLCS to face Washington, who's been sitting at home after sweeping their series.

[Art Deco]

U-G-L-Y...



Can't remember the last time the Rays were blown out like that in a playoff game, but blown out they were as the Angels jumped on Brad Villarreal and the bullpen to take a 10-1 Game 1 win. Even if they had pitched better it might not have made a difference as Max Meyer was overpowering for LA. It's up to Randy Mastropietro tomorrow to stop the bleeding.

In the NLCS:

[Art Deco]

In some real trouble now...



Things are looking bleak for the Rays, who gave another lame effort today in Anaheim to fall behind 0-2 in the ALCS. The first omen came when the oft (always?)-injured Randy Mastropietro had to leave after one batter with forearm soreness, which ends this season. Melvin Lopez was pressed into action and although the got through the 1st and the Rays jumped to a 2-0 lead on Kang-cheol Lee's homer, that was as good as things got on the day as Lopez couldn't hold the lead and while the bullpen kept it at 3-2 for a while they eventually succumbed. And another weak day at the plate meant it didn't matter how well or poorly they pitched. Dave Rose will be on the mound for Game 3 at Publix Park in two days in what is truly a must-win game.

[Art Deco]

A much-needed win...



The Rays climbed back into the ALCS in a game they had to have, trouncing the Angels 8-2 behind Dave Rose and a diversified hitting attack. Rose had some control issues early (3 walks in the first 2 innings) which led to a brief Angels lead, but the Rays got 2 in the 3rd and then after Ezequiel Avalos singled in his second run of the game in the 5th, Luis Barela turned back the clock and drilled a 2-run homer, his first of the postseason and the 33rd of his illustrious career.and when he scored on his homer that was the 100th playoff RBI, both adding to his all-time leading totals. The rookie Elijah Whitaker will try to get the series even tomorrow.

Over in the NLCS:

[Art Deco]

The kid was alright...



Pitching with the poise and aplomb of a 15-year veteran, Rays rookie Elijah Whitaker was masterful in a 5-1 win over the Angels which evened up the ALCS at 2 games apiece. He didn't allow a hit through the first four innings while his teammates built a lead, and was untouchable until the 8th when he put men on first and third with one out and was on 99 pitches. With two lefties due against the young southpaw, he was left in and got a sac fly and a strikeout to end a brilliant night and save the bullpen. Meanwhile old warhorse Luis Barela had a key RBI single to put the Rays on top in the 1st and Takayuki Tsujimura came through big again in the postseason, clubbing a 2-run homer to follow Barela as the Rays roughed up their former ace Greg Bookhart. Brad Villarreal will be hoping for a better outing than his poor one in Game 1 as the Rays are now hoping to return to Anaheim with a series lead.

Advantage Arizona in the NLCS:

[Art Deco]

A tough, tough loss...



It was all there for the taking. Joel Bland hit a dramatic 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Rays a 3-2 lead and they were three outs away from heading to California needing to only win of two games with all-star closer Mario Berumen on the mound. Berumen gave up a leadoff triple but the man was cut down at the plate on a ground ball and he seemed to be off the hook, only to give up two more hits and the tying run anyway. That sent us to a long slog in extras where the Rays bats couldn't get anything going and finally in the 14th we were down to lefty Warren Dalton, who gave up a homer to a fellow lefty and then another run and now the Rays' backs are to the wall. And although Berumen wears the goat's horns tonight the real blame is the lack of offense as only 3 runs and 7 hits through 14 innings is sub-optimal with Max Meyer shutting them down again. Now they're in an extremely tough situation; had they won tonight the fact that Melvin Lopez is filling in for the injured Randy Mastropietro would have been tolerable since they'd have Dave Rose to fall back on in Game 7. But now Lopez has to get the job done or the season is over.

[Art Deco]

Going the distance...



For a change the Rays offense won them a game in this series and as a result they've forced a Game 7 and get to start their ace Dave Rose. Melvin Lopez pitched about as poorly as anticipated but the offense and the bullpen made up for it with Jesus Avalos' 7th-inning homer breaking a 4-4 tie and then Kang-cheol Lee's 2-run shot making it 7-4. Ezequiel Avalos then capped a perfect day at the plate with a 3-run blast in the 8th to open it up, and it allowed Nate Trevathan to go the final 3 innings and rest our key bullpen pieces for tomorrow night's decider.

And the winner of that game will be visiting our nation's capital in the Fall Classic:

[Art Deco]

AL Champs!...



It was a long and twisting journey, and I'm not just talking about Game 7 as the Rays went the distance in their second straight postseason series and beat the Angels 6-5 to set up a date with Washington in the World Series. They were up, they were down and they were up again in the end today as well with a tense 0-0 game into the 6th broken open by Takayuki Tsujimura, who came through again with a 3-run homer. But the lead did not last that long as in the 7th the Angels fought back with 5 runs. A shaky Dave Rose pitched into and out of trouble all game long, not helped by 4 walks and he loaded the bases to start the 7th. Danny Sanchez came in and made a bad situation worse, walking in a run and then giving up a go-ahead grand slam to former Rays slugger Alex Duran. But Tampa Bay wasn't ready to give up on the season and loaded the bases themselves in the 8th with one out against Angels closer David Jones. And just when it looked like they'd squander that opportunity after Tsujimura struck out, old reliable David Morales came through with a bases-clearing double to make it 6-5. And this time Mario Berumen held through two innings despite issuing the 6th and 7th walks by Rays pitching. So bring on the Nats!

[Art Deco]

They always have to do it the hard way...



The Rays were whupped in the World Series opener by Washington with Brad Villarreal struggling mightily and the offense not putting up much of a fight. Ezequiel Avalos had to leave in the top of the 1st with a tweaked back but will be ready for Game 2, which will have rookie sensation Elijah Whitaker starting for Tampa Bay.

[Art Deco]

A wild win...



In a back-and-forth affair at Publix Park the Rays got the win they needed with a 5-run rally in the 8th and evened up the World Series at a game apiece heading to D.C. The Nats took a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the 8th and had star closer Bill Sutherland on the mound but the Rays immediately leveled things against him with a single and a 2-run homer from Jose Lozada, who had earlier had a 2-run double. Two batters later lefty-swinging Ezequiel Avalos took the lefty Sutherland deep for a Rays lead, and then they put two men on before Nats 2B Bobby de la Mora made errors on consecutive grounders, bringing home another Tampa Bay run. And to make the meltdown complete Sutherland then walked Jose Machado with the bases loaded to force in run #9. Mario Berumen survived a leadoff homer in the 9th and the Rays celebrated the win. They'll have their ace Dave Rose on the mound for Game 3.

[Art Deco]

Striking early...



The Rays plated 8 runs in the top of the first and coasted to a 9-2 win over the Nationals to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. Combined with the 5 runs they scored in the bottom of the 8th of Game 2 the Rays put 13 on the board in consecutive innings and today's rally was bookended by Nesty de la Rosa, who singled in a run to start the scoring and then capped the 8-run inning with a 2-run single. David Morales plated a pair as well and Dave Rose had an easy time of it on the mound. We'll roll the dice tomorrow with Melvin Lopez and he could give us a win that really would be playing with house money.

[Art Deco]

Gonna be a long one...



This was a weird game, one in which the Rays looked like they'd be on the other end of a blowout after last night with Melvin Lopez and Warren Dalton putting them in a 6-0 hole. But a pair of homers in the sixth suddenly cut the lead to one run, and the Rays nearly tied it in the 8th but Jesus Avalos was cut down at the plate trying to score on a ground ball and Washington added a run in the bottom of the inning to even up the series. Brad Villarreal will hope to be better than he was in Game 1 when the teams meet for the last time in Washington tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Unbelievable...



In the ultimate rollercoaster of the final two innings, it was the Rays and their fans who got off the cars sick as Washington walked off a crazy 5-4 win to go up 3 games to 2 in the World Series. For 7 innings it was 1-0 Washington with the Rays bats held in check and a great Brad Villarreal start wasted. Then they loaded the bases in the 8th against Nats closer Bill Sutherland with nobody out but could only get one run across to tie. And when Danny Sanchez served up a pair of homers in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1 the Rays looked dead. But Takayuki Tsujimura came through for the third time this postseason with a big hit, this time a two-out, 3-run homer off former Ray Chris Hetzel to tie it once again in the 9th. Unfortunately those good vibes lasted about as long the ones before them did as Mario Berumen gave up a walk-off shot to Butch Bain on only his second pitch of the night and there would be no third comeback. Now the Rays will need a series comeback and have to win two games at Publix Park. Elijah Whitaker will be tasked with keeping the season alive, and like Villarreal tonight he'll hope to vastly improve on his first outing this series.

[Art Deco]

It ain't over...



Delayed, but not denied - the story of tonight's game for the Rays and perhaps in this Fall Classic as they've now taken each of the their three postseason series this year to the limit after a 7-3, 10-inning win over Washington to force a Game 7 tomorrow. They took a 3-2 lead into the 9th before Mario Berumen's shaky postseason continued when he gave up a 2-out solo homer to let the Nats tie it up, but he got through the 10th and in the bottom of the inning the Rays loaded the bases with nobody out before defensive replacement Alex Brown stepped up and hit a grand slam to walk it off and set a date with destiny. And the Rays will have their ace Dave Rose on the mound in front of a fired-up home crowd so they can't really ask for much more.

[Art Deco]

No joy in Raysville...



Winning a third straight series winner-take-all game was a bridge too far for the Tampa Bay Rays as they fell to Washington in Game 7 and couldn't claim another World Series title. They were behind the 8-ball for most of this game as ace starter Dave Rose picked a bad time to be homer-happy with the Nats hitting 3 solo shots off him to go up 3-1 and adding another run before he was forced to leave in the 5th. The Rays came back though, and had numerous chances to score more runs than they did including loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9th on consecutive singles off former Ray Chris Hetzel but Kang-cheol Lee, who walked off the deciding ALDS game, couldn't be the hero this time as he grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the game and the Rays' championship hopes.

[Art Deco]

After coming agonizingly close to a world championship in 2055 the Rays are just going to have to "get up and do it again" as Jackson Browne once sang. And they're going to get up and do it again with largely the same team that came oh so close, so I'm really not going to do my usual position-by-position analysis. In addition to saying goodbye to legend Luis Barela, who was marginalized in his final (Rays?) season by being the DH against lefties, the big free agents are 2B/SS Dantel Chinchilla, and SPs Dave Rose and Brad Villarreal, who both opted out of the final year of their contracts. We couldn't afford to re-sign all three, but we did make offers to Chinchilla and Rose which are likely to be accepted so we just need to fill Villarreal's spot in the rotation. Perhaps rookie and top prospect Julio Mattila will be the answer.

We are losing some bullpen pieces such as Warren Dalton, Nate Trevathan and Erik Witten, in addition to sometimes starter Tim Johnson so we'll need to add a few arms in the offseason although Devin Cefalo should be back from missing most of 2055. Also I'm not sure I want to bring Steve Cleland back at his projected arb award of $6.5M. Sung-min Yang at $2.8M in his first year of arbitration isn't terribly expensive but he was a disappointment last season so I will explore my options there. Otherwise it's pretty much status quo up and down the lineup. We'll probably have about $25M to play with so we can make a few acquisitions.

[Art Deco]

Retirements: Former Rays Nelson Bocardo, Tomas Laboy, Chris Parham, Joel Gird, Steve Bourassa. Also hanging it up was legendary Baltimore and Houston SS Kevin Kane, who retired with 629 career homers, good for 17th in MLB history. Rays star Luis Barela ends his career with us at 604 homers, 22nd all-time. He also sits 19th all-time on the RBI list.

Awards season:

Gold Glove: No Rays winners as usual.

Reliever of the Year: Mario Berumen was hosed - 8 wins, 39 saves, a 1.72 ERA, 92 Ks in 70 IP and 3.5 WAR was only good for a distant 2nd behind LA's Daniel Dunn, who had 1.0 WAR less, 22 fewer saves, and a 2.36 ERA but 10 wins. I can't explain it but somehow Dunn got 27 first-place votes. In the NL the winner was a more deserving Bill Sutherland of World Champion Washington, getting 31 of 32 first-place votes after a 34-save, 1.11 ERA season.

Silver Slugger: No Tampa Bay winners here either.

Rookie of the Year: Deserved unanimity for Baltimore 1B Mario Pineda, who put up one of the all-time great first seasons at .348-42-109, good for 7 WAR and MVP consideration. Cincinnati's Jesus Lozano picked up 30 of 32 first-place votes after a .251-29-88 combined with Gold Glove defense in CF (+22.8 ZR!) and earned 6.5 WAR himself.

Cy Young: Houston's Randy Heller was the clear pick in the AL with 30 first-place votes coming off a 14-8, 2.62 with 241 Ks and 8.4 WAR. Our Dave Rose was a very distant 7th. In the NL it was a very tight race with betting favorite Josh Gosa of Indianapolis getting nudged out by Colorado's Eric Saenz 16-14 and 176-152. Saenz was 16-6, 2.82 with 6.4 WAR while Gosa was 17-9, 3.37 with a league-best 7.6 WAR and 266 Ks in 245 IP.

MVP: LA's Angel Pena, who led all of baseball with 9.1 WAR, took the AL honors but it was fairly close over Baltimore rookie Mario Pineda, 19-12 and 378-338. Pena hit .285-36-103 with elite defense in CF. Our Jesus Avalos finished 7th. Over in the NL Ramon Herrera was the overwhelming choice, getting all but one first-place vote after a .318-58-134, 7.6 WAR year.

November 22: As predicted, we signed P Dave Rose and SS Dantel Chinchilla to multi-year contract extensions. Rose re-ups for 3/69.6 and Chinchilla for 4/60.

November 23: A bullpen trade:



We trade Cleland (and a 0.5-star prospect in Agudelo) for a younger, less expensive and better version in Boria, who was excellent for Arizona last year with 2.84 ERA in 88 innings with a 19/93 BB/K ratio and only 6 homers allowed, good for 2.2 WAR. Cleland was projected for $6.5 in arbitration so Boria comes in $2.7M cheaper.

December 1: Another deal to bolster the bullpen:



Not sure why the Giants were hell-bent to move on Flores other than he's a free agent at the end of the upcoming season, but I was as excited as my AGM to swing the deal as the cost was only Fennell, a 26-year-old OF non-prospect. Flores saved 37 games last year but he'll move his 80 stuff into a setup role behind Mario Berumen.

December 4: Not a deal I was looking to make, but couldn't turn it down when it was offered to me:



Usually the offers you get from the AI GMs are laughable or non-relevant at best but once in a while you get an intriguing one and while I wasn't looking to subtract from the bullpen the earlier acquisition of Flores made it much easier to part with Cefalo, who missed most of 2055 with a torn labrum anyway. In return we're getting an excellent prospect in Smith, who's only 18 but was the Twins' 1st-round last year (30th overall) and has 75 contact and 55 power potential and although he plays CF he's probably destined for a corner. We did also have to give up Green, a 10th-round pick who's a potential back-end starter who has potential 60 stuff but will always be challenged by control issues.

December 18: Signed SP Steve Swords to a 3/22.5 deal and SP Tim Johnson to a 1/1.5 contract.

It was no secret our rotation was thin and we added a couple of starters, most notably Swords who pitched against us in the World Series for Washington. The righty is rated 60/45/55 and was a solid 10-6, 3.78 in 171 IP for the Nats last year, earning 2.0 WAR. He'll make a solid mid-rotation starter. And heeeeeee's baaack - for the third time we reunite with Johnson, although he was only gone for a few weeks after declaring free agency. He is what he is, a 5th starter with decent stuff and iffy control who'll give us an ERA in the mid-4s but there's comfort in the familiar.

December 19: Signed SP Angel Estudillo to a minor league contract with an $850K major league option.

Estudillo is a 33-year-old Cuban who was part of the professional IFA class this winter and is rated 50/50/60, making him a potential 4th or 5th starter. We'll see how he does at Durham.

December 20: Added OF Ethan Windom and 2B Terry Jackson to the 42-man roster, designated P Brandon Birth for assignment.

The annual Rule 5 roster shuffling. Windom and Jackson are potentially very good hitters with Windom already rated 60 contact and coming off a 300/359/403 year with Durham after hitting .354 at Montgomery the year before. Neither are that great with the glove. Birth was briefly up for us last year and probably clears waivers.

December 23: Lost OF Daniel Alba to the San Francisco Giants in the Rule 5 Draft.

Alba made a cameo for us in 2052 but spent all of the last three years at Durham where the 28-year-old played well last year in a mostly reserve role. He could make a decent 4th OF for the Giants but wasn't in our plans.

December 29: The first of our free agents signed elsewhere as lefty reliever Nate Trevathan, who wasn't terribly effective for us after coming over mid-season, joined the Cardinals on a 2/19 deal.

December 30: Yankee fans currently reading this IRL apparently will have to wait 31 years for Hal Steinbrenner to pass as he shuffled off this mortal coil today. His son Daniel Steinbrenner takes over as owner.

December 31: And a more significant free agent of ours found a new home as SP Brad Villarreal also said "meet me in St. Louis", signing a 3/27 contract with the Cards.