(Photo Credit: City of St. Petersburg)If you are anything like me, you see the intrinsic value of keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. Not only does the organization employ (in some capacity) thousands of workers at Tropicana Field, they have planted roots in our community, and — by way of their associated charitable organizations — invested time and money to make our city a better place.
If you are unfamiliar with the Baseball Forever campaign, our goal is to convince the Rays that their current site, reimagined and redeveloped, remains the best location for Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay. We will do this by working closely with the Rays, county officials, the private sector, and other stakeholders should the team identify a future stadium site adjacent to or impacting St. Petersburg.
One of the most visible impacts of our collective efforts will be our Baseball Forever Night at the Trop on Friday, August 19, 2016 when the Rays host the Texas Rangers. The goal is to sell out the Trop to show our team just how much the community supports them.
With each lower level individual ticket sold ($25), you’ll receive a free Rays baseball cap. Upper level tickets are $10 each.
Tickets are available online at www.RaysBaseball.com/BaseballForever. Additionally, you can reserve the best seats by ordering a group of tickets for 10 or more people. You will receive seats together, a scrolling scoreboard welcome, and no online fees! For more information or to place your group order call Josh Gallo at (727) 825-3107 or email jgallo@raysbaseball.com.
You may be asking, “How can I help?” In the short-term, make a commitment to purchase tickets to the above mentioned ballgame. I’d also encourage you to forward this message to any and everybody — family, friends, coworkers, employees, etc. If you’re an active Facebook or Twitter user, blast out the Facebook event page using the hashtag #BaseballForever.
Moving forward, there will be other opportunities to help make St. Petersburg the forever home of the Tampa Bay Rays. For the moment, however, please help support our small market team.
State of the turf. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off their current 10-game homestand with a 5-1 win over the New York Yankees — their second straight win. Jake Odorizzi collected the Rays’ ninth consecutive quality start, keeping the Yankees in check over his 6-2/3 innings, while the offense used the extra-base hit to take control of the game early.
Odorizzi, who posted eight scoreless innings his last start against the Athletics, continued to pitch well Friday night. The righty struck out five and scattered six singles amidst trade speculation, and fears the band may get torn apart. Odorizzi got off to an inauspicious start, giving up back-to-back singles in the first with one out, however, he struck out Brian McCann (looking) and got Mark Teixeira to line to center to end the threat.
The Rays took a quick lead in the bottom of the first against Ivan Nova, who hadn’t given up more than one earned run in each of his last two starts. Logan Forsythe crushed a 2-0 fastball to left center for his 10th homer of the year. Then Corey Dickerson went yard to right with two outs, giving Tampa Bay a two run advantage.
Forsythe’s homer was his first to leadoff a game. It was also the third this season by Tampa Bay and the first since RF Steven Souza Jr. on May 20th against Detroit.
Odorizzi worked around a single and a balk in the top of the third to put another goose egg on the board. Thanks in part to Jake’s no-run inning, Rays were also able to extend their lead in the bottom of the inning — and it all started with Brad Miller’s triple to right-center. Evan Longoria followed with a five pitch walk before Dickerson plated a run on a fielder’s choice to second for a three-run advantage.
Following a scoreless fourth, Tamapa Bay chased Nova in the bottom of the fifth inning. Miller and Longoria hit back-to-back doubles to make it a four-run game. After Dickerson flew out to left, Steve Pearce reached on a hard-hit infield single that Chase Headley, somehow, was able to knock down and prevent from becoming an extra-base hit into the left field corner. Nova’s night was done as Joe Girardi called upon righty Chad Green.
Green, however, wasn’t much better. The righty walked Kevin Kiermaier to load the bases, then gave up a sacrifice-fly toSouza to the wall in left, making it a five run game and capping the scoring. Green again walked the bases loaded (Brandon Guyer) before he collected an inning ending strikeout of Luke Maile (swinging).
Odorizzi departed the game two outs into the seventh inning after allowing two singles sandwiched around a fielder’s choice, that almost became a double play. Odorizzi scattered six base hits that didn’t do any damage. His fastball command was really good, and he was able to control where he wanted to throw his pitches.
Kevin Jepsen entered the game and got the final out the inning, allowing the righty to lower his ERA to 5.71.
New York was able to get on the board in the eighth inning against Dylan Floro on a two-out single to center by Mark Teixeira. Yet with two on and two out, Xavier Cedeno got Didi Gregorius to line out to Kiermaier in center, ending the threat.
Finally in the ninth, facing the bottom of the order, Erasmo Ramirez — who has been connected with Baltimore leading up to the trade deadline — allowed a pair of one-out singles. Because of it, he was lifted in favor of Alex Colome. The closer got Brett Gardner to ground into a 6-4 fielder’s choice, and Jacoby Ellsbury to fly to center to end the game. Colome is now 23-out-of-24 in save opportunities.
The New What Next
Drew Smyly (2-11, 5.42 ERA) will face off against Nathan Eovaldi (5-9, 5.00 ERA) in the second game of the weekend series. Smyly’s 0-7 record in his last 11 games is longest in-season losing streak by a Rays hurler since James Shields lost seven straight in 2010. In spite of that, Smyly tossed six excellent innings of one-run ball Saturday against Oakland, fanning and walking one en route to a no-decision. He enters the game three strikeouts shy of 500 for his career. Eovaldi leads the Yankees in wins, however, he is 1-2 with a 3.86 in three career starts against Tampa Bay. Be that as it may, he allowed one earned run in six innings to earn the win on May 29, when he last faced the Rays at the Trop. You can read about the pitching matchup in our series preview.
Rays 7/30/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Miller DH
Longoria 3B
Dickerson LF
Pearce 1B
Kiermaier CF
Souza Jr RF
Beckham SS
Casali
Smyly LHP
Noteworthiness
— Disabled list update. RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) threw two scoreless innings Friday night for the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), it was the first time in three rehab starts that he completed at least one inning.
OF Desmond Jennings (left hamstring strain) had a double in three at-bats Friday for the Stone Crabs. RHP Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) will pitch three innings tonight for the Montgomery Biscuits.
The Tampa Bay Rays activated reliever Brad Boxberger from the DL for the second time this season. (Photo Credit: SI.com)
Rays 7/29/16 Starting Lineup
Forsythe 2B
Miller SS
Longoria 3B
Dickerson DH
Pearce 1B
Kiermaier CF
Souza RF
Guyer LF
Maile C
Odorizzi RHP
Noteworthiness
— The Rays placed both Logan Morrison (right forearm strain) and Oswaldo Arcia (right elbow strain) on the 15-day disabled list. In doing so they activated RHP Brad Boxberger from the DL, and recalled INF Nick Franklin from Triple-A Durham.
— Trade watch: Steve Pearce has yet to be traded. He’s in tonight’s lineup at first, hitting fifth.
The Tampa Bay Rays claimed their first win at Dodger Stadium, a 3-1 victory in the series finale on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)
The Tampa Bay Rays are set to begin a three-game series against the New York Yankees Friday night, at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay looks for consistency after splitting the last 10 games. The starting rotation has allowed just seven runs in their last three games, and three runs or less in seven of their last eight. Yet in spite of their 2.51 ERA (3.34 FIP) over that 10-game span, the offense hasn’t been able to pick up the hurlers with any consistency. Nevertheless, they have won five of their last eight games when allowing three runs or fewer.
The Yankees have won six of their last nine games, and look to keep things rolling this weekend. New York scored just nine runs in their last three games, and four or more runs in four of their last nine. And while their offense has been hit or miss of late, they’ve won nine straight consecutive games when scoring more than three runs.
Kevin Cash will throw Jake Odorizzi (4-5, 4.10 ERA), Drew Smyly (2-11, 5.42 ERA), and Blake Snell (2-4, 3.05 ERA) over the weekend series. Joe Girardi will respond with Ivan Nova (7-5, 4.65 ERA), Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 4.80 ERA), and Michael Pineda (5-9, 5.00 ERA).
Rays Series Starters
Odorizzi threw eight scoreless frames in Friday’s extra-inning affair against the Athletics, allowing five hits and striking out five. In the midst of trade speculation, the 26 year-old righty showcased his best outing of the season. Sadly Odorizzi leads the league with 12 no-decisions, and in six of his no-decisions he’s allowed just one run or fewer. The culprit? Odorizzi is 13-14 since the start of last season, and has received just 24 runs of support in his 14 losses.
Smyly tossed six excellent innings of one-run ball Saturday against Oakland, fanning and walking one en route to a no-decision. The southpaw gave up a run in the first inning, after allowing three to reach base, before settling down and cruising for the next five, needing just 88 total pitches to do so. Smyly broke out of his slump of four straight losses, during which he posted an obscene 9.14 ERA, and nearly won his first game in over two months.
Snell relinquished just two runs in 6-2/3 innings on Sunday, collecting four strikeouts and walking two against the Athletics. The lefty got off to an inauspicious start by allowing two runs on four hits with just one out in the first inning, but he calmed down and allowed just five baserunners over the next six frames. Snell has posted three straight quality starts, while allowing just four runs in 18-2/3 innings in that span — lowering his season ERA to 3.06.
Yankees Series Starters
Nova, who could be the next hurler on the trade block for the Yankees, has had a home run problem this season, owning a 1.7 HR/9. He also hasn’t posted a K/9 above 8.0 since 2012. Be that as it may, the righty hurled seven innings of one-run ball in his last start, while scattering six hits and fanning seven. Nova collected 2-1/3 scoreless innings of work against Tampa Bay in April, but is 3-2 with a 5.11 ERA against the Rays in seven career starts. Key matchups: Curt Casali (1-2, 2B, RBI), Kevin Kiermaier (3-5, 3B, HR, 2 RBI), Evan Longoria (10-36, 2B, 3 R, 7 RBI, 3 BB)
Eovaldi allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks over 6-2/3 innings on Sunday, striking out six against the Giants. The righty has put together two consecutive solid starts since returning to the rotation, relinquishing just three runs in 12 innings of work, with a 1.75 K/BB. He’s also kept the ball in the park over that stretch and hasn’t allowed a homer in five consecutive appearances, improving on his 1.9 HR/9 held prior to that run. Eovaldi threw six innings of one-run, six-hit ball in May against the Rays, striking out seven. Key matchups: Logan Forsythe (2-8, 2B, BB), Brandon Guyer (2-6, 2B), Evan Longoria (2-7, RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (1-3), Steve Pearce (2-6), Steven Souza Jr. (2-6, BB)
Pineda gave up just one run on five hits Monday against Houston, striking out eight over seven innings work. Pineda notched eight or more strikeouts for the sixth time in eight starts. The righty owns a superb 4.57 K/BB over a 47-1/3 inning stretch, pairing with a 3.42 ERA. The long ball is still a problem for Nova, as he’s allowed seven over that eight game stretch. Pineda’s collected an 0-2 record to go along with a 13.50 ERA in two appearances against Tampa Bay this season (totaling 8-2/3 innings). Key matchups: Tim Beckham (1-2), Corey Dickerson (2-5, HR, 3 RBI), Logan Forsythe (4-6, 2B), Kevin Kiermaier (3-12, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB), Brad Miller (4-10, 2 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB), Steve Pearce (5-12, 2B, HR, RBI), Steven Souza Jr. (6-14, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI)
Noteworthiness
— Suffice it to say, the Rays have been incredibly unlucky this season. While they enter the series with New York at 39-61 on the season, they should be 49-51 according to BaseRuns. Compare that to the Yankees, who enter the series 52-49 on the season, and 47-54 record according to BaseRuns. That said, this should be a fairly evenly matched series.
Joey Gallo has been connected to the Tampa Bay Rays leading up to the trade deadline. (Photo Credit: Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)As we move closer to the August 1st trade deadline, a fair amount of the trade rumors surrounding the Tampa Bay Rays have quieted significantly. Still we wanted to take a look at some of the players the Rays may pursue, if or when one of their pitchers is dealt at the deadline.
Players Targeted
Tampa Bay has been connected to the Dodgers, Rangers, Pirates, Marlins and Red Sox among others, with the possibility of acquiring infielders Jurickson Profar or Joey Gallo (Rangers), outfielder Austin Meadows or 1B/OF Josh Bell (Pirates), and catcher Austin Barnes (Dodgers).
Jurickson Profar
Like former Ray Ben Zobrist, Profar boasts versatility across the diamond. The switch hitting infielder also posses great range and instincts. What Profar lacks in pop, he makes up for with quick hands, a good OBP and wOBA (.363 and .357 respectively), and the ability to make consistent contact, thus spraying the ball all over the field — something Tampa Bay could use in spades.
Source: FanGraphs
Should a deal be made, Tampa Bay would receive a player with three years of team control remaining.
A caveat: while there doesn’t appear to be opportunity for Profar to get consistent playing time up the middle because of Elvis Andrus and Roughned Odor, with the season ending injury to DH Prince Fielder, the Rangers may instead decide to hold on to the 23 year-old infielder who could slot into that role.
Joey Gallo
Like Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza Jr., Gallo has a huge power potential. In 299 plate appearances with the Rangers Triple-A affiliate, the 22 year-old infielder put up a .381 OBP/.557 SLG/.938 OPS/.311 ISO/54 wRC slash line with 19 homers. Yet also like Dickerson and Souza, his low batting average and 30.4% strikeout rate aren’t too appealing.
As with Profar, there really isn’t a spot for Gallo on the active roster, so in Triple-A he’s sat for most of the season. Gallo plays both corner infield spots, but as Dan Slaubaugh (DRaysBay) noted, he doesn’t play first to third particularly well:
Second, Gallo plays both corner infield spots, and neither particularly well. At 3rd base for the Rays, Longoria is slugging the ball, and should bring legitimate productivity to the team for at least another 4 years if they choose not to part with him. At 1st base they have Connor Gillaspie and Jake Bauers in the pipeline, both of whom are very promising prospects, waiting in the minors for their turn in the big leagues and far better defenders.
Given the Rays penchant for defense, that likely relegates Gallo to DH duty, a role already occupied by Corey Dickerson for the foreseeable future. His roster spot is not clear.
Austin Meadows
Viewed as the heir apparent to Andrew McCutchen (once he becomes a free agent in 2018), the hard hitting Meadows is polishing off his Minor League career in advance of a future promotion to the bigs. Meadows made the jump from Double-A — where he slashed .311 BA/.365 OBP/.611 SLG/.976 OPS/.299 ISO/.419 wOBA/36 wRC with six homers and eight triples, and a paltry 16.8% strikeout rate — to Triple-A this season.
According to the FanGraphs scouting report, Meadows has a good amount of physical development left in his future, likely taking his plus raw speed down closer to average, though he projects to be an above-average defender with a fringe-average arm. If he can improve on the accuracy of his arm, the young outfielder could very well develop into a five-tool player.
Josh Bell
Hitting .317 BA/.405 OBP/.515 SLG/.920 OPS/.198 ISO/.407 wOBA/69 wRC with 13 homers in Triple-A this season, it’s a wonder that Bell hasn’t yet received a full-time promotion to the bigs. The switch hitting 1B/OF exhibits more power from the lefthand side, though he possesses something that a fair number of Rays do not: plate discipline (11.7% K% in 2014, 10.3% K% in 2015, 15.1% K% in 2016). Tampa Bay will need a first baseman next season, and Bell is controllable through the 2022 season season. He also won’t be arbitration eligible until the completion of the 2019 campaign.
Fun fact: Bell hit a pinch-hit grand slam in just his second big league at-bat.
Austin Barnes
The scouting report on Barnes, courtesy of Carson Cistulli (Fangraphs):
Attempting to identify a weakness in Barnes’ game is like attempting to find a weakness in a player who doesn’t possess any weaknesses. In roughly 2,200 minor league plate appearances, he’s recorded a walk-to-strikeout ratio above 1.0. He’s exhibited nearly average power. He plays catcher. Both Steamer and ZiPS project him to record over two wins given a full season’s worth of plate appearances. He even seems to run well, producing a 12-for-14 stolen base record and 5.4 speed score (where 5.0 is average) last year at Triple-A Oklahoma City. What Barnes lacks most immediately is a spot on a major league club — the Dodgers currently roster starter Yasmani Grandal and former starter A.J. Ellis. Given an opportunity, Barnes is likely to give back at least a league-average rate of wins.
In short, Barnes is an intriguing prospect at a position the Rays could desperately use. His .299 BA/.383 OBP/.454 SLG/.837 OPS/.375 wOBA in 288 plate appearances in Triple-A this season truly makes the acquisition of Hank Conger look like a regrettable memory. The fact that Barnes is a backstop with the misfortune of working for the Dodgers,* who already employs two other well-established league average catchers, could make him a plausible target for Tampa Bay.
In Conclusion
It’s fun to dream about who the Rays could receive should they decide to move a pitcher at the deadline. However, according to Jerry Carsick (ESPN), it appears that Matt Silverman will stand pat and act during the winter, when the Rays can engage with 29 MLB teams rather than a handful making playoff pushes.
I think they’ll take it to the offseason, said an official with a club in the starting pitcher market. They’ll get a lot of information now. They’ll find out who’s really serious, and then they’ll take the month of August to really scout that organization and see who they have a good fit with. There’s no urgency for them to do stuff now. They can set a price, and if they don’t get it, they’ll take it into the offseason and go from there.
Whether the above mentioned players will still be available during the offseason remains to be seen. Whatever the case, as I mentioned Wednesday, it’s incumbent upon the front office to to look for smart acquisitions if it hopes to shake the Devil Rays moniker any time soon. A few smart moves here and there could easily find the Rays in the postseason next year.
*The Dodgers could also use a starter now that Clayton Kershaw has been shelved due to an injury.
