The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

[Art Deco]

The Kershaw a minor hand injury which would not prevent him from starting Game 6. Gavin Lux's injury is a strained oblique which is "moderate" for a week. We'll see if they IL him.

[Art Deco]

The Dodgers did place Gavin Lux on the IL.

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We have quite the series going!

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Advantage Dodgers as Randy Arozarena (of course) homers for the third straight game.

[Art Deco]

The Dodgers are champions again, and Mr. 21st-Century October has done it again as Randy Arozarena homered for the 4th straight game in the series to supply the only two runs tonight in a 2-0 Dodgers win. And it just wasn't any old homer - it was an inside-the-parker, the first homer of that type in a World Series since Alcides Escobar in 2015 and only the second since 1929.

An interesting side note: In my main 2020 Rays save, the Dodgers won the Series in 2022, the Rays in 2023 and the Dodgers again in 2024, which is exactly what's happened in this save. It'll be interesting to see what happens IRL next year.

[Art Deco]

It was disappointing to fall short of the Series, but it was still an excellent season otherwise with 111 wins. Here are my goals for the offseason:

1. Sign Wander Franco to an extension. I have made him an 8-year-offer which roughly pays him what he'd get in arbitration the next two seasons and then he'll eventually make $27M/year. He's worth it, and if we really get cash-crunched, he'll be tradable.

2. Deal Joey Bart. He's been great and of course would have been our cornerstone catcher had we not gone and got Adley Rutschman the year before. But he's due to make $6M in arbitration this year and could end up closer to 7 and that's a lot of money to pay a backup catcher however good he is, and of course he's a valuable asset that should bring something substantial, young and cheap in trade.

3. Deal Hunter Bishop. With MLB top-10 prospect Andrew Greckel ready, room needs to be made for him and Bishop has lost out in the internal battle of young corner OFs on our team to Heston Kjerstad, so like Bart, he's too valuable to waste and not get something in return. It's not a salary issue as Bishop isn't arb-eligible yet but we're dealing from surplus.

4. Make some room on the 40-man. Nick Anderson is a free agent as is Alex Bregman, so there's 2 spots, and we'll non-tender Mike Brosseau.

[Art Deco]

The first big bit of news is that Stu Sternberg has given me a payroll of $140M. We're going to need it with a slew of players going to arbitration and multi-million raises due to the likes of Wander Franco, Adley Rutschman and Devin Williams. We'll be shipping out some people as discussed in the previous post.

A wave of retirements around the league with some big names including Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen, Mike Moutstakas, Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel, James Paxton, Starlin Castro, Tommy Pham, Rick Porcello, Asdrubal Cabrera, Starling Marte and Adam Eaton.

One thing off our to-do list:



Ginn is an excellent pitching prospect who was very effective out of the Mets' pen last season:



He's still considered a starter long-term and a good one, and he's a possibility for the rotation even though everyone is slated to come back. Griffin Canning is a candidate for the bullpen even though he pitched decently as a starter. With Nick Anderson going free agent and possibly some other moves to be made, at worst Ginn will pitch in relief.

Mission accomplished #2: The Wander Franco contract extension for 8/181. Details:



No he won't be cheap but he's one of the game's best players and better for us to control him than deal him elsewhere.

November 9: Awards update: we were shut out on Gold Gloves, thought Adley Rutschman had a chance but Christian Vazquez beat him out. Devin Williams finished 3 in the AL Reliever of the Year balloting, but Rutschman and Wander Franco did win Silver Sluggers at C and SS respectively.

November 10: Former Gators star Judson Fabian, who hit .293-23-96 for Kansas City, was unanimously named AL Rookie of the Year while Nick Dunn was the choice of all 32 voters in the NL after hitting .331.

November 12: I thought it would be closer with Giolito but no, it was unanimous!



He becomes the first Ray to win the award since Blake Snell in 2018 and the third in club history after Snell and David Price. Walker Buehler won it in the NL again despite a "down" year (10-10, 3.23) taking 31 of 32 votes and beating out Atlanta's Ian Anderson and Colorado's Lucas Gilbreath.

November 13: Wow, what a close and fragmented race for the AL MVP:



Trout ends up with his 6th MVP and his 3rd straight, but it was kind of surprising to see him win after a dreadful first half which saw him hit .206 with 15 HR. He was his MVP-self during the second half (and especially during the postseason, but that doesn't count here) but his final batting average of .254 is the lowest-ever for an MVP, although he did hit 44 HR and drive in 108. Batting average of course isn't the definitive hitting stat, but his 6.1 WAR was 8th in the league as well. My vote went to the clear WAR leader, Francisco Lindor at 7.7, but he ended up 4th, just behind Wander. 8 different players received first-place votes to show how jumbled things were.

Things were much clearer in the NL where Fernando Tatis Jr. won it after a rare 10-WAR season with 29 of the 32 first-place vote. Tatis hit .310-40-109 and played a fine SS.

Another trade:



As you can see my assistant GM didn't like it, but the offers by themselves for Dunn as prospects go (he needed to go for someone on an MiLB contract since I wanted the 40-man spot) were not that great so I threw Pie into the deal, who's a B-/C+ prospect who was going to be blocked by Wander anyway especially with the new long-term deal. The third guy we threw in was a "make it work" minor league free agent we signed who is no prospect. The prize of course is Cecconi, who looks like a bonafide starting pitching prospect who's already handled the Pacific Coast League decently. A look under the hood:



He's not going to be a Cy Young winner but I see a useful 4th/5th starter here who could be a #3.

[Art Deco]

Well there it is, the big trade we've been working on:



Joey Bart has found a new home. The trade was unpopular with the fans and with the players, who considered him a team leader, but a $6M backup catcher is a luxury we really couldn't afford. The return was very good, starting with Levi Kelly. The righty has premium stuff and decent control and movement:



These are his ratings as a reliever, his stuff only drops to 65 as a starter. You could say we now have 9 starters with the main 5 from last season, Kelly, the recently-acquired JT Ginn, Luis Garcia and Matt Peacock, so we're building up a glut there and another trade could be made. But this deal just wasn't about Kelly, it was also about Ed Howard:



The 23-year old was a first round pick of the Cubs out of high school in 2020 and although he's moved off short (which he can still play when needed), he's an excellent 2B and with Brandon Lowe's contract up after next year, we needed an heir apparent at that position (although last year's draftee Brendan McNair has a shot as well). As you can see above, this is a well-rounded profile and although he won't be the slugger Lowe is he's no banjo hitter either.

We did also have to give up Sandy Gaston and Mason Miller, both of whom are C+ prospects with Gaston having a shot at 4th or 5th starter-dom. Miller has a great curveball but has a lot of developing to do.

December 9: The first MLB free agents of significance signed with Patrick Corbin going to the Cardinals on a 3/32 deal and former Rays bullpen stalwart Diego Castillo inking a 3/9.7 deal with the Mets. Also the Braves have traded off 2 of their starters with Bryse Wilson (who is coming off a lousy year) to the Pirates for prospects, and Kyle Wright (who is coming off a good year) to the Nationals for prospects as well.

December 11: Veteran reliever Blake Treinen, who resurrected his career with a 31-save season in Colorado last year, signed for 2/12.6 with Atlanta. Meanwhile the Nationals, having acquired Joey Bart, dealt their catcher from last year Jackson Reetz to the White Sox for OF Blake Rutherford. Both are solid .260-15-70-types who play good defense.

December 18: Added C Corey Collins, OFs Andrew Greckel, Nick Schnell and Jhon Diaz, 3B/P Kelly Crumpton and P Ryan Bergert to the 40-man roster.

Rule 5 time. Collins and Greckel didn't have to be added to the 40-man but I expect both to be on the active roster with Greckel a starting OF (at least against RHP) and Collins the backup catcher. I've talked about Greckel but Collins is a quality catching prospect we drafted in the 2nd round in 2023 who's moved rapidly through the system. He has 25 HR power and he's a 60 defensively and he can hit .240-.250. Schnell and Diaz are good OF prospects I didn't want to lose; Schnell could hit .260 with 20 homers and good speed and defense while Diaz is an outstanding defender with developing power. Crumpton is likely a full-time 3B and he has potential 75 power although he's a mediocre defender. Bergert has pitched very well in the minors with a 4.1 WAR season in AA, although his ceiling is probably 4th/5th starter.

December 19: Although 7 players were taken in the Rule 5 draft, none were from us with a couple of vets (Danny Santana and Kole Calhoun) being picked.

December 20: Boston and Houston hooked up on a pretty decent-sized trade with utilityman Chris Taylor going to the Astros for pitcher Robbie Ray.

December 23: In former Rays pitcher news, Ryan Yarbrough signed a 3/27 deal to stay with the Cubs where he pitched decently last season and he will be joined by former teammate Collin McHugh as the righty, who had a nice year in Detroit's rotation, signed for 1/3.5.

December 26: Another former Rays pitcher on the move as Mike Clevinger goes to Colorado for 2/7.6, we wish him luck with the altitude.

December 31: The biggest free agent signing yet came today as Atlanta inked 3B Yoan Moncada to a 6/103 pact.

January 5: Two more former Rays relievers on the move, both heading to Boston: Alex Colome for 2/5 and Rafael Dolis for 1/2.5.

January 9: Chad Green, who had closed for the Dodgers the last couple of years, signed a big 3/33.9 deal to do the same for the Cubs. Speaking of the Dodgers they brought back Max Muncy, who had spent two years in Colorado, for 4/67.2.

January 15: The Hall of Fame voting is, and we have one inductee:



Congrats to CC Sabathia for making it on his first year of eligibility. I thought Carlos Beltran would make it after coming close last season but he's crept up from 65-68-72 so he probably gets in next year. Manny Ramirez made a good run in his penultimate year of eligibility as well.

January 18: Blockbuster trade, especially as the AI goes with the Dodgers sending Keibert Ruiz to the Braves for Max Fried, with Atlanta picking up some of his salary. Also there was a BNN story reporting rumors that Nick Anderson was looking to sign in Detroit.

January 28: I wasn't expecting this, but OK:



Not exactly a major media market, and that's now 4 teams in Texas, but OK.

February 3: Speaking of new teams in Texas, the San Antonio Alamos signed Trevor Story on a 2/31.2 deal.

February 4: The White Sox appear to be in a rebuild as they shipped one of the better starters in the AL, Dylan Cease, to the Phillies for 3 prospects. Cease was entering his last year of team control.

February 7: And there goes Nick Anderson. Not to Detroit but to the Mets for 2/23.6, in my opinion not a good deal at all as Anderson is no longer the dominating reliever he was a few years back. His stuff has dropped from 80 to 65 while his movement remains terrible at 40, a blown save waiting to happen.

February 9: Filling their Trevor Story-sized hole at SS, the Rockies signed Didi Gregorius to a 2/26 deal.

February 11: This one shocked me, as the Cardinals signed SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a massive 7/135 contract. IKF is coming a big year that saw him hit .353 in San Antonio and earn 4.0 WAR, but he's probably more a .280 hitter and a 2.5 WAR guy.

February 12: Jorge Polanco leaves after spending his whole career in Minnesota to take a 4/40.2 deal with the Royals.

February 17: The biggest name left on the free agent market finally signed as Jose Abreu leaves Boston for Texas for 2/37.6. Abreu is now 38 but is showing now signs of slowing down, averaging .300-30-100 during his two years in Beantown.

[Art Deco]

Spring Training is underway, and a couple of weeks in we've had no injuries (knock on wood). Our two new big pitching acquisitions (JT Ginn and Levi Kelly) have looked good, and our rookie sensation Andrew Greckel got upgraded by the scouts to 60 contact and 65 HR power so we're expecting a nice season from him.

March 14: A couple of big-name free agents who were left out in the cold over the winter found 1-year deals. Alex Bregman, who did come through in the playoffs for us after a rough regular season after the deadline, signed with arch-rival Boston for $4.7M and slugger Marcell Ozuna went for $8.2M to the Astros. Jurickson Profar also inked a 1-year, $3.5M deal with Cinncinnati.

March 15: With the pressure of the season approaching, another batch of free agents with some track record of success signed 1-year deals. Max Kepler will ply his trade in the new MLB city of El Paso, joining the Wreckers (nee Pirates) for $2.7M, Tim Anderson to the Phillies for $3M, Yasmani Grandal, who had a great season for Baltimore, gets $12.6M from Texas, and former Ray Kevin Kiermaier joins the Mets for $4.2M.

March 18: The Red Sox bolstered their bullpen with veteran lefty Brad Hand, still effective, for 1 year at $11.2M. In other Red Sox news, newly-signed Alex Bregman broke his collarbone and will be out 6 weeks, missing the first month of the regular season.

Spring training is over, just a few minor injuries not worth noting.

[Art Deco]

Opening Day roster:

C-Rutschman, Corey Collins
1B-Meadows
2B-B.Lowe
SS-Franco
3B-Kieboom
IF-Walls
LF-Greckel
CF-Duran*
RF-Kjerstad
DH-Brujan, L.Diaz
OF-Ramos

SP-Glasnow, May, Skubal, Ryan, Canning
LR-Kelly, Ginn, Lawson
MR-McClanahan, Garcia, Vesia
SU-Fairbanks, Fletcher, Rogers
CL-D.Williams

*Yes that's 28 but Jarren Duran is on the restricted list for the first 3 games of the season after his suspension for his Game 6 meltdown in the ALCS.

Reggie Lawson is on the roster as a 15th pitcher for the moment as he is out of options. I will shop him during these first three days and may end up DFAing him if nothing enticing is offered and hope he clears waivers.

The preseason predictions:



As always BNN doesn't like us but I'm sure we'll prove them wrong again.

[Art Deco]

Openers don't get much uglier than this...



The Rays took it on the chin to start the season. It looked good for an inning after Adley Rutschman singled in a run and Tyler Glasnow had a quick 1st. But Glasnow was ineffective after that and was gone by the 3rd inning as the A's teed off on him. Andrew Greckel was 0-3 in his big league debut but it was a tough assignment against the lefty Luzardo, who was clearly on tonight.

Tampa Bay turned the tables in the second game, getting a dominant Dustin May outing in an 8-0 win. The righty went 7 4 0 0 1 5 in his season debut and had quite a bit of offensive support with a 2-run Adley Rutschman double in the 1st, an RBI double from Austin Meadows in the 3rd (he later drove in another) and a 2-run homer from Andrew Greckel, the rookie's first big-league hit. Brandon Lowe later added a 2-run homer of his own.

Things were going swimmingly in the finale, until they suddenly weren't as a 3-0 Rays lead in the 6th inning escalated quickly into a 10-4 loss. Vidal Brujan had a big 2-run single and Tarik Skubal rolled through 5, but he allowed 3 straight hits to start the 6th with a run in. Enter JT Ginn in his Rays debut and it turned into a debacle as he gave up an RBI double and a 3-run homer to Ramon Laureano and it was quickly 5-3 Oakland. Ginn put two more on in the 7th and so it was time for Levi Kelly to make his Rays debut and it went just as badly as Ginn's as he put a couple more on and gave up a grand slam to Matt Chapman, and that's how quickly it turned into a rout. Carter Kieboom had a consolation homer, a solo shot, in the 9th. To add injury to insult, Andrew Greckel strained his oblique in that 6th inning and had to leave. He'll be out 5 days and go on the IL while we activate Jarren Duran from the restricted list.

Team record: 1-2. Next up: We open our home slate against the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last season, the Angels.

[Art Deco]

One bit of housekeeping: I spoke erroneously in the last post as Jarren Duran has one more game on his suspension left. Therefore with Andrew Greckel going on the DL, we've called up another OF prospect of ours, Nick Schnell, and he'll get a day in the bigs before going back for Duran.

The Rays opened the home portion of their 2025 schedule by dropping 2 of 3 to the Angels, and although they took a thrilling walk-off win in the home opener the bullpen cost them in the other two games.

I should really say the bullpen cost them to some extent in all the games as the only reason a walk-off winner was necessary in the opener was because Devin Williams blew the save in the top of the 9th as the Rays won 4-3. Joe Ryan was excellent (6 4 2 2 1 9) even if he did give up his obligatory homer. Adley Rutschman tied it in the 7th with his first homer of the year and then Nick Schnell, called up for the day, showed a flair for the dramatic with an 8th-inning solo shot for his first MLB hit. As mentioned Williams blew it in the 9th but with two out in the 10th Heston Kjerstad drew a walk from Ken Giles and Lewin Diaz delivered his 2nd RBI hit of the day, a double to the corner to score Kjerstad, making a winner of Aaron Fletcher.

The second game was the toughest to swallow as the Rays fought back from an early 3-0 deficit when Mike Trout went deep off Griffin Canning in the 1st to take an eventual 6-4 lead after 7, only for Luis Garcia and Aaron Fletcher to combine to allow 4 runs in the 8th dooming the Rays to an 8-6 loss. Heston Kjerstad's 2-run single broke a 4-4 tie in the 6th and Austin Meadows earlier had a 2-run single of his own to lead the offense. Canning settled in to finish 6.1 7 4 4 0 8 after the bad 1st. Rookie catcher Corey Collins made his MLB debut and was on base 3 times with a HBP, a double in the 6th which started the rally, and a walk with two runs scored.

Tyler Glasnow continues in search of his 2024 Cy Young form as he had another poor outing, and the bullpen allowed 3 more runs which proved costly as a valiant comeback fell short in a 7-6 loss. Glasnow went 4 6 4 4 2 5 and while JT Ginn bounced back from his horrible Rays debut with 2 scoreless and 4 Ks, Shane McClanahan was hit for 3 runs to make it a 7-2 Angels lead. Therefore the first homers of the year from Austin Meadows, Heston Kjerstad and Wander Franco over the final 2 innings were too little, too late instead of pillars of a comeback. Franco earlier had a 2-run double to give him a 3-RBI day.

Team record: 2-4, we're already 3 games behind Boston to start the year. Next up: The homestand continues as the Yankees visit for 3.

[Art Deco]

The slow start to the 2025 season continued with the Rays dropping 2 of 3 to the Yankees primarily because they couldn't score any runs.

Luke Voit's 3-run homer in the 3rd after a Wander Franco error kept the inning alive was the difference in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees. Dustin May pitched decently overall and his ERA is down to 0.69 thanks to those 3 runs being unearned, but the homer was on him. Yoendrys Gomez and the Yankee bullpen held the bats to 1 run on 4 hits. The only bright spot was that Levi Kelly looked great after his bad debut, going 3 1-hit innings with 3 whiffs.

The second game was even worse as Bobby Miller and 3 relievers shut out the Rays on 4 hits in a 4-0 loss. Tarik Skubal was great, going 6.1 2 1 1 3 7 and leaving down 1-0, but Tyler Rogers put two on and coughed up a 3-run Luis Torrens homer to put the game out of reach.

The Rays didn't exactly solve their offensive woes in the finale but they did score enough as Joe Ryan was excellent in a 4-2 win. Ryan was 7.1 3 2 2 1 8 for his first win of the year with the two runs against naturally being solo homers. The big hit of the game came off the bat of Adley Rutschman, a 2-run homer to cap a 3-run 5th, his 2nd. Lewin Diaz and Austin Meadows had RBI singles to put them up 2-1. Devin Williams notched his first save of the season with a perfect 9th.

Team record: 3-6, 3 behind Boston and Toronto. Next up: the Rays will have a chance to catch up on Boston with a 3-game set at Fenway Park.

[Art Deco]

A big early-season series at Fenway saw all 3 games decided by a run with the Rays missing out on a sweep after the Red Sox tied the finale in the 7th and walked it off in the 9th.

The Rays edged Boston 5-4 in the opener with Heliot Ramos doubling and scoring and then adding a solo homer (#1) in the 6th inning, and Vidal Brujan added an RBI double. Griffin Canning picked up win #1 with a 6 6 3 3 2 6 outing and Devin Williams got a 5-out save (#2), getting a double play immediately after coming on to end the 8th and taking care of the 9th.

After two shaky starts to open the season, Tyler Glasnow returned to Cy Young form to lead the Rays to a 3-2 win over the Sox. The righty picked up his first win of 2025 with a 6.2 2 1 1 3 8 performance. Heston Kjerstad and Wander Franco each had solo shots for their 2nd of the season and Kjerstad came through with a big RBI single in the 8th. It was big because Pete Fairbanks gave up a solo homer in the 9th in the process of picking up his first save since 2023.

The finale was a back-and-forth affair which unfortunately went Boston's way in walk-off fashion in the 9th. Dustin May started and wasn't as dominating, only fanning 3 through 6 but given a 4-3 lead. He then allowed a leadoff homer to Christian Vazquez in the 7th to allow Boston to tie and Shane McClanahan lost the game in the 9th after giving up an RBI double to Triston Casas. Wander Franco was pretty much the entire offense with an RBI double and a 2-RBI double, the latter putting the Rays ahead briefly in the 7th. The loss was even more costly as Vidal Brujan suffered a back strain and will miss 5-6 weeks.

Team record: 5-7, 3 behind Toronto. Next up: A day off then back home for 3 vs San Antonio.

[Art Deco]

It was good to be home and it was good to be facing the struggling Alamos as the Rays pulled off the sweep and got themselves over .500 for the first time this season.

Transaction: Placed IF/OF Vidal Brujan on the 10-day IL with a back strain, activated OF Andrew Greckel from the 10-day IL.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Tampa Bay folk hero. In his first game off the IL (and only his 4th as a big leaguer) Andrew Greckel had a huge game including a walk-off 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to complete a Rays comeback from 6-1 down to a 9-6 win over San Antonio in the series opener. It was 6-1 Alamos heading to the bottom of the 7th when Greckel doubled to start a 2-run rally and in the 8th Greckel's RBI single followed a Heston Kjerstad RBI double as part of a 3-run inning which tied the game up. And in the bottom of the 9th with two out and nobody on, Kjerstad singled, Carter Kieboom walked and Greckel stepped up and drilled an opposite-field homer to left (#2) to walk it off. Wander Franco also had 2 hits and 2 RBI as the Rays overcame a rough start from Tarik Skubal (4 8 4 4 0 6) to emerge victorious. Devin Williams had a clean 9th for his first win of the season.

In the second game Joe Ryan was dominant, not allowing a hit until the 6th, in a 5-1 Rays win over the Alamos. Ryan went 7 2 1 1 3 10 to improve to 2-0, 2.21, allowing only a solo homer to long-ago former Ray Wil Myers. The bats only managed 6 hits but three of them left the yard with Brandon Lowe's 2-run shot (#2) in the 4th breaking the ice, Carter Kieboom going deep later in the inning for #2 and Wander Franco taking over the team lead with a 2-run blast in the 5th for #3.

The Rays completed the sweep with another 5-1 win behind a strong start from Griffin Canning and some timely hitting. Canning ran into some trouble starting the 6th but managed a 5 4 1 1 2 5 outing which saw him go to 2-0, 4.15 and JT Ginn turned in a strong performance, striking out the side after coming in with 2 on and nobody out in the 6th and throwing a perfect 7th as well. Jarren Duran had the game's big hit, a 2-run single in the 5th to break a 1-1 tie, Lewin Diaz was 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and Adley Rutschman put the game on ice in the 8th with HR #3.

Team record: 8-7. After Boston dropped 2 of 3 and Toronto was swept in Anaheim, the Rays are only 1 back of the Sox in the AL East although they're tied with the Jays and Yankees as the division has really compressed. Next up: 3 games in Baltimore against the division laggard as the O's are a not-so-nice 6-9.

[Art Deco]

Runs were scarce at Camden Yards in this series as the teams combined to score 9 runs total over the 3 games played, with the Rays fortunately coming out on top in 2 of the 3.

Tyler Glasnow is back in form and helped the Rays to a 2-0 win in the opener. Glasnow went 5 4 0 0 2 7 to improve to 2-2, 5.60 and left after a 45-minute rain delay in the top of the 6th, although he might have gone another inning at most. The pen did the job with Levi Kelly and Alex Vesia combining for 3 scoreless and Devin Williams had a 1-2-3 9th for save #3. Lewin Diaz's 2-run double brought home both runs in the 6th.

It was Dustin May's turn to shine in the second game as he finished one out away from throwing a complete-game 3-hitter in a 2-1 win over the Orioles. Ryan McKenna doubled with two out in the 9th, and Devin Williams then came in to face Ryan Mountcastle with the game on the line and got him to ground out to end the game for save #4. May finished 8.2 3 1 1 0 4 on an efficient 92 pitches and went to 2-1, 1.95 with a homer his only demerit. Heston Kjerstad drove in both the Tampa Bay runs with singles in the 4th and 6th, driving in Wander Franco each time after Franco doubled and singled and stole second.

The Rays were shut out 4-0 in the finale, although they had 8 hits, 2 walks and Austin Meadows doubled twice but they just couldn't get the big hit when they needed it. Three GIDP and a runner thrown out on the bases didn't help either. Tarik Skubal wasn't his best, going 5 5 4 4 1 8 to drop to 0-2, 5.31. He has a 6/26 BB/K ratio and only 2 homers allowed in 20 innings with 19 hits against, so he's really been the victim of bad sequencing more than anything else so far.

Team record: 10-8. The Rays are in a three-way tie for first with Boston and the Yankees while Toronto lurks one game behind and Baltimore brings up the rear at 7-11. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Minnesota.

[Art Deco]

A rough series for the Rays as they were swept at home by Minnesota. They're now tied for third 2 games back of Boston in the AL East.

Transaction: Optioned P Shane McClanahan to AAA Durham, purchased the contract of OF Jordan Luplow from Durham.

It's sad what's become of McClanahan, who once looked like a stud starter in the making before injuries took their toll. He still bounced back as a good reliever in 2024 before slumping last year, giving up tons of homers and he hasn't been any better this year. Since we were light on bats we brought up Luplow to give us a RH hitter off the bench and start against lefties. He was signed to a minor league deal (as was Kyle Schwarber).

The opener was a back-and-forth affair which the Rays ended up dropping 9-8. Joe Ryan had a rough first, allowing 4 runs in no small part due to his own throwing error on a comebacker and finished 4 6 4 1 3 6. The Rays overcame the 4-0 deficit to go ahead 5-4 but JT Ginn gave up 4 runs on 5 consecutive hits in the 6th to put the Twins back up 8-5 but the Rays rallied to equalize at 8 before former Rays farmhand Nick Solak singled off Pete Fairbanks in the 8th to drive in Aaron Fletcher's runner with the winner. Brandon Lowe had a 2-run HR (#3), Adley Rutschman drove in a pair and Wander Franco had 3 hits to lead the offense.

The second game was another tough one-run loss as the Rays fell 4-3. Not only did they lose the game but they lost Griffin Canning to shoulder tendinitis after he went 5 7 2 2 1 4. Canning will miss about 5 weeks and Reggie Lawson will take his rotation spot. Rhys Hoskins' 2-run homer off Levi Kelly in the 6th turned out to be the winner for the Twins. All 3 Rays' runs came via the solo homer with Heliot Ramos tripling his season total with a pair and Wander Franco hitting #4.

Transaction: With Canning going on the IL, Shane McClanahan was called back up from Durham.

Tyler Glasnow rolled through the first 3 innings perfect with 5 whiffs and then the wheels came off in the 4th as Minnesota scored 5 times off him on their way to a 9-4 rout of the Rays. Glasnow finished 5 5 6 6 2 4 as his rough beginning to the season continued with him falling to 2-3, 6.75. Luis Garcia allowed 3 more runs in 3 innings as the Rays bullpen failed to distinguish itself this series. A couple of late 2-run homers from Carter Kieboom (#3) and Brandon Lowe (#4) made the score semi-respectable, but the injury bug continued to hit the Rays. Austin Meadows had to leave with a strained back which will sideline him for the 10 days he'll spend on the IL and Shane McClanahan developed elbow tendinitis which will shelve him for a couple of months. What a disastrous 3 days!

Team record: 10-11. Next up: 3 games in Kansas City.

[Art Deco]

The rough start continues for the Rays as they dropped 2 of 3 in Kansas City to fall 3 behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East and have now lost 6 of their last 7.

Transactions: Placed 1B/OF Austin Meadows on the 10-day IL with a strained back and P Shane McClanahan on the 60-day IL with elbow tendinitis, purchased the contract of 1B Angelo DiSpigna from Durham and recalled P Guillermo Zuniga from AA Montgomery.

It's time to give DiSpigna a shot as the slugging 1B has done nothing but hit since joining the organization in the Levi Abbott/Andrew Greckel deal last spring. He hit 279/377/578 with 36 HR at Durham last year and was off to a 370/500/1.000 start with 5 more homers this season. The HR power and eye are rated 65, although contact is 45 which will keep the BA down. Zuniga has always pitched well whenever called upon and deserved to be back up.

Tampa Bay was not competitive in the opener as they were waxed 18-4 by Kansas City, falling behind 10-2 in the 3rd. Dustin May had a very rough outing, ending up 3.1 7 9 8 4 3 which wasn't helped by JT Ginn allowing a grand slam with three of May's runners aboard. Brandon Lowe was a one-man offense for the Rays, driving in 3 of their 4 runs with a double and a triple.

Tarik Skubal's recent woes continued as he allowed 2 more homers and put the Rays in an early 4-0 hole but they fought back to take a 7-6 victory from the Royals. Skubal went 4 10 5 5 1 6 and has now allowed 13 runs in his last 3 starts on 4 homers and is 0-2, 6.29. But they took the lead at 5-4 by the fourth inning with Jarren Duran's 2-run double the big hit. The Royals tied it back up at 5 and in the top of the 6th the two rookies who came over in the same deal, Andrew Greckel and Angelo DiSpigna, hit back-to-back solo homers to give the Rays a 7-5 lead. For Greckel it was his 3rd and for DiSpigna it was his first MLB dinger. Levi Kelly turned in 3 1-hit innings with 5 whiffs to get his first Rays win, and Devin Williams took care of the 9th for save #5.

Transaction: Jordan Luplow, just recently recalled, tore his PCL in the second game and is done for the year. Taj Bradley, up briefly in 2023, was recalled from AAA Durham to give us an extra arm in the pen.

The Rays could not get the bats going in the finale and fell 5-1 to Kansas City. They only managed 7 hits, did not walk and struck out 10 times with Jarren Duran's first homer of the year in the 6th keeping them from being shut out. Joe Ryan wasn't very good, going 4.1 7 4 3 2 4 and allowing a homer.

Team record: 11-13. Next up: An off-day then Houston comes to the Trop for 3.

[Art Deco]

The Rays should have swept but had to settle for 2 out of 3 after blowing the opener in the 9th. The Yankees swept their series with Oakland so we're now 4 games behind, 4th in the division.

Reggie Lawson made his first start in place of Griffin Canning and he was brilliant but Devin Williams blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th inning and the Rays fell to Houston 3-2 in the opener. Lawson went 5.2 3 0 0 1 3 on 83 pitches and Alex Vesia and Aaron Fletcher combined to retired all 7 men they faced, but Williams couldn't get anyone out in the 9th and he let the Astros score 3 times on 4 hits and a walk. The lost lead came courtesy of solo homers from Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco, the 5th for both.

Tyler Glasnow's up-and-down season was on an up note in the second game as he went 7 3 0 0 2 8 and combined with Aaron Fletcher and Devin Williams on a 2-0 shutout. Glasnow improved to 3-3, 5.16 and Williams bounced back from his meltdown yesterday to secure save #6. Adley Rutschman's RBI double and Wander Franco's sac fly brought home the two Rays runs which were enough to win today.

The Rays lost a 3-0 lead in the finale but recovered thanks to some wildness from Houston's Marshall Kasowski to take a 6-3 win and 2 of 3 in the series. Brandon Lowe drove in a pair with a single to stake them to the early lead behind Dustin May, who pitched well but ran out of gas in the 6th finishing 5.1 5 2 2 3 4. Levi Kelly got him out of the 6th with a double play but coughed up a run in the 7th to allow the Astros to equalize. In the bottom of the frame Houston brought on Kasowski and after he whiffed the first man he walked 4 straight to force in a run with Lowe getting RBI #3 on the day. Heston Kjerstad, in a huge slump of late, then came through with a 2-run single to provide some cushion. Pete Fairbanks pitched the 9th for his 2nd save while Kelly vultured his 2nd win.

Team record: 13-14. Next up: The Rays will try to get to or above .500 as they face Detroit at the Trop for 3.