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Rays Spring Training: day five

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Some guy named Raaaaaaaandy took hacks today on the last day of pitcher/catcher workouts, in Port Charlotte. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays front office was busy on the last day of pitcher/catcher workouts in Port Charlotte, officially announcing the acquisitions of right-handed hurlers Collin McHugh and Chaz Roe.

Roe agreed to a one-year, $1.15-million deal, describing the decision to sign with the Rays as a “no-brainer,” while McHugh previously inked a one-year, $1.8-million contract. He too described the decision to sign with Tampa Bay as a “no brainer.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays moved right-handers Yonny Chirinos (Tommy John surgery) and Oliver Drake (right flexor tendon strain) to the 60-day Injured List. Tampa Bay’s roster is full and, arguably, better equipped to handle the upcoming season.

Roe told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) that he liked that the Rays added several veterans to the otherwise young core of players.

They’re going to help out tremendously. It’s good to have those guys around for feedback to bounce stuff off of them. They’ve been around for a while. They’re not afraid to speak their mind. I think that’s what we need right now. I think it’s going to help out our ballclub a lot.

— Chaz Roe
That outlier right there…that’s Chaz Roe’s slider.

Roe boasts one of the league’s biggest breaking sliders in terms of horizontal movement. 1047 pitchers have thrown a slider over the last five seasons, yet no slider had more horizontal movement than Roe’s. Since Tampa Bay acquired the right-hander in 2017, Roe has performed to a 3.54 ERA, a 27.7% strikeout rate, and a 1.27 WHIP, with 139 strikeouts across 119-1/3 innings (151 appearances). He, however, was limited to just 10 appearances last season due to right elbow discomfort resulting in the team shutting him down in August.

Roe rested through the postseason, and began his rehab in the offseason, noting that he’s “100 percent ready to go” in the present tense.

Roe told Adam Berry (MLB.com) he didn’t need much convincing to come back to Tampa Bay.

I’m just happy to be back here. I’m happy to be back, and hopefully, we can run it back. … I love it here, love the group of guys, so it was a very easy decision on my part.

— Chaz Roe

Meanwhile, McHugh said he considered Tampa Bay along with a small group of clubs, citing the team’s cutting-edge use of pitching, which he said was exciting.

With my background as a starting pitcher and my recent background as a reliever and short-inning reliever, it kind of gives me some versatility to be able to kind of fill those spots and fill those innings where it’s going to be needed.

— Collin McHugh

Rays skipper Kevin Cash said McHugh can fill a number of different roles in 2021.

He’s proven over his career that he can be really versatile and really effective whether it’s starting, whether it’s providing late-inning one-inning stints, or a multi-inning role.

— Kevin Cash

In-kind, McHugh mentioned that his flexibility should provide Tampa Bay with some much-needed innings.

Bringing the guys in that we’ve been able to bring in — myself, Rich, (Michael Wacha), Arch — some of these guys who’ve had some success in the past as starters but also know the game is changing and know the game is developing in a way in which shorter stints might be what’s asked of you. I think we’re all open to it, and we’re all ready to take the ball when it’s given to us. … I think we’ve got a good plan in place of how to fill these innings and how to fill them really effectively.

— Collin McHugh

The Rays will hold their first full-squad workout on Tuesday morning in Port Charlotte. Yet on Monday, all eyes were on a bulked-up Austin Meadows and 25-year-old catcher Francisco Mejía.

After battling through injuries and a bout with COVID last season, Cash said Meadows looked “awesome” as he arrived at camp.

Meadows looks awesome. He had a really rough season last year with injuries and COVID,. Really proud of Austin for working really hard this offseason. We can see that.

— Kevin Cash

Cash also said he was encouraged by the early looks at the position players in camp, mentioning that they already looked to be in midseason form.

Looking at all the guys, they all look in really good shape. They hit on the fields and they looked to be in mid-season form that first round of batting practice.

— Kevin Cash

As for Mejía, the Rays believe he will benefit from a change of scenery after he and others were traded for Blake Snell in December. While the backstop went just 3-for-39 with San Diego last season, he has been projected by Baseball Prospectus to pop 10 homers and slug .422 in 2021. This is the same player that slashed .265 BA/.316 OBP/.438 SLG across 244 plate appearances for the Padres two seasons ago, and was a .295 hitter with a .810 OPS in the minor leagues — including a 50-game hitting streak.

Tampa Bay expects Mejía to tighten up his defensive game with help from field coordinator Paul Hoover and catching coordinator Tomas Francisco, and play behind Mike Zunino.

Rays Spring Training: days two-through-four

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Luis Patiño threw his first bullpen session of the spring on Friday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Luis Patiño, Ryan Yarbrough, and Brent Honeywell, among others, threw bullpen sessions heading into the weekend, as the Tampa Bay Rays continue to ramp things up heading into the first full-squad workout.

Patiño — the No. 38 prospect according to ZiPS (MLB Pipeline’s No. 19 overall prospect) — boasts a 97 mph fastball that tops out at 100 mph, as well as a plus slider and changeup, and was electric on Friday.

Very, very motivated. Driven to be really, really good. Motivated, driven and really hungry to be good are kind of the three things that we’ve heard — along with just outstanding work ethic. … The ball really comes out of his hand. He’s really physical, strong-looking kid … Seems very motivated, very polished, very mature for what he’s been through already in a brief career.

— Kevin Cash

Meanwhile, both Yarbrough and Honeywell also threw on Friday. Yarbrough said there weren’t any residual ill feelings toward the Rays front office after losing his arbitration case.

It’s something I’m not trying to dwell on this point. I’m just glad to be back in Spring Training, glad to be back out here, see everybody again. Get back to some semblance of a normal year. Just trying to focus on that and get ready for the season.

— Ryan Yarbrough

The left-hander could be in the best position to handle a normal workload after coming off a shortened season. Yarbrough told Adam Berry (MLB.com) he hasn’t set any expectations for his workload this season.

I know that our coaching staff, front office, everyone’s going to do a really good job of not letting anybody get out of control or putting you in a situation to potentially get hurt. As far as my mindset, I’m just going to take the ball and just throw as much as I can until they come out and get it from me.

— Ryan Yarbrough

As for the right-handed Honeywell — who hasn’t seen game-time action since 2017 — the hurler is feeling as good as he has in years after a string of injuries kept him on the shelf.

It’s been a while, but I can’t complain. It’s kind of made me who I am today. I’m excited. I’m healthy. … Everything is good. After this last one, it was a big-time help for me, and it was a big-time relief of my elbow. Everything is so-called ‘on track,’ and we’re moving in the right direction.

— Brent Honeywell

The right-hander threw a “short-box” bullpen session to a catcher positioned on top of home plate which Rays skipper Kevin Cash spoke favorably of.

He looks to be in a really good spot. The guys were very complimentary after his brief bullpen session.

— Kevin Cash

Brendan McKay continues to rehabilitate from left shoulder surgery in late August to repair a torn labrum. While he isn’t slated to throw off the mound until mid-March, the two-way player has been playing catch from 60, 90, and ultimately 120 feet. In the meantime, McKay will continue to hit throughout Spring Training.

He’s going to get an opportunity to take the next four, five, six weeks and hit. He’s had some broken seasons because of injuries and not too long ago he was rated as the best college hitter coming out of the draft. This might be a pretty good opportunity to get him back in the batter’s box and let him work just on the hitting side.

— Kevin Cash

On the rehab front, Cash says McKay continues on schedule in terms of pitching, and it’s expected McKay will hit in Spring Training games.

McKay likely will also get the opportunity to hit in Grapefruit League games potentially around the same mid-March period when he’ll be back on the mound.

We felt it was important to give him the opportunity to come in and focus on hitting and see how he feels, what we think. Not that we’ll make that many judgments on Spring Training performance — we try to avoid doing that — but to give him a path to just really focus on getting in the cage, doing what the hitters do throughout a normal spring.

— Kevin Cash

Both Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder was impressed by the bullpen thrown by pitcher Shane McClanahan. The Rays skipper said Snyder raved Saturday “about his bullpen, the fastball, the velocity, and the breaking ball.”

Cash also said bullpen catcher Misha Dworken called it the best ‘pen he’s caught, and “that totally makes sense with the stuff McClanahan has.”

Finally, while high-leverage reliever Nick Anderson is a little behind his typical spring schedule, he spent “a good chunk of the offseason” in St. Pete, working out to enhance his mobility and strength.

The right-hander mentioned that his fatigue at the end of last season, as well as his short IL stint during the regular season, were circumstances related to the oddness of the truncated season more than anything else.

I think it’s just the way that the whole thing turned out. Not having that whole season to kind of build-up.

— Nick Anderson

He has begun throwing bullpen sessions and is excited by the prospects for the upcoming campaign.

All good.

— Nick Anderson

LBWMF: Rays punch ticket to the ALDS with 8-2 win over Toronto

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Hunter Renfroe hit the Tampa Bay Rays first-ever postseason grand slam on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Hunter Renfroe broke the game open with a second-inning grand slam — the first-ever postseason grand slam in Tampa Bay Rays franchise history — in the second game of the American League Wildcard Series, as the Rays rolled past the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, 8-2, at Tropicana Field. Next stop: San Diego, where the Rays will face either Cleveland or the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1311437626436718592?s=20

Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and posted six innings of two-run baseball on six hits (including two solo homers) and one walk while striking out eight.

We showed the potential of what we can do on both sides of the ball. Obviously, in Game 1 we had Blake throw an absolute gem and we were able to scrape enough runs to win, and today showed the bats coming alive and Tyler allowing just two and the bullpen keeping it where it was. I think it just solidifies who we are as a team.

— Mike Zunino

After a 1-2-3 first, Glasnow worked around a pair of singles in the top of the second, yet without incurring any damage. Then, staked to a seven-run lead in the third inning, Danny Jansen launched a solo home run off the right-hander that left a dent in the catwalk above the left-field stands. Bo Bichette followed by earning a walk, but Glasnow buckled down and the Jays settled for just a run. In the fifth inning, Jansen blasted another lead-off solo shot yet that is all he would, or the Rays, allow. Glasnow finished his outing having thrown 86 pitches (55 strikes, 64% strike rate, 20% SwStr%). He held Toronto to 0-for-8 with four punchies with runners in scoring position.

It feels great. We had a bunch of confidence going into this. Everyone went out there with no pressure, just kind of loose like we’ve been all year. Especially in that second inning, just to watch the momentum and the adrenaline from the grand slam, it was a pretty special moment.

— Tyler Glasnow

Offensively, Tampa Bay struck first against Hyun-jin Ryu. Mike Brosseau led off the game with a base hit to left, however, he was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Randy Arozarena followed with a base hit to center, then went to third on a single to right off the bat of Brandon Lowe. After Yandy Díaz struck out in his first at-bat off the Injured List, Manuel Margot poked a single through the right side for an early one-run lead.

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In the second inning, Kevin Kiermaier slapped a single to center before Mike Zunino blasted an 88 mph 0-2 fastball into section 145, putting the Rays up by three.

The hit parade continued with one out. Arozarena doubled to right-center before Díaz walked. Margot followed, reaching on Bichette’s second error in as many innings, loading the bases for Hunter Renfroe, who launched a grand slam to left on a 1-1 cutter for a seven-run lead, chasing Ryu.

Tampa Bay capped the scoring, answering Jansen’s first home run. With reliever Ross Stripling on the bump, Brosseau hit a one-out single to center in the third. Arozarena came up with another double, this time down the left-field line, scoring Brosseau from first.

Aaron Loup got two outs in relief of Glasnow in the seventh, working around a leadoff hit. Ryan Thompson got the next four batters, including two strikeouts, while Nick Anderson finished off Toronto with a five-pitch ninth inning.

The ALDS will take place at Petco Park, in San Diego, starting Monday. The Rays will head out west on Saturday with a full head of steam.

Every win in the postseason is that much more (momentum). We played good right at the end of the year and got where we needed to be from a pitching standpoint. Now, it’s just trying to ride that wave of momentum, and these guys do an unbelievable job at creating that.

— Kevin Cash

Stay tuned, we will follow with more Rays postseason news and updates as the week continues to progress toward Monday.

TNWN: Rays look for a series sweep in the season finale

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John Curtiss allowed one run on three hits across 2/3 inning on Saturday.

Sunday marks the last day of the 60-game regular season, and with it, one of the strangest campaigns in baseball history. Aside from COVID-19 and the political strife that has made America a powder keg ready to explode, the Tampa Bay Rays have dealt with injuries, other teams literally throwing at their heads (side note: how the fuck has Aroldis Chapman not served his three-game suspension yet?!), an all left-handed-hitting lineup, 12 different players notching saves, an astronomically high strikeout rate in the month of September (31.3% K%), and a 14-5 record in one-run games which is tops in all of baseball. The Rays have already clinched the top seed in the American League playoffs. The only questions remaining are whether they will earn their 40th win, and consequently the mark of the Devil Ray — a .666 winning percentage (WP%) — and who they will play in the opening round. With a win, Tampa Bay would tie for the best 60-game mark at any point in any season in team history.

Tampa Bay enters play with a 39-20 (19 games over .500) record. They are guaranteed to finish with the best WP% in team history, exceeding the .599 mark by the 2008 “worst-to-first” pennant winners. Their current record extrapolates to a dominant 107-55 over a 162 game season. Meanwhile, 20 of the Rays 39 wins are of the come from behind variety, most in the American League. What’s more, Kevin Cash now has the best WP% of any manager in franchise history at .521, surpassing that one guy who managed the Cubs and now calls Anaheim his home. What was his name again? I don’t remember either.

The Rays will face the Blue Jays in the Wildcard round playoffs — starting Tuesday at Tropicana Field — if the Yankees beat Miami or Toronto loses to Baltimore. If the Blue Jays win and the Yankees lose, the Rays will then face New York.

As for Philadelphia, they need a win and some help to qualify for a postseason berth … albeit one with a sub .500 record. They also need Milwaukee and San Francisco to lose.

The New What Next

Josh Fleming (4-0, 3.42 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay, pitching opposite of Aaron Nola (5-4, 3.06 ERA).

Josh Fleming, who was slated to pitch the bulk of the innings on Tuesday, entered the game after Ryan Thompson and got the final out of the third inning. He also allowed just a grounder in the fourth.

Even so, former Ray Guillermo Heredia battled back from an 0-2 count to earn a free pass, while Ramos hit a single to right on the next pitch, putting two on and moving a runner into scoring position. After Nimmo was hit by a pitch, consequently loading the bases, Jeff McNeil hit an infield RBI single that Willy Adames made a diving stop on, scoring Heredia and bringing the Mets within one. But, J.D. Davis lined to right on the very next pitch, keeping the Rays in front.

Fleming came out in the sixth and got the first two batters before Diego Castillo took over with Alonso, whom he quickly put away, stepping into the box.

After a rough start patch in September, Fleming has allowed just one run over 6-2/3 frames encompassing his last two trips to the mound.

Aaron Nola gave up five runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks over six innings on Thursday against Washington. He struck out six. It was Nola’s fourth quality start in his last six outings, a stretch during which he’s posted a 3.03 ERA and 3.85 K/BB across 38-2/3 innings. Nola relies primarily on an 85 mph changeup that dives down out of the zone, a 79 mph curveball with sweeping glove-side movement, a whiffy 93 mph four-seam fastball with obvious tail and some natural sinking action, and a groundball inducing 92 mph sinker with natural sinking action. Key Matchup: Hunter Renfroe (3-7, 2 2B)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Phillies — a series preview

Rays 9/27/20 Starting Lineup

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  1. Wendle SS
  2. B Lowe DH
  3. Arozarena 2B
  4. N Lowe 1B
  5. Brosseau 3B
  6. Renfroe RF
  7. Phillips CF
  8. Margot LF
  9. Perez C

Noteworthiness

— The Rays will rest some of the key relievers this afternoon. Nick Anderson threw in the first game of the series, while Diego Castillo and Pete Fairbanks threw yesterday. Aaron Slegers also worked three innings last night, and John Curtiss pitched the last two games. That leaves Oliver Drake, Aaron Loup, Ryan Sherriff, and Ryan Thompson as options.

— Good news on the with runners in scoring position (wRISP) front. Tampa Bay has had success in this series when it has mattered most, going 7-for-16 wRISP (.438 wRISP BA).

— Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz are expected to work out before the game. According to Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), the Rays have not decided if either or both will make the team’s playoff roster, as each is recovering from a hamstring injury. Rosters do not need to be finalized until Tuesday morning.

— Rays manager Kevin Cash set the pitching rotation in the Wildcard round of the playoffs. The team will go with Blake Snell in the first game, Tyler Glasnow in the second, and Charlie Morton in the third, if necessary.

Clinched!

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…When you bring your own party favors to the field.

On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the AL East title for the first time since 2010 — and the third time in franchise history — behind an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets. The Rays aren’t done yet though, over the next three games they will attempt to lock up the number one seed in the American League.

Tampa Bay enters the last off-day of the regular season with a record of 37-20, 17 games over .500. They currently maintain the best record in the American League by two games over Minnesota with three games left to play. The Rays have lost just one of the team’s last 15 series.

https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1308960679139909632?s=20

Due to the pandemic, the Rays celebrated the accomplishment with another round of imaginary champagne, in a room covered in imaginary plastic given the COVID-19 protocols and restrictions.

Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged that the team is missing out on one of the best parts of winning, although he acknowledged the tradeoff involved.

I do think we all should recognize that these players are missing out, but we’re missing out like we said for good reason. And being respectful of the situation and not putting any of us at risk. We’re going to the postseason. We definitely don’t want a celebration or anything like that to derail all the accomplishments of the season.

— Kevin Cash

The Rays will welcome the Philadelphia Phillies into the Trop for a three-game series (the final set of the 2020 season), starting Friday. More on things later, it’s, well … getting late. Congratulations, guys!