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Rays deal Jose Alvarado to Philly in a three-team trade; Erik Neander on the Blake Snell trade

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Left-hander Jose Alvarado was dealt to Philadelphia in a three-team trade on Tuesday.

The Tampa Bay Rays stayed active on Tuesday, dealing left-hander Jose Alvarado to Philadelphia in a three-team deal. As part of the swap, the Rays received minor league first baseman Dillon Paulson and a player to be named later or cash considerations from the Dodgers.

During the 2018 campaign, Alvarado posted a 2.39 ERA and 11.3 K/9 across 64 relief frames (70 games). Yet injuries hampered the left-hander the last two seasons, resulting in a 5.08 ERA and a 1.58 K/BB over 39 total innings. The lefty missed a lot of bats, yet a lack of control (7.6 BB/9) countered those punchouts. Shoulder inflammation limited the 25-year-old hurler to just nine regular-season innings last season, although he was able to toss 1-2/3 scoreless innings to contribute to the Rays’ victory over the Astros in the ALCS.

Paulson, 23, was a 13th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2018 draft and hit .253 BA/.373 OBP/.464 SLG/.837 OPS with 47 doubles, 26 home runs, 125 RBI, and 124 walks over 778 plate appearances (over two seasons) in the Dodgers organization during his brief professional career, reaching the High-A level in 2019.

In dealing Alvarado, Tampa Bay opened up a 40-man roster spot that was needed for the completion of the Blake Snell trade with San Diego.

Erik Neander on the Snell trade

In a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday Rays Executive Vice President/General Manager Erik Neander told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) and others that the Blake Snell trade created a step back for the 2021 squad in the present tense, however, he also believes the team will still be very good and that’s there’s enough time in the off-season to add to the group.

We have players on hand that are prepared to step up and assume greater roles as we go along. Being really good in 2021 is really important to us especially given what our players just accomplished. But at least as important is that we’re really good for a long time without interruption.

— Erik Neander

The Rays GM Neander said he had honest conversations with several returning players and understands why some of them didn’t want to see Snell traded after the 2020 World Series appearance.

You owe them honesty in these situations. We have an awful lot of confidence in the group that we (still) have. These guys have won an awful lot of games the last few years with Blake on the mound and with other pitchers on the mound.

— Erik Neander

Neander also noted why the decision was made to pull the trigger on a deal that many feel to be a lateral move, in that it did not necessarily improve the team.

This was done not because we were looking to move Blake. This was done in large part because of the talent that we’re getting back. That was the big driver for us here.

— Erik Neander
https://twitter.com/ElElectrico62/status/1344063705668050951?s=20

Neander clearly felt good about the decision based on the players the team received in return as well as the players they currently have. He spoke very highly of RHP Luis Patiño, the 21-year-old who boasts a blazing four-seam fastball that averages nearly 97 mph.

We think the world of him. … You’re talking about an incredible athlete. You’re talking about someone with top-notch aptitude and makeup.

— Erik Neander

Aside from Patiño, Neander felt 25-year-old catcher Francisco Mejía is another player that can help the Rays in 2021, although he conceded that Mejía needs some work defensively. The Rays GM felt that Mejía — who is expected to get most of his work behind the plate — would benefit from a change of scenery.

In spite of the trade, Neander expects the 2021 Rays to be contenders.

By no means is this any sort of white flag on this season. We have a lot of confidence in the group that we have here and we’ve got a lot of time left to continue to build this club out and to get this puzzle where we want it.

— Erik Neander

Yet without Snell and Charlie Morton, that task has been made more difficult.

We’ve got a lot of work to do. We also have a lot of confidence in the young pitching that hasn’t yet established themselves.

— Erik Neander

Part of that will be assessing the young group they currently have including Patiño, Joe Ryan, Shane McClanahan, and Brent Honeywell. And while 2021 could be a transition year for the Rays pitching staff, Neander is expected to continue to look to add a more experienced starter.

Noteworthiness

— The Rays added to their catching depth by re-signing 32-year-old Kevan Smith to a minor-league deal.

Rays trade Blake Snell to San Diego in a five-player deal

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On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays sent Blake Snell to San Diego in a five-player trade.

The Tampa Bay Rays made a gallant attempt* at defending the 2020 American League pennant by dealing Blake Snell to San Diego in a five-player trade. In return, the Rays received the Padres No. 3, 7, and 14 prospects — RHP Luis Patiño, RHP Cole Wilcox, and C Blake Hunt — and C Francisco Mejía. The deal is pending physicals.

It is a stunning, yet typical, turn of events for the perineally cheap Rays who were known to be open to offers for the left-hander, although there had been no indication prior to Sunday that any deal, much less this one, was particularly close. Tampa Bay continues to operate on the cheap in the name of payroll flexibility, showing a willingness to move anyone if it can recoup a sufficient value.

Between this deal, and allowing Charlie Morton to walk, the reigning AL champions have moved away from two of their top three starters this winter. They enter Spring Training with a reduced payroll, yet they are no less better. Erik Neander and the Rays front office now figure to add pitching as they look to fend off the Yankees and the Blue Jays at the top of the division. With Snell’s contract off the books, the Rays’ payroll is down to a projected $57-Million — $17-Million shy of last season’s opening payroll of $74-Million.

Opinions aside, the deal is all but done, and I may as well take this opportunity to introduce the newest Rays.

RHP Luis Patiño

Luis Patiño is a versatile pitcher — with regards to his ability to pitch in the rotation or out of the bullpen — that made his big league debut in 2020, working primarily out of the ‘pen. His first 17-1/3 big-league innings didn’t go well, as he struggled with command and performed to a 5.19 ERA/5.61 FIP. However, the right-hander had thrown 7-2/3 innings above A-ball entering the 2020 campaign and likely would’ve been given more minor-league time in 2020 if not for the pandemic shortened season. He was nothing short of dominant from 2018-19 (in the low minors) and boasts a high-upside arm that could contribute in Tampa Bay as early as 2021. He is controllable through 2026.

Patiño has swing-and-miss stuff as well as the ability to fill up the strike zone. FanGraphs views Patiño at least as Snell’s equal.

Fastball: 65 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 60

Patiño’s velocity came on in a huge way as he got on a pro strength program and he’s added 40 pounds of good weight and about 10 ticks of velo since he signed. He’s a charismatic autodidact who has taken a similarly proactive approach to learning a new language (he became fluent in English very quickly, totally of his own volition) as he has to incorporating little tricks and twists into his delivery (he’s borrowed from Mac Gore) to mess with hitters. Were this a college prospect, he’d be in the conversation for the draft’s top pick, and I’m very comfortable projecting on the command and changeup because of the athleticism/makeup combination. I expect Patiño will reach the big leagues this year in a bullpen capacity and compete for a rotation spot in 2021.

— FanGraphs

RHP Cole Wilcox

Wilcox, a 2020 draftee out of the University of Georgia, was viewed as a first-round talent that fell because of a high bonus demand as a draft-eligible sophomore. San Diego signed the 21-year-old for a $3.3-Million signing bonus. The right-hander boasted a mid-90’s fastball (sitting 93-96 mph) as a starter in 2020, as well as an 85-89 mph slider with biting two-plane movement, and a changeup — his two promising secondary offerings. Wilcox was ranked twelfth among San Diego farmhands by Baseball America. He walked no hitters in his final three 2020 starts and walked just two in 23 total innings.

Wilcox’s fastball and slider, as well as his current command, are enough to project him in a late-inning bullpen role, although a better changeup would enable him to be a mid-rotation hurler.

C Blake Hunt

Hunt has emerged as a top 100 caliber prospect after three decent seasons in which he slashed .255 BA/.331 OBP/.381 SLG/.712 OPS with five home runs in 89 games for Class-A Fort Wayne in 2019.

Per Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs), the 22-year-old catcher has “been hitting to all fields with power” and shown high-end arm strength in recent workouts.

After two consecutive years of above-average offensive performance relative to his league and continued resolve that he is a viable defensive catcher, Hunt now looks like he has a real chance to be an everyday backstop. I’ve seen him pop as low as 1.88 on throws to second and, despite his size, he’s agile enough and has sufficient hands to receive and frame big league stuff. Hunt also has a contact-oriented approach at the plate, one that’s quite conservative (zero leg kick) and doesn’t take full advantage of his movement skills. It relies entirely on Hunt’s hands to generate power, and that will likely result is 12-ish homers and a bunch of doubles. It’s a second-division look to me, but I think there’s more ceiling on the game power if Hunt’s lower half gets more involved in his swing.

— Eric Longenhagen

His gap-to-gap ability, combined with his defensive foundation, make Hunt a good everyday catching prospect that will graduate to Double-A in 2020.

C Francisco Mejía

Mejía is not far removed from being seen as an elite catching talent although he comes with question marks about his catching aptitude and has compiled just a .225 PA/.282 OBP/.386 OBP/.668 OPS slash line in 362 career plate appearances over the past four seasons.

Daniel Russell (DRaysBay) summed up Mejía well, writing:

Francisco Mejia is technically a catcher who is technically a switch hitter but none of that has materialized at the major league level. As a former Top-20 prospect in all of baseball, his acquisition post-hype is charitably in the Rays style of targeting players like Tyler Glasnow, but it’s not clear that the Rays would rely on such a poor performer behind the dish, given their reputation for targeting high-end framing catchers.

Mejia was worth negative value as a framing catcher per Statcast in 2019, and negative value by Baseball Prospectus’s cumulative CDA in both 2019 and 2020. Despite a career 75 wRC+ there’s a lot of promise left in the bat, but the Rays do not have the luxury of adding a designated hitter to the roster when Yoshi Tsutsugo is due $7 million in 2021. Something has got to give.

— Daniel Russell

To sum things up, the trade does bring back good value for Snell — that should not be overlooked. Whether Patiño or Mejía (in the least) can offset the loss of Snell, an affordable top-tier hurler, in 2021 fails to be seen though. Put differently, the deal gives the Rays payroll flexibility to compensate for the money they didn’t actually lose in 2020. And while Stu Sternberg should’ve issued a simple edict to the Rays’ front office — focus on the 2021 World Series — he and the front office instead focused on payroll flexibility which doesn’t mean a damn thing in the context of the 40-man roster if they are not willing to actually spend money.

*If that sentence had you scratching your head, that was by design.

Charlie Morton signs with Atlanta, Rays are open to the idea of trading Blake Snell

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I, too, am teary-eyed. Thanks for everything, Charlie.

A day after the Tampa Bay Rays made waves by informing other teams they are open to the idea of trading left-hander Blake Snell (more on that below), the team was dealt a major blow when Atlanta announced it inked a one-year, $15-million deal with right-hander Charlie Morton. Mark Feinsand (MLB.com) reported that Tampa Bay was the other finalist in Morton’s market.

The loss of Morton stings, especially given that his $15-million contract with Atlanta matches the sum for which the Rays could’ve retained him had they exercised his club option for the 2021 season. It would appear that Tampa Bay had hoped to keep the right-hander at a lesser rate for the upcoming season — MLB Trade Rumors projected Morton to receive an $8-million, one-year contract, albeit with the Mets. Morton now returns to the franchise that originally drafted him back in 2002.

The 37-year-old Morton battled shoulder fatigue and was limited to nine starts and 38 innings in 2020 while pitching to a 4.74 ERA. Yet, after his stint on the Injured List, he returned with improved velocity and a 3.72 ERA across his seven remaining regular-season starts, then went on to post a 2.70 ERA through 20 postseason innings. More than that, however, Morton was a leader in the Rays clubhouse, especially during the Covid-19 shortened season.

The question begs: How will Erik Neander fill Morton’s shoes?

The free-agent market is one option, with Cory Kluber (MLBTR projected $12-Million), Robbie Ray (MLBTR projected $6-Million), and Adam Wainwright (MLBTR projected $6-Million) still available and relatively reasonably priced. As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) also noted, the Rays could conceivably add multiple pitchers they believe they can tweak and take to another level. “That has been something they’ve done frequently with relievers, but it’s certainly not out of the question they could do so with potential starters.” Tampa Bay could also use some of their position player depth to help fill any gaps in the rotation. That would help add a veteran presence among the emerging arms that likely will be leaned upon, such as Shane McClanahan, Brent Honeywell, Joe Ryan, and Josh Fleming.

Solondz was also quick to remind that the Rays have bounced back from situations like this in the past.

Certainly, Erik Neander and the rest of the Rays front office have done the right things during their current climb. In the year they traded Evan Longoria and then Chris Archer in-season, Tampa Bay jumped to 90 victories.

The following year, the team unloaded popular Mallex Smith and CJ Cron after arguably his best season yet made the playoffs and won 96 games. Then the team traded Tommy Pham and Emilio Pagan and ended up in the World Series in 2020.

— Neil Solondz

In short, while this stings, it’s still just November. With the dearth of players on what appears to be a very slow free-agent market, the Rays do have a few things that work in their favor, such as a winning environment, the clubhouse culture, and the lack of state income tax in the State of Florida.

As I alluded to above, the Rays have made it known that they are open to the idea of trading left-hander Blake Snell. Pay attention to the phrasing though: “open to the idea of” is clearly not the same as “actively looking to trade him.”

Tampa Bay recently inked a five-year, $50-Million extension with Snell before the 2019 season. However, the budget-conscious ball-club could move on from the southpaw if it receives an enticing enough offer. Snell still has three years and $39-Million left on that deal and is set to earn $10.5-Million in 2021, $12.5-Million in 2022, and $16-Million in 2023.

Snell, after receiving word of the news, mentioned that he is committed to Tampa Bay and would love the opportunity to remain with the Rays.

The club has made similar moves in the past with the trades of David Price, James Shields, Chris Archer, Evan Longoria, and Tommy Pham. But more often than not, the Rays front office first makes a proclamation that it is open to the idea of trading a player in order to test the waters of the market, then waits until there are two years of team control remaining in his contract before they pull the trigger on a deal. And based on the kind of returns the Rays would expect if they were to trade Snell, don’t expect any team to emphatically say “yes” to the opportunity of looking like the next Pittsburgh Pirates.

At any rate, JT Morgan (DRaysBay) wrote an excellent piece on what the Rays could get in return from the three likeliest teams that could cobble together a deal for Snell: the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Angels, and the San Diego Padres. You can read that article here.

For what it’s worth, given the amount of instability in Tampa Bay’s pitching corps, it would make more sense to hold onto Snell for the time being, which I’m sure Neander is well aware of. Then again, when have your feelings ever factored into the team’s financial decisions?

Looking back on the contentious decision to pull Snell in Game 6 of the World Series

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Blake Snell was pulled in favor of Nick Anderson after 5-1/3 innings of shutout ball in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series.

Seven days have passed since Kevin Cash made the contentious decision that many viewed as the death knell of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series — pulling Blake Snell after 5-1/3 scoreless innings. Hell, even I called it a bad move at the time, and in the heat of the moment. Since then though, many analytics-driven sites like FanGraphs, the Athletic, and Baseball Prospectus have come out generally in favor of Cash’s decision, while other more traditional outlets have turned Cash into a pariah. I’ve heard both sides of the discussion, and I have finally at peace with the decision. However, I will say that Cash did make a costly error: he called upon Nick Anderson instead of Diego Castillo or Ryan Thompson.

As a general rule, the performance of a pitcher across the first few innings predicts nothing as it relates to how he will perform across subsequent frames. True, Snell was dominant against the Dodgers through 5-1/3 innings, however, there was no guarantee that he would carry that forward. As Mitchel Lichtman (MGL Baseball) noted, it improved his expected ERA by 1/4 of a run, give or take. Yet that improvement would be negated the third time through the order.

Snell, like most other pitchers, faces some trouble the third time through the order. Over his career, his wOBA jumps dramatically from .263 the first time through the order to .321, while his SLG tops out at .413. In 2020, his .913 OPS allowed the third time through the order is far worse than what a fresh reliever should have been able to hurl.

(Credit: FanGraphs)
(Credit: FanGraphs)

Furthermore, there is evidence that Snell was tiring. Both Snell’s fastball and curveball velocity dropped precipitously. For reference, a pitcher with a fastball at 94 mph, instead of 96 mph, is about a half-run of ERA worse. And once his velocity started to fall, it was likly to continue until he ran into trouble.

As Eno Sarris (the Athletic) detailed, “His last fastball against Austin Barnes was his slowest fastball of the night, and a full tick below where he’d been sitting so far in the game. And Snell has been, in his career, 23 percent worse than league average when it comes to third-time through the order. If his personal splits in that might not matter (we’re still only talking about 432 regular-season plate appearances in which he’s seen a lineup a third time), the league has established third-time through the order splits that matter. Snell had not finished the sixth inning all season.”

Snell’s fastball to Barnes was two miles per hour off his average during the contest. Craig Edwards (FanGraphs) noted that when Snell’s fastball was at least 95 mph during the regular season, he coaxed swings-and-misses on 13% of pitches. However, when his fastball velocity fell under 95 mph, his whiff rate was just 9%. That was on display during Game 6. Snell got four swings and misses on his seven hardest fastballs of the night, and six on his hardest 13. Yet on the 16 pitches below 96.5 mph? The left-hander induced just two whiffs.

Put simply, Snell did his job quite effectively but he was getting tired and he was set to face the top of the Dodgers’ order for the third time.

Cash was in control of arguably the best bullpen in baseball — the stable as it were — with a good number of arms that had proven fairly successful against Los Angeles up to that point. And staked to a 1-0 lead against a team that hadn’t been shutout all season, the choice was about who would be the most effective hurler to replace Snell. This is where I believe Cash made the wrong decision.

Cash went with Anderson, who held opponents to a .091 BA/.138 OBP/.182 SLG/.320 OPS line during the regular, which was better than even Snell’s first time through the order stat line. However, Anderson had struggled in the postseason.

The vertical movement on his fastball had dropped by almost two inches since the start of 2019, while his heater was down almost two full ticks from 2019 to now. Anderson, who regularly lives at the top of the zone, wasn’t able to get his fastball above hitter’s bats, or with the velocity that would make the pitch effective. As Sarris put it, “All year he’d had less movement and velo, and as that trend worsened, so did his results.”

After the game, Anderson conceded that he didn’t feel great.

Workload, 2020 season, the whole thing is just crazy, honestly. Not having a normal routine, lifting, the season, everything — it’s been crazy. I didn’t feel as good as I would have liked to, but it’s the big leagues; you’re not going to feel good every time. I was still confident. It wasn’t the situation, it wasn’t being in the World Series or anything like that. Not a lot of gas.

— Nick Anderson

Cash probably should have gone with Castillo or Thompson (and his 59% ground ball rate) to get the outs and use Anderson against the softer back end of the order before handing the ball over to Pete Fairbanks. Or, the Rays offense could have scored more than one run, rendering all of this back-and-forth moot.

At the end of the day, an unpopular decision was made and no amount of prognostication will change the outcome. Cash had made similar decisions all season long, and those moves got the Rays to the World Series with the best record in the American League. Should he have been pilloried for being consistent? In my opinion, probably not.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

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World Series bound. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After making their way through the 16-team playoff bracket, as well as three postseason series, the two top-seeded teams will square off against one another in the 2020 World Series. Both the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off dramatic game seven victories in their respective League Championship Series.

Tampa Bay enters play with three of their top hitters — Brandon Lowe, Yandy Díaz, and Willy Adames — offering the team little in the way of offensive help, having slashed a combined .109 BA/.268 OBP/.124 SLG/.392 OPS with just three extra-base hits in 129 postseason at-bats. This, despite the fact that the three of them posted a wRC+ of 120 or better in at least 100 regular-season plate appearances. Austin Meadows has been all but absent too with the exception of two well-timed home runs. Even so, Lowe, and to an extent Mike Zunino, appear to be breaking out of their offensive slumbers, having gone a combined 6-21 (.286 BA), with four runs, three RBI, and two homers in the last three ball games. Their bats, ideally, should complement those of Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot, both of whom have carried the Rays during the postseason.

Speaking of Arozarena, Jay Jaffe (FanGraphs) put it best:

Arozarena collected five other hits as well, and batted .321/.367/.786 while driving in six runs. In winning LCS MVP honors, he joined the Orioles’ Mike Boddicker (1983 ALCS), the Marlins’ Livan Hernandez (1997 NCS), and the Cardinals’ Michael Wacha (2013 NLCS) — all pitchers — as the only rookies to win the award; Hernandez also won the World Series MVP award, lest Arozarena need to set another goal. They don’t give Division Series MVP awards, but his .421/.476/.895 showing with three home runs against the Yankees, and for that matter his .500/.556/1.000 performance in the Wild Card Series against the Blue Jays, might have garnered him additional hardware. The dude is en fuego, hitting a combined .382/.433/.855 through 60 postseason plate appearances, with 11 of his 21 hits going for extra bases (three doubles, one triple, seven homers).

— Jay Jaffe

Tampa Bay has been a little too home run happy in the postseason, but who am I to judge? After all, the Rays find themselves four victories away from winning it all. Nevertheless, they will need to do more than just hit dingers. Ji-Man Choi reached base three times in each of his last two starts, and that’s a start. Diaz has not squared up a ball, yet he has walked more than he’s struck out. Getting Choi and Diaz going (along with the aforementioned Lowe, Adames, and Meadows) will create more balance for a group that has had just three players carry the offense.

The question begs, Can Tampa Bay stop Los Angeles’ potent offense? The Dodgers scored nearly six runs per game versus their NL West and AL West opponents this season. That’s due in part to their depth. While the Rays can mix and match with the best of them, Los Angeles has the ability to send star-after-star to the plate. Dan Szymborski (FanGraphs) made an apt analogy, it “is a bit like having an opponent who is allowed to angrily shove all of the (chess) pieces off the board and start over.”

The Dodgers simply do better in slugfests than the Rays do, even when they’re on the wrong side of them: in games that start with the opposing team scoring four runs in the top of the first, the Dodgers still project to win 8% of the time, while the Rays can only boast 3% odds. This holds true for all similar scenarios.

— Dan Szymborski

The Dodgers led all of baseball in home runs this season (118) and had five players reach double digits. Tampa Bay had just one player with a double-digit home run total: Brandon Lowe (14).

It will be incumbent upon the Rays to limit the free passes and keep the Dodgers in the park. That, however, is easier said than done. Still, as Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) noted, “the Rays were able to out-homer Houston 11-9 and the Yankees 11-10. The closer the teams are to a wash in this category, the better the chances for Tampa Bay to win the World Series.”

Pitching Probables

Rays manager Kevin Cash will lean on Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.66 ERA), Blake Snell (2-2, 3.20 ERA), Charlie Morton (3-0, 0.57 ERA), and likely Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.60 ERA) in the front four games. Given the two off-days built into the World Series schedule, that would set the front three hurlers for games five, six, and seven. Dave Roberts will counter with Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 3.32 ERA) in game one, a hurler to be named before game two, Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.89 ERA) in game three, and hurlers to be named before games four and five.

I will update this piece as the situation becomes clear.

Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and he was good, but not great. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five on 96 pitches (55 strikes, 57% strike rate, 20% SwStr). Glasnow allowed a first-inning solo shot and an RBI double in the third inning to Jose Altuve, and a two-run blast to George Springer on a 99 mph, 3-1 fastball with the game scored knotted up at two in the bottom of the fifth. Yet, he also limited the damage by inducing weak contact and six ground balls. It was a rare power outburst against a hurler that maintained a 1.73 HR/9 in 2020 (and a 0.59 HR/9 in 2019). Glasnow enters his next start — assuming the Rays move on to the World Series — with a 4.66 ERA, 5.88 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, and a 3.1 K/BB across 19-1/3 playoff innings.

Clayton Kershaw surrendered four runs on seven hits and one walk over five-plus innings in game four of the NLCS. He struck out four. Kershaw only gave up a solo homer to Marcell Ozuna during his outing, although he allowed a single and back-to-back doubles to start the sixth before being removed. It should be noted that the southpaw has not been healthy, as he has been dealing with some back issues. Kershaw is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay, however, he maintains a 4.31 postseason ERA extending back to 2008. The left-hander relies primarily on a hard 88 mph worm-killer slider and a 92 mph four-seam fastball which is straight as an arrow and has some added backspin, while also mixing in a 74 mph 12-6 curveball with exceptional bite.

Blake Snell allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out four across four innings in game six of the ALCS. Snell was pulled having thrown just 82 pitches (45 strikes, 55% strike rate, 18% SwStr%) after allowing the first two batters of the fifth inning to reach base. He, however, was unsteady through the first four — allowing at least one baserunner in three — yet the only run charged to him came after he exited the game.

TBA

Charlie Morton pushed in his best outing of the season, allowing just two hits across 5-2/3 efficient innings, while striking out six and walking one on 66 pitches (48 strikes, 73% strike rate, 15% SwStr%). Over the first five frames, Morton allowed just one base hit — to Michael Brantley — while striking out five on 49 pitches. Yet, Houston made things interesting in the sixth with the Rays ahead by three. Martín Maldonado walked on four pitches with one out. George Springer followed by grounding into a 5-4 fielder’s choice for the second out. After Jose Altuve worked the count full, and with Springer was on the move, Altuve beat out a chopper to third to put runners on the corners with two outs. Given that Morton’s OPS increased to 1.006 the third time through the order, Rays skipper Kevin Cash called upon Nick Anderson in the high leverage situation. Anderson got Brantley to ground out to second on the second pitch of the at-bat, ending the threat.

Walker Buehler struck out six batters while allowing seven hits and zero walks across six scoreless frames in his last start against Atlanta. Buehler was staked to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, which proved to be all the Dodgers would need in their 3-1 win. The right-hander loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to open the top of the second, but he escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. He was rarely in much trouble the rest of the way. Buehler opened the regular season with a 5.21 ERA in his first four starts but cruised to a 1.53 ERA in his final four appearances and has a 1.89 ERA in four playoff starts. Buehler relies primarily on a whiffy 97 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in a firm 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite and slight glove-side movement, a whiffy 93 mph cutter, an 87 mph Slider that sweeps across the zone and boasts two-plane movement, and a 97 mph sinker with little sinking action. Key Matchup: Manuel Margot (1-4, HR)

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings on Tuesday in game three of the ALCS against the Astros. The left-hander picked up the start in a critical game in the series and followed through with a solid outing. He allowed a solo shot in the first inning, although he was effective the rest of the way before he surrendered a leadoff home run in the sixth inning which resulted in his removal. Yarbrough has never faced the Dodgers.

TBA

Noteworthiness

— Rays pitching Staff: 3.56 ERA/3.94 FIP overall (starters 3.77 ERA/4.25 FIP, relievers 3.37 ERA/3.65 FIP vs. the Dodgers pitching staff: 3.02 ERA/3.79 FIP (starters 3.29 ERA/4.11 FIP, relievers 2.74 ERA/3.45 FIP)

— Tampa Bay 98’ers, meet the other stable. Although the World Series rosters have not been set, Los Angeles is likely to have as many as eight pitchers whose fastballs averaged 95 mph or faster this season.

— The Rays made a couple of moves on Tuesday, adding LHP Ryan Sherriff and OF Brett Phillips to the World Series roster. To clear space for Sherriff and Phillips, Tampa Bay removed LHP Jose Alvarado and RHP Aaron Slegers from the roster.

Sherriff did not allow a run over 10 regular season appearances (9-2/3 innings) although he has not been active in the postseason. The move gives Tampa Bay six southpaws among the 13 pitchers, with Sherriff joining Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough, Josh Fleming, Aaron Loup, and Shane McClanahan. Keeping Fleming and McClanahan provides length for Kevin Cash.

Per Neil Solondz, the decision on Alvarado may have come down to strike throwing, as he walked three straight batters in game six.

Phillips was active in the Wildcard series and Division Series, although he was not on the ALCS roster when Tampa Bay went with 14 pitchers. With Kevin Kiermaier battling a bad wrist after being hit by a 99 mph pitch in the Championship Series, Phillips provides additional defensive insurance, as well as the ability to pinch-run and pinch-hit. It also will give the Rays a six-man bench.

— “This is what you play for.”

— The City of St. Pete will be hosting Rays/World Series watch parties for all seven games at the new Pier (which is awesome if you haven’t yet gone there). The game will be aired live on a giant screen. It bears mentioning: Each watch party will be a socially distant gathering, where masks are strongly encouraged. You can find out more at the link.