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Rays Spring Training: day seven, Glasnow throws live batting practice

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Just a couple of wild and crazy guys. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Wednesday marked the first day of live batting practice for the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte. Tyler Glasnow was impressive in his outing, while left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Kenny Rosenberg, and right-handers Andrew Kittredge, Tyler Zombro, Yacksel Ríos, Chris Ellis, Hunter Strickland, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Thompson, and Michael Wacha also took the mound.

Glasnow threw 29 pitches to Ji-Man Choi, Joey Wendle, Yandy Díaz, Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot, and Willy Adames, with an up/down after the first three batters. Rays skipper Kevin Cash said Glasnow had a good tempo and his cutter/slider — which he recently added to his arsenal — also looked good.

He looked tremendous. I can’t imagine what it feels like to throw a baseball like he does. Just sitting from that catcher point of view or even a right-handed, left-handed hitter point of view, it’s amazing how it explodes. … I’m not sure if he’s going to call it a cutter or slider, but it’s got a chance to be another special pitch for him. So he’ll continue to work. His tempo was really good, and the velocity looked just like it did in October.

— Kevin Cash

Hitters mostly tracked and took pitches, although Wendle and Díaz made contact; Wendle hit a chopper up the middle while Díaz laced a hit to right — shocker, I know (Díaz hit 45.4% of his batted balls to right in 2020).

Glasnow mentioned that he was pleased with the session, and while he hasn’t settled on a name for his new pitch, he used it more than his fastball or curveball on Wednesday.

As far as grip goes and comfort level throwing it, it’s way higher than I expected, so I’m really happy about it. The shape is inconsistent right now a little bit. I think I can play with it a bit if I want it to be more sweepy or if I want it to be a little harder. I can kind of just change where my hand is on it.

— Tyler Glasnow

Cash liked what he saw out of Kittredge, who worked hard to get back on the mound after he was hurt last season at Fenway Park. He was able to avoid Tommy John surgery.

That injury, that kind of shook all of us. It’s very encouraging the work that he put in. He definitely looked normal from my point of view, and I know the stuff that he’s throwing in the back with Kyle (Snyder) they’re very encouraged with where he’s at.

— Kevin Cash

Cash was encouraged by what he saw out of Yacksel Rios, who signed a minor-league deal in the off-season. The key for Rios, however, will be staying in the zone.

Yacksel, there’s a lot to like. It’s just, let’s harness it in the zone as much as possible. A lot of very similar messages will be given to a lot of the new faces.

— Kevin Cash

Cash was also complimentary of Jeffrey Springs, who was acquired from Boston on the first day of Spring Training.

(Springs) looked like a guy that a good feel for the fastball, change up, little breaking ball that he throws.

— Kevin Cash

Meanwhile, as a means of increasing the team’s defensive versatility and flexibility, Brandon Lowe will get some reps at third base this Spring while Mike Brosseau will spend some time at short. Yoshi Tsutsugo, already capable of playing in the outfield and at third, will try to add first base to his profile.

He (Brandon Lowe) seemed open to it. It could be in-game versatility if it goes one direction, if it goes another direction maybe it’s getting some starts over there. It allows Joey (Wendle) to stay at second base, stay up the middle. We’ll play all of them different and see what we come up with.

— Kevin Cash

Lowe, who got some off-season work at third, said he is open to whatever gives the team the best chance to win more ball-games.

If they think that I’d be a better fit at third, or they think that it’s going to help us win more games if I’m at third base. I have no problem with having another notch in my belt to somewhere that I can play.

— Brandon Lowe

Finally, Cash said a full season for Randy Arozarena — plus having a healthy Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, and Yandy Diaz — will be an offensive boon for the team.

Those are three key guys that for numerous reasons, got banged up at the wrong time. You get those guys healthy and timed up and in a normal routine, they really can thicken up, lengthen out our lineup because they can be special for us on a given night.

— Kevin Cash

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 set to bolster rotation with additions of Rich Hill and Collin McHugh

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The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly inked deals with Rich Hill (above) and Collin McHugh on Friday.

The Tampa Bay Rays reportedly bolstered the pitching staff on Friday, adding not one but two quality arms in veterans Rich Hill and Collin McHugh. Both hurlers have agreed to one-year contracts worth a combined $4.3-million. The agreements are pending physicals that may not be completed until Spring Training begins next week.

Tampa Bay is set to add two experienced hurlers who seem like perfect fits for what could be another creatively pieced together season.

Hill will turn 41 in March and has logged a 2.93 ERA/3.57 SIERA with a 28.6% strikeout rate and a better-than-average 7.9% walk rate across 503 innings as a member of the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, and Twins — this despite possessing 90 mph fastball. Last season, the southpaw went 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 38-2/3 innings (eight starts) for the Twins, although he averaged fewer than five innings in his time with Minneapolis. A question regarding Hill’s durability lingers as knee, forearm, and shoulder issues have impacted the hurler the last few seasons. Even so, his fastball/curveball combination has made him dominant when he’s taken the mound.

McHugh — a one-time Astro, Rockie, and Met — was largely successful in Houston as a starter and reliever from 2014-19, although elbow issues have impacted him the last few seasons, including the truncated 2020 campaign — McHugh signed with Boston before last season but was not healthy enough to pitch for the club.

McHugh owns a career 58-43 record with a 3.95 ERA and 771 punchouts across 800-2/3 frames (210 appearances). He averaged 181 innings per season as a starter from 2014-16, then 70 per season from 2017-19 when he moved to the bullpen. In 2018, McHugh was exceptional in a full-time relief role, posting a 1.99 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 94 strikeouts over 72-1/3 innings (58 outings).

The right-hander’s repertoire has evolved over time. In 2018, the average spin rate on his slider (2,835 rpm) was comparable to that of former Ray Chaz Roe (2,843), while the average spin rate on his curveball (2,799 rpm) was nearly identical to that of current ace Tyler Glasnow (2,802).

McHugh, a one-time fastball/curveball hurler, threw his slider 43.4% of the time in 2019 — dominating batters on the offering along the way. Meanwhile, his 90.8 mph four-seam fastball limited batters to a .175 BA with a .343 SLG and a 39.6% SwStr% against his slider.

The Rays sought starting pitching this offseason after parting ways with Charlie Morton and Blake Snell. As Adam Berry (MLB.com) wrote, “as teams try to safely manage the increase in pitchers’ workloads from a 60-game schedule to a 162-game season, it seems Tampa Bay is prepared to attack the challenge by loading up on ‘bulk-inning’ options.”

As of now, the Opening Day-ready starting/bulk-inning choices include Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough, Chris Archer, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Collin McHugh, Trevor Richards, Josh Fleming, Shane McClanahan, Luis Patiño, Brendan McKay, Brent Honeywell Jr. and Joe Ryan will give the Kevin Cash and Kyle Snyder the necessary innings needed to navigate through the season without overtaxing any of their arms.

The Rays could piggyback starters, or throw once or more through the order — Perhaps Trevor Richards, Collin McHugh, and/or Josh Fleming, along with several others during any given contest. They could also lean on pitchers with “different looks,” conceivably pairing power right-handers — like Glasnow or Patiño — with lefthanders that focus on a fastball/slider combo, or lefties who coax grounders with righties who rely heavily on curveballs.

As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) writes, the Rays like all teams, will have to be very flexible this season.

Why would Tampa Bay consider going this route of having so many options? For one it’s hard to fathom pitchers going 200 innings or even 180 after throwing 60 the previous year.

Perhaps for 2021, teams are more likely to get 100 to 150 innings out of starters/bulk pitchers to keep them healthy. Let’s say you get an average of 120 innings out of nine pitchers. I listed 15 pitchers above, which creates a lot of cushion for performance and health.

You can have six-man rotations at times, or tandem starters, where one pitcher goes four or five innings, and another goes three or once through the order.

Use nine pitchers at an average of 120 innings, that would cover 1080 innings, leaving fewer than 400 innings for the true relievers to cover, like Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo, Pete Fairbanks, plus John Curtiss, Cody Reed, Ryan Sherriff and Ryan Thompson among others. This way you could avoid relievers going beyond 60 or 65 innings (after going just 20 or so last year) and keep them sharp and healthy too.

— Neil Solondz

While the baseball world has hammered the Rays front office for their confounding offseason moves, Erik Neander and Co. have quietly put together a squad of impactful arms that are projected to drive the team toward another postseason run. Haters, like Fuzzy — or whatever the fuck his name is — are going to hate, however, the Rays are known to make many a blogger eat their own words. And by the looks of it, a nice dish of crow could be on the menu come October.

Noteworthiness

— The Rays submitted their Spring Training roster of 73 players on Friday — a list that did not include the abovementioned Hill and McHugh, who are expected to be added to the roster just prior to the start of camp.

Rays deal Nate Lowe to Texas; acquire an RHP from St. Louis in the Rule 5 Draft

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The Tampa Bay Rays traded Nate Lowe and two lower-level prospects to Texas ib Thursday for three players.

On Thursday, the Tampa Bay The Rays made their first trade of the offseason, sending Nate Lowe to Texas — along with two low-level prospects — for three 20-year-old prospects: catcher/outfielder Heriberto Hernandez, infielder Osleivis Basabe, and outfielder Alexander Ovalles. The move freed up a roster spot, and the Rays now have 38 players on the 40-man roster as they look to add players via trade or free agency to build on last year’s World Series appearance.

With Ji-Man Choi and the platoon of Mike Brosseau and Yandy Diaz standing in the way of Lowe as he fought for consistent playing time, the Rays dealt the infielder to the Rangers where he should get the reps he deserves.

The headline player for Tampa Bay is Hernandez, who slashed .320 BA/.450 OBP/.625 SLG/1.075 OPS with 23 home runs, 32 doubles, and 98 RBI in just 113 career minor league games across two seasons. The catcher/outfielder is a borderline top one hundred player, according to FanGraphs (No. 112 overall prospect and the third-ranked prospect in the Rangers system). He spent most of 2019 with the Rookie-level Arizona League Rangers, although he played three games with Short-A Spokane following a promotion. Between the two levels, he hit .345 BA/1.071 OPS with 28 extra-base hits (17 doubles, 11 homers) and 49 RBI in 53 games.

Following the 2019 regular season, Hernandez was named to the AZL postseason All-Star Team and led the league with 48 RBI, 66 hits, and 124 total bases (including 32 extra-base hits), and ranked among league leaders in batting average (.344), doubles (17), home runs (11), runs (42), OBP (.433), and SLG (.646).

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) wrote a de facto scouting report on the other two prospects, writing:

Basabe is currently ranked as the number 16 prospect in the Rangers system by FanGraphs and 20th by MLB.com. Over two minor league seasons, Basabe is batting .334 (.825 OPS) with 18 doubles, one home run, 66 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 89 games. He spent most of the 2019 season with the Rookie-level AZL Rangers, hitting .323 with 32 RBI in 37 games.

The 20-year-old Ovalles was signed by the Cubs originally and dealt to Texas in the Cole Hamels trade. Ovalles has batted .299 (.832 OPS) with 18 doubles, four home runs, and 41 RBI in 70 games in his pro career. Ovalles split 2019 between the Rookie-level AZL Rangers and Short-A Spokane.

The Rays drafted the 23-year-old Guenther in the seventh round in 2019 out of TCU. At Rookie-level Princeton in 2019, Guenther batted .320 (.854 OPS) (56-for-175) with 10 doubles, two home runs, and 30 RBI in 48 games.

— Neil Solondz

In addition to the three prospects acquired via trade, the Rays also picked up a right-handed hurler, 27-year-old Jordan Brink, from St. Louis in the minor league Rule 5 Draft.

Brink was originally drafted as a left-handed-hitting outfielder by the Cubs in the 11th round of the 2014 draft. His bat never developed in college where he slashed .224 BA/.292 OBP/.299 SLG/.591 OPS with 81 strikeouts in 108 games through his first two seasons. However, as a sophomore in 2013, the right-hander began to receive more opportunities on the mound as a reliever, and he eventually pitched his way into the team’s starting rotation. Brink finished the season with a 3.92 ERA and 65 strikeouts across 59-2/3 frames.

Fast forward to 2019 when he last pitched professionally with the Southern Illinois Miners in the independent Frontier League. Brink punched out 55 over 35-1/3 innings, going 2-3 with a 2.04 ERA and six saves. Based on the movement he gets on his changeup and fastball, Brink is an intriguing pitcher that will get his fair share of looks in Spring Training.

LBWMF: Rays on the cusp of a division title after defeating the Mets, 2-1

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Nate Lowe plated the deciding run on a homer to center off Jacob deGrom.

Jacob deGrom was fantastic against Tampa Bay on Monday night, yet the Rays pitching staff was able to outpitch both him and the Mets, allowing them to edge out New York, 2-1. Nate Lowe scored both runs in the victory.

With Tampa Bay’s win and the Yankees 11-5 loss in Buffalo, the Rays end the night 17 games over .500 on the season and with a magic number of one to clinch the division. What’s more, given the White Sox loss to Cleveland, the Rays lead the South-Siders by 1-1/2 games for the top record in the American League with five games left to play.

After abruptly leaving his previous start after two innings and three runs with a right hamstring spasm, Jacob deGrom was absolutely dominant, striking out 14 (tying a career-high) over seven frames, while walking two and scattering four hits. Tampa Bay, however, made those hits count.

deGrom struck out the side in the first inning on 10 pitches, although Nate Lowe earned a full-count walk to begin the second. Lowe moved up to third on Joey Wendle’s first-pitch double to the left-center gap before Manuel Margot hit a two-strike sacrifice-fly to center, scoring Lowe for a 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Lowe blasted a 1-0 solo solo shot to center for a two-run lead. It was Lowe’s fourth homer in 11 games.

On the mound for Tampa Bay, Pete Fairbanks opened his second game of the season and threw 1-2/3 scoreless innings. The right-hander walked Brandon Nimmo to start the first, yet he was erased when he was caught stealing. All told, Fairbanks struck out two and threw 15 of 25 pitches for strikes (60% strike rate).

Ryan Thompson followed Fairbanks and struck out Pete Alonso to get the final out of the second. He took the mound again in the third inning and got the first two batters of the frame before former Rays backstop Wilson Ramos hit a single to right, signaling the end of Thompson’s night. Josh Fleming — who was slated to pitch the bulk of the innings — came in and got the final out of the third and 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. Castillo came out in the seventh and put down all three batters (all right-handers) in order. Ryan Sherriff worked around a two-out walk for a scoreless eighth, preserving the one-run lead.

Finally, Nick Anderson battled in the ninth to earn the save. The right-hander started the frame with an 11-pitch at-bat against Robinson Cano which resulted in a fly-ball out to deep centerfield. Alonso followed and got ahead of Anderson 3-0 before he struck out. Finally, Andrés Giménez popped out, ending the ball game.

The New What Next

The Rays will look to clinch the AL East title in game two of the series against the Mets on Tuesday. Blake Snell (4-1, 3.05 ERA) will get the start pitching opposite of right-hander Seth Lugo (2-3, 4.34 ERA).

Blake Snell allowed one run on two hits and a walk over 5-1/3 innings against the Orioles on Thursday. He struck out four. Snell was in line for his fifth win of the season in an eventual 3-1 victory, but after he exited the game with a runner on second and one out, Diego Castillo allowed the inherited runner to score. Snell tossed 73 pitches (47 strikes, 64% strike rate) in the strong outing, and carries a 3.05 ERA and a 3.6 K/BB through 44-1/3 innings into his final start of the regular season, on Tuesday. Snell is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career start (7-1/3 IP) against the Mets.

Seth Lugo allowed six runs on eight hits and no walks across 1-2/3 innings against the Phillies on Thursday. He struck out three. Lugo entered the game having posted a 2.65 ERA over 17 innings since joining the starting rotation on August 25, although he was unable to tame Philadelphia’s bats. The right-hander surrendered four home runs in the brutal outing, two of which came against Bryce Harper. In only 1-2/3 innings of work, Lugo yielded a season-worst eight hits and saw his season ERA balloon to 4.34. He relies primarily on a whiffy 94 mph four-seam fastball and a 94 mph sinker with slight arm-side run and slightly above average velocity, while also mixing in a 79 mph curveball with slight glove-side movement, an 88 mph slider with less than expected depth, and an extremely hard ground ball inducing 88 mph changeup. He has never faced the Rays. Key Matchup: Manuel Margot (5-6, 2B)

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

TNWN: Rays vs. Mets — a series preview

Rays 9/22/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Tsutsugo DH
  2. B. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. N. Lowe 1B
  5. Wendle 3B
  6. Adames SS
  7. Kiermaier CF
  8. Phillips RF
  9. Perez C

Noteworthiness

— The Rays unveiled the 40-man player pool for the 2020 postseason. Below, you will find the player pool, including top overall prospect Wander Franco:

Catchers (4): Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, Kevan Smith, Ronaldo Hernández

Infielders (9): Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Vidal Bruján, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Díaz, Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Nate Lowe, Joey Wendle

Outfielders (8): Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot, Austin Meadows, Brian O’Grady, Brett Phillips, Hunter Renfroe, Yoshi Tsutsugo

Pitchers (19): José Alvarado, Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo, John Curtiss, Oliver Drake, Pete Fairbanks, Josh Fleming, Sean Gilmartin, Tyler Glasnow, Brent Honeywell Jr., Aaron Loup, Shane McClanahan, Charlie Morton, Trevor Richards, Ryan Sherriff, Aaron Slegers, Blake Snell, Ryan Thompson, Ryan Yarbrough