When you think about early September roster moves, adding more players to the active roster instantly comes to mind. The Tampa Bay Rays did the opposite, however, optioning INF Tim Beckham to Triple-A Durham after he made a costly base running blunder in the fourth inning on Wednesday.
The Rays will announce a corresponding move prior to the upcoming series with Toronto.
On the play that cost Tim his job, Kevin Kiermaier laced a ball into right-center with Beckham on second base. Kiermaier, who later admitted to making a “really dumb, dumb play,” tried to stretch the two-out single to a double, yet was thrown out by Mookie Betts — an error that came at a rather inopportune time with Evan Longoria, the Rays top hitter, coming up next.
Beckham meanwhile, had not yet crossed home, and the Red Sox were already exiting the field by the time he did.
Following the ballgame, Kevin Cash said both Beckham and Kiermaier were to blame for the play, although Beckham’s gaffe was much more appalling.
Definitely the not hustling. That is required of us. And probably the easiest part to do in baseball.
It was a harsh, but necessary move that followed open criticism of players for making too many base running mistakes. Moreover, Beckham made the same type of blunder in the previous series against the Astros, which not hustling home when there was a potential third out being made on the bases was discussed.
Though Beckham had been in the midst of an extended hot streak since the All-Star Break — posting a 141 wRC+ and slashing .327 BA/.365 OBP/.520 SLG/.885 OPS over the second half of the season — this was a long overdue decision against a player whose countless mistakes proved costly to the team. Allowing him to continue making the same thoughtless errors would project the wrong message to the entire organization.
And while the decision didn’t come at a crucial point in the season, given the Rays sub .500 record, the point of move was valid and well worth it. If anything, Beckham has made a roster decision ahead of the 2017 season that much easier. That is, when it comes down to Beckham and Nick Franklin, the choice for bench depth next season is obvious. Besides, Franklin is a much more versatile player.