The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

A leg up...



During the season it was primarily the Rays' pitching which carried them as the offense was up and down throughout. But it's been the bats which have come alive in the playoffs and they got it done once again tonight to open the World Series. Literally in the case of Zach DeLoach who took Max Fried deep to lead off the game, a clear statement of intent. And whenever Atlanta looked like getting back in the game, they responded. Shane McClanahan was also very good and in fact he gave the Rays a big advantage tonight, however inadvertently, by plunking Atlanta star Ronald Acuna Jr and breaking his collarbone. John Swanda will take the ball for Game 2 tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Well we know we're playing 5 now...



It looked early like the Rays were going to pick up where they left off in Game 1 when Tork drilled a 2-run homer in the first, but that would be the highlight of the day for Tampa Bay as Atlanta wore down Swanda with Joey Gallo's 2-run homer turning the tide in the 5th and the pen really letting it get away from there. Luis Castillo will take the mound at the Trop in a couple of days to try to restore the series lead.

[Art Deco]

Back on top...



In what will be remembered as the Ozzie Albies Revenge Game the Rays ended up walloping Atlanta 9-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Albies had looked terrible since missing most of October with an injury and after starting today's game 0-2 he was 1-15 and I was seriously considering benching him or dropping him in the lineup. And then he blasted a 2-run homer against his old team to cap a 5-run rally which put the Rays on top and followed that up with a 2-run shot in his next at-bat to blow the game open. Speaking of guys returning from injuries, Drew Rasmussen will get the nod tomorrow in Game 4 after missing a couple of weeks with an elbow strain. Luis German will be standing by to take over for him if needed.

[Art Deco]

We have a series now...



The Rays learned tonight that Atlanta would no go quietly as Joey Gallo homered twice off Drew Rasmussen and Luis Oviedo dominated their bats as the Series is now tied at 2. There was one glimmer in the 8th when the Rays put two on bringing Ozzie Albies (who homered for their only run earlier, his third in two games) to the plate, but the former Atlanta man looked at a called third strike and that was that. Mac is back to take the mound in Game 5 as we'll definitely want to go back to Atlanta with an edge.

[Art Deco]

One win away...



Shane McClanahan finished his 2026 just as he spent most of it - excellently - as he led the Rays to a 5-2 win in Game 5 to head to Atlanta up 3-2 in the Series. His only blemish was a 2-run homer allowed to Joey Gallo, the 10th of the postseason for the lefty slugger which ties him with former Ray Randy Arozarena (2020) for the all-time single-postseason record. But that was little consolation to Gallo as Rays hitters were fairly relentless, banging out 13 hits as they probably should have scored another 2-3 runs but the 5 they did was quite sufficient with the key sequence in the 3rd when with two out Albies singled in a run and Tork followed with a 2-run blast off Max Fried. John Swanda will try to pitch the Rays to immortality in two days at Truist Park.

[Art Deco]

CHAMPIONS!!



They did it! A season that was about five months of frustration and underachievement (10 games below their Pythagorean record), hovering around (and often below) the .500 mark, was capped by a strong September to get into the playoffs and then an even stronger October (and early November) to go all the way. And today's championship clincher was the season in microcosm as it looked for 8 innings that we'd be playing a Game 7 tomorrow as Atlanta held a 4-1 lead. But a furious rally off Dustin May in the 9th saw Zach DeLoach come through with a bases-clearing double and then series MVP Ozzie Albies singled home DeLoach to give the Rays a shocking 5-4 lead in the 9th. But it wouldn't be that easy, of course. Pete Fairbanks tried to close it out in the bottom of the inning but was greeted by Buddy Kennedy's second homer of the game to tie it, so onto extras we went. In the 12th Curtis Mead led off with a double but after a strikeout and a fly ball it looked like he'd be stranded there. Diego Cartaya had other ideas though and he blooped a single over the shortstop's head to score Mead with the winner, and Charlie Ruegger, who solidified the bullpen and put up a 12.1 5 0 0 5 16 combined line with 2 wins and 6 holds in the postseason, got Atlanta 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to start the celebrations:



The title is the Rays' second in three seasons and second in club history. Albies was named MVP of the series, having gone 10-26 with 3 HR and 8 RBI and he would have had the series-winning hit had Fairbanks not blown the save.

[Art Deco]

Right now the state of the team is pretty good:



Projected 2027 salaries for those not making the minimum:



$126M to bring the whole band back, although Tork is going to make a few more million than that based on our arbitration negotiations (I can't risk him getting the $22M he's asking for) while Shane Baz is a non-tender given his injuries and reduced ratings and Josh Lowe is surplus to requirements so will be traded or non-tendered. The good news is that coming off our Series win Stu Sternberg is giving me a $150M payroll.

We're losing the following to free agency: OF Seiya Suzuki, SP Drew Rasmussen, RP Tanner Scott, RP J.P. Feyereisen. Suzuki was great for us in the postseason and down the stretch but we have loads of outfielders. Rasmussen has been a rotation fixture the last several years but has been somewhat inconsistent - Luis German may take his spot. Scott's been a good lefty reliever but we did claim fireballing Kyle Dohy on waivers as the regular season ended. Feyereisen was also up and down and terrible in the postseason, he's replaceable.

Position-by-position outlook:

C-Diego Cartaya struggled most of the year but like many of his teammates starting hitting late in the year and in the postseason, Rene Pinto is a decent backup.

1B-Curtis Mead had a career year.

2B-Ozzie Albies' team option of $7M was exercised. Hoping he picks it up in his free agent season, especially defensively.

SS-Wander Franco earned 6.5 WAR and is one of the front-runners for MVP.

3B-Marco Luciano stabilized the position defensively and hit OK, fine with him back.

IF-Jeremiah Jackson wasn't impressive during the regular season but did well when forced into postseason action, and provides versatility and pop; in other words, a good backup infielder.

LF-Natanael Santana was the spark we needed down the stretch and looks to be a 30-35 HR guy going forward.

CF-Zach DeLoach had a pretty good season and played the position adequately so no reason not for him to come back.

RF-With Suzuki gone free agent, I'm looking for a James Wood/Joshua Mears platoon which should provide power and decent defense, and hopefully more contact as both are capable of better than what they showed last year.

DH-Tork is Tork.

OF-Lonnie White was good as a Rule 5 guy last year and is our best defensive OF; he should return to that role and provides us with a CF option if DeLoach falls off.

Others-Casey Schmitt's star dimmed last year after a fine rookie 2025 and Luciano took his job. Schmitt will be trade bait along with the aforementioned Josh Lowe

Rotation-Our top 3 of McClanahan/Castillo/Swanda return and Taj Bradley will get another shot. As mentioned earlier German is the top candidate to replace Rasmussen, and guys like Forrest Whitley (recovered from injury) and J.P. Sears (so good in long relief last year) are candidates as well. This is one area we may also look to upgrade in a deal.

Bullpen-The back end returns intact with Fairbanks (who albeit had a checkered regular and postseason) as closer and Jovani Moran and Charlie Ruegger (who was our stealth MVP of the playoffs) back as the lefty/righty options to set him up. Chris Gau returns as well and hopefully he'll cut down on the inopportune homers allowed, while Kyle Dohy provides gas from the left side although control is an issue. Garrett Whitlock is the big question mark - he was terrible after coming over from Boston but should be better than that. I'd put him in the rotation derby but he only has 40 stamina so he'd have to be paired with someone like Sears or Whitley.

Farm-Our farm system has really fallen off in recent years with the most likely to come up and contribute is 2023 1st-round pick Bryce Eldridge who finally came on last season in the minors and is ranked the #60 prospect overall. Eldridge is a longshot to start or relieve but probably needs at least a few months at Durham as he's risen no higher than AA. P Sandy Gaston, who's been up in the past, has a shot as well and I believe he's out of options next year which will give him a chance.

Off-season goals:

*Add a starting pitcher and a reliever or two
*Possibly upgrade a corner OF to play with Santana, although it would have to be someone really good like our Soto/Tucker rentals of the past.

[Art Deco]

Didn't waste any time making a deal for a starter and shipping out our trade bait players:



Orze is a back-end starter (55/50/55) who was 9-13, 4.01 with the Mariners but earned a solid 3.0 WAR with a 67/181 BB/K ratio in 184 IP. Right now he'll slot it as our #4.

November 10: Claimed RP Joey Stock on waivers from Boston.

Stock seems interesting at 65/45/55 and he was free. He had an 8/62 BB/K ratio in 46 IP at AA/AAA in Boston's system with 24 saves.

Retirements: There were numerous big names calling it quits with the most notable being Paul Goldschmidt, whose #46 was retired by Arizona, and Jose Alutive, who had his #27 retired by Houston. Others of note included Michael Brantley, Anthony Rizzo, Freddie Freeman, Sal Perez, Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Hendricks, Mike Soroka, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, Charlie Blackmon, Patrick Corbin and Joc Pederson. Former Rays retiring included Ji-Man Choi, Matt Duffy and Christian Vazquez.

Awards Season:

Gold Glove: LOL, we didn't win any.

Reliever of the Year: Detroit's Will Vest won in the AL after a brilliant 3.9 WAR season which saw him put up an 18/119 BB/K ratio in 76 IP, save a league-best 45 games and turn in a 1.89 ERA. In the NL Milwaukee's Josh Hader won for the second straight year and sixth time in his career after saving 41 with a 1.83 ERA and 112 whiffs in 68 IP.

Silver Slugger: Our keystone combo of 2B Ozzie Albies and SS Wander Franco both won, as did Spencer Torkelson at DH.

Rookie of the Year: Baltimore's Coby Mayo was an unanimous AL winner as the first-sacker hit .281-26-80, good for 2.3 WAR. The NL winner was unanimous as well with Cubs indy-league discovery Stephon McNeill hitting .265-40-92, earning 4.3 WAR.

Cy Young: Jacob deGrom has turned out to be of the Yankees' all-time great free agent signing and he won his third consecutive AL Cy Young for the Yanks after going 15-11, 3.57 and leading the league in pitcher WAR at 6.1. He took 23 of 30 first-place votes with the other 7 going to our Shane McClanahan, who finished second with 133 points to deGrom's 189. Freddy Peralta of Milwaukee was a unanimous winner in the NL after a 17-4, 2.65 season with 275 Ks in 217 IP and a majors-best 6.5 pitcher WAR. Perlata is a pending free agent whom I'm sure we won't be able to afford. (Update: Yup, he's asking $32M/year). So is deGrom, who won't be ready until Opening Day due to shoulder inflammation.

MVP: Stop the presses!



Wander's triple crown numbers (.314-30-90) were all career-highs and he lapped the field. Tork finished 4th but 2nd in first-place votes with 3.

The NL nod went to Colorado 2B Yunior Severino, who hit .311-41-120 and nosed out former Ray and current Phillie Alex Bregman who was .283-38-111. Severino had 16 first-place votes to Bregman's 11 and outpointed him 345-319 in close voting. Severino was released by the Pirates in 2024, a move they certainly regret.

November 27: Boston signed 2B Trevor Story to a 4/57 extension, which will keep him under contract with the club through age 38.

December 9: At least we won't have to see very much of Jacob deGrom anymore as the Phillies signed him to a 2/66 deal. We'll see how much they get out of him as the 38-year-old battles back from shoulder inflammation.

December 11: A couple of huge trades took place with Houston sending Carlos Correa to Arizona for #69 overall prospect CF Simon Juan and rookie CF Druw Jones, the 2nd overall pick back in 2022. Meanwhile it was a crosstown deal in Chicago with the Cubs sending veteran starter Aaron Nola to the White Sox for a prospect.

December 14: Keston Hiura, who blossomed in the last two seasons with Philadelphia hitting 82 homers, parlayed that career renaissance into a 6/153 deal with the Angels. And it appears that LA is all-in on 2027 as they also acquired veteran IF Xander Bogaerts from the Cubs for a prospect.

December 15: Veteran IF Jake Cronenworth, who had an underwhelming stretch run with the Rays in 2023 but was part of the deal which brought Juan Soto to the club in 2024, turned his 3 good years with Washington into a 5/80 deal with the free-spending Phillies. Also Josh Fleming, who had spent most of the last decade in our system, elected minor league free agency after a nice year in Durham and signed a minor league deal with a major league option with the Royals.

December 16: The Phillies appear to have an unlimited budget as they inked 1B Garrett Cooper, coming off a monster .274-30-100 year with Milwaukee, to a 3/35 pact.

December 17: The Dodgers signed SP Trevor Rogers, who spent the past few years with Boston after a trade from Miami, to a 6/135 deal. Also the Cardinals acquired starter Jared Jones from Pittsburgh. Jones is coming off a rough year with a 5.82 ERA and 104 walks but was a BABIP victim (.335) and has good stuff to go with his iffy control.

December 18: Reigning NL Cy Young winner Freddy Peralta found his riches in San Francisco, joining the Giants on a 6/185 deal. At least the Yankees didn't sign him.

December 20: Top closer James Karinchak signed a 2/19 deal with the Dodgers while former Ray Jonathan Loaisiga will no longer be on a division rival as Toronto dealt him to San Diego for a couple of prospects.

December 23: The Phillies continue to add to their roster as they dealt for veteran starter Jose Berrios, sending Toronto an outfield prospect.

December 26: Added IF RJ Austin to the 40-man roster.

Rule 5 time. It's probably an indictment of our system that there really weren't any players that were must-adds to the 40-man with Austin, our first-round pick in 2022, the only choice and he projects as a utility infielder. And we still have 3 open spots so who knows, maybe we find someone like Lonnie White in this year's draft to add.

December 26: Lost SS Alika Williams and SP Ian Seymour to the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Cubs did us dirty, taking a pair of guys who had spent some big-league time with us. It hurts a little depth-wise but we'll survive. They were 2 of only 7 players taken.

[Art Deco]

January 1: Shane Baz, whom we non-tendered, signed a minor league deal with an MLB option with Minnesota.

January 2: Well-traveled veteran reliever Edwin Diaz, who's played for 6 teams since 2022, will join a 7th as he signed a 3/31 deal with the Dodgers. Meanwhile the Cubs signed former Yankee IF Isaiah Kiner-Falefa for 5/111.

January 4: The Dodgers stayed busy, inking OF Mark Canha to a 3/59 deal after he spent the last three years with the crosstown Angels.

January 5: The Yankees attempted to fill the hole left by the departed Jacob deGrom by signing starter Joe Musgrove to a 4/56 contract. Meanwhile the Cubs also kept the checkbook out to sign top reliever Devin Williams for 2/19.

January 6: Well we won't be bringing back Tanner Scott on another one-year deal as he got some security from the Dodgers (who else when it comes to relievers?) with a 3/11.4 contract.

January 12: Frankie Montas, whom we claimed on waivers and gave us an erratic September last year, signed a minor league deal with Washington.

January 13: Another Yankee free-agent defection as starter Zach Eflin went to the other coast for 5/98 with the Dodgers.

Also the Hall of Fame voting results and we had 3 guys get in, however overdue:



Congrats to Ichiro, Helton and C.C.! Carlos Beltran came close and should eventually get there, and perhaps Joe Mauer will. Real life and OOTP have diverged though as Scott Rolen dropped off the ballot with a paltry 16.7%.

January 17: Liam Hendriks, whom we traded for last season and then couldn't wait to trade away, joins the Dodgers' annual collection of free agent relievers on a 2/10.6 deal.

January 19: Dustin May, normally a starter but used by Atlanta as their closer in the postseason last year where we famously scored 4 times off him in 9th of Game 6 where we went to win the World Series, will join the depleted Yankee rotation on a 1/9 deal. And the Dodgers whipped out the checkbook again to sign Sandy Alcantara to a big 6/98 contract.

January 26: A rare interesting AI trade as the Mets and Twins swapped young sluggers with Ronny Mauricio going to Minnesota for Andy Pages. Mauricio had a breakout .297-39-105 year while Pages hit .234 with 32 HR. The Twins also included a 1B prospect in the deal.

January 27: Texas swapped OF Alex Verdugo to Detroit for a couple of prospects including their 2022 first-round pick Gavin Kilen.

February 1: Veteran reliever Raisel Iglesias, coming off a torn labrum, still managed a 2/14 deal with Boston.

February 9: Boston signed one of the best bats left on the market in 34-year-old Nick Castellanos, coming off three straight years of 20-25 HR, 80-100 RBI and a .260-.280 BA with the Angels, to a 3/40 pact.

February 16: Claimed 2B Max Viera on waivers from Washington.

Fun with the waiver wire as Viera is ranked the #90 prospect in baseball and could be our Ozzie Albies successor. He did break his kneecap in late 2025 and ended up missing all of last season, so there is a catch. He has options left so he can go to Durham.

Also another of our free agents found a home as J.P. Feyereisen signed a 2/6.8 contract with......who else? the Dodgers.

February 20: Atlanta traded a couple of high-end prospects including BNN's #55 guy to Detroit for reigning AL Reliever of the Year Will Vest.

February 21: San Diego signed free-agent OF Teoscar Hernandez to a 2/20 deal.

February 23: Kyle Schwarber inked a 1/8.2 deal with Washington.

February 24: Toronto filled its Teoscar hole by signing Ramon Laureano to a 3/31 contract.

March 3: Sad news from Cleveland where star starter Shane Bieber had to cut his career short at age 31 after his torn labrum didn't heal sufficiently.

March 30: A flurry of late Spring Training signings with our recent rotation fixture Drew Rasmussen signing a modest 1/1.6 deal with Cleveland, Brandon Belt returning to the Giants after spending the last few with the Angels on a 1/5.7 deal and Randy Arozarena returning to the AL East with Toronto at 1/4.5.

[Art Deco]

We completed an injury-free ST, all I could ask for.

The Opening Day roster:

C-Cartaya, Pinto
1B-Mead
2B-Albies
SS-Wander
3B-Luciano
IF-J.Jackson
LF-N.Santana
CF-DeLoach
RF-J.Wood
OF-Mears (platooning with Wood), Head
DH-Torkelson

SP-McClanahan, L.Castillo, Swanda, Orze, Whitlock
LR-German, Sears
MR-Whitley, Gaston, Gau, Dohy
SU-Ruegger, Moran
CL-Fairbanks

The two "surprises" on the active roster are guy who are out of options and I didn't want to waive (although odds are they'd clear): Hudson Head in the OF, which means Lonnie White goes to Durham, and Sandy Gaston on the staff at the expense of Joey Stock. Otherwise, it's largely the same team as last year with Orze taking Drew Rasmussen's rotation spot and Dohy taking Tanner Scott's. Also Garrett Whitlock will get a shot in the rotation and Taj Bradley was optioned to Durham.

We really didn't spend any of the $25M we have available as the free agents who might have improved us were way too expensive and ones who were affordable weren't better than the players we have. Instead I'll be looking to upgrade with rentals who may become more available as the season goes on.

The preseason predictions are typically bearish on us:



Next up: We open the season with an interleague matchup as the Padres come to town and Opening Day will feature a matchup of Rays past and present as Tyler Glasnow will go for San Diego against Shane McClanahan.

[Art Deco]

The Opening Day box:



Tyler Glasnow was perfect the first time through the order and then the Rays unloaded on him for 7 runs in the 4th to go on to an 11-3 win to start 2027. Wander's 2-run homer got things going in the right direction and then they teed off later against another former Ray, hitting 3 homers off Joe Ryan. Forrest Whitley, who missed just about all of last year with injury was impressive in his first 2 innings back.

Some news:



Look who's back! Perhaps our best hitter in the postseason last year, Suzuki didn't get the offers he'd hoped for so we offered a minor league deal worth $1.8M if he makes the big club. He's insurance in case the Wood/Mears platoon in RF doesn't work out.

Game 2: 3-8 L. LP-Moran (0-1). SP-Castillo (5 5 2 2 2 5). HR-Albies (2). This one's on the pen as the Rays led 3-2 after 7 before Jovani Moran gave up a 2-run homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. then the Padres tacked on 4 more in the 9th, mainly off Sandy Gaston and Kyle Dohy with the latter issuing a pair of bases-loaded walks. Albies looks like he knows it's his contract year with his second homer in as many games, but the rest of the offense was frustrated as they hit into 4 double plays.

Game 3: 8-6 W. WP-Swanda (1-0, 5.2 6 2 2 1 5). Mead and Albies each had 3 hits including a double and 2 RBI while Santana drove in 3 with a pair of hits as they banged out 15 in total. The game really wasn't this close but Fairbanks got some work in an 8-3 game and gave up a 2-out, 3-run homer to Tatis in the 9th.

Team record: 2-1. Next up: A day off then Cleveland visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-4 L (11). LP-Fairbanks (0-1). Starter-Orze (4.1 6 3 3 3 5). HR-Torkelson (1). Eric Orze had an undistinguished debut with the Rays putting them down 3-0 before Tork tied it with a 3-run shot in the 4th. We stayed there until Fairbanks had his second poor outing in as many appearances this year and allowed the winner in the 11th.

Game 2: 6-0 W. WP-Whitlock (1-0, 7 4 0 0 1 5). HR-Franco (2), Albies (3). Garrett Whitlock was unimpressive after being acquired last year and was essentially the 14th man on the staff, but given a chance to start this year he was brilliant in his season debut. Plenty of offense with Wander leading the way going 3-5 with an RBI triple and solo homer.

Game 3: 5-4 W. WP-McClanahan (2-0, 6 5 2 2 0 7). S-Fairbanks (1). HR-Wood (1). Mac was solid and James Wood had his best game as a Ray, going 3-4 with an RBI double and a solo insurance homer in the 8th, an insurance run that was needed when Fairbanks was lousy again, needing a double play and then putting two more on before finally getting the third out. Mead was 2-3 with a 2-run double.

Team record: 4-2. Next up: A day off then 3 games in Anaheim against the Angels.

Transactions: JP Sears had to leave the finale with elbow inflammation and he goes on the 15-day IL when he should be back. Joey Stock is summoned from Durham. Also we signed a couple of vets to minor league deals: SP Jesus Luzardo and OF Andrew Benintendi, the latter having not played in MLB since 2024.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 12-3 W. WP-Castillo (1-0, 5 4 3 3 2 5). S-Gaston (1). HR-DeLoach (1). DeLoach's 3-run homer, one of his three hits, made the game 5-0 in the 2nd and sent the Rays on their way. Mead was 3-5 with 3 RBI, Luciano doubled twice and drove in a pair, and Tork was 2-3 with 2 RBI. Sandy Gaston went 4 1 0 0 1 7 to close out the game.

Game 2: 3-7 L. LP-Swanda (1-1, 4 7 5 5 0 5). HR-Torkelson (2). Tork's 1st-inning homer gave them a quick 2-0 lead but Swanda wasn't very good from there. Joey Stock gave up a 2-run homer to first man he faced as a Ray.

Game 3: 4-3 W (14). WP-Gaston (1-0). S-Moran (1). Starter-Orze (3 8 3 3 1 3). HR-Albies (4), Franco (3). A pair of homers were big as Albies' 2-run shot in the 5th tied the game at 3 and Wander's solo blast in the 14th won it. After another terrible start from Orze the bullpen was magnificent with 11 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, helping the Rays to Meat Loaf their first three series of the season.

Team record: 6-3, 1/2 game behind the Red Sox and Jays. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Detroit.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 8-0 W. WP-Whitlock (2-0, 7 1 0 0 2 5). HR-N.Santana (1). He did it again - Garrett Whitlock made it two starts with 7 shutout innings apiece to start the year as the Rays romped. DeLoach, Wood, Santana and Albies each drove in a pair.

Game 2: 1-4 L. LP-McClanahan (2-1, 5.2 7 3 3 2 4). HR-DeLoach (2). DeLoach led the game off with a homer and that was as good as it got for Tampa Bay today.

Game 3: 8-2 W. WP-Castillo (2-0, 7 3 1 1 2 8). HR-DeLoach (3), Torkelson (3). Luis Castillo was brilliant and he got plenty of support as the Rays have started 2027 by taking 2 of 3 in each of the 4 series they've played. Cartaya's bases-clearing double in a 4-run 2nd was the game's big hit.

Team record: 8-4, 1/2 game behind Toronto. Next up: Baltimore visits for 4 games.

MLB News: Sad news to report as the career of Logan Webb is over due to a torn rotator cuff. Also Mike Trout recorded his 2000th hit while the last remaining big-name holdout free agent finally signed as C Yasmani Grandal joined Houston on a 1-year, $10.4M deal.

Also this:

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-0 W. WP-Swanda (2-1, 6 2 0 0 3 7). S-Fairbanks (2). Swanda had his best start of the young season and Wander (2 for 4) and Mead singled in runs to back him.

Game 2: 3-4 L. LP-Orze (0-1, 4.2 5 3 3 3 4). HR-Cartaya (2). Eric Orze had his third poor start in three outings, giving up a pair of homers to let the game get away. The Rays did rally from 4-0 down to get within one and had the tying run at 2nd with nobody out in the 9th but couldn't get him home.

Game 3: 3-0 W. WP-Whitlock (3-0, 5.2 5 0 0 1 5). S-Fairbanks (3). HR-Head (1), Franco (4). Garrett Whitlock continues to dazzle in the rotation and has yet to allow a run in his 3 starts covering 19.2 IP. Hudson Head homered and was 2-4 as the Rays continued their pattern of taking 2 of 3 in every series this year, although there was another game to play.

Game 4: 2-0 W. WP-McClanahan (3-1, 6.1 7 0 0 0 5). S-Fairbanks (4). Rays pitching had its third shutout of the series as Mac was solid and he and the pen danced around Oriole runners as Baltimore had 10 hits, but not walking anyone helped. Jeremiah Jackson and DeLoach had RBI singles to provide the offense.

Team record: 11-5, 1 game behind 12-4 Toronto. Next up: We wrap up the homestand with 3 against Oakland.

MLB News: Former 2024 Ray Juan Soto did something that's never been done before in the majors: He had consecutive 3-homer games against Boston this week, and he homered again on Wednesday to give him 7 in 3 games, which I also believe to be a record. Elsewhere Nolan Arenado hit his 400th career homer and Atlanta signed the perpetually-injured Julio Urias to a 1/4.7 deal. Urias is unsurprisingly on the shelf currently with a torn flexor tendon and isn't expected back until mid-season.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 8-3 W. WP-Castillo (6.2 6 3 1 0 8). HR-Franco (5), Cartaya (3), Wood (2). Luis Castillo was solid again and lowered his ERA to 2.66 while Wood doubled and homered among his 3 hits and drove in a pair to lead the attack.

Game 2: 4-0 W. WP-Swanda (3-1, 7 5 0 0 0 6). HR-Luciano (1). Swanda and Luis German combined on a 6-hit shutout and Luciano finally hit his first homer after getting off to a miserable start at the plate this year, a 2-run shot. Unfortunately Ozzie Albies tore a hamstring and will be out 6 weeks.

Transaction: Albies goes to the 10-day IL and Junior Caminero was recalled from Durham where he was hitting 359/468/641. Caminero, who was being eyed to take over next year after Albies' contract is up, will give us a 2028 preview as he takes over the job. He's a 60 contact/50 power hitter who is MLB-ready.

Game 3: 5-6 L. LP-Whitley (0-1). Starter-Orze (4 6 0 0 1 4). HR-Mead (2). A tough one as the pen lost 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the 6th and 7th and with the game 3-3 in the 8th Whitley loaded the bases with nobody out. Charlie Ruegger came in and seemed like he'd get out of it with an force at the plate and an infield pop but then gave up a bases-clearing double. Mead's 2-run homer got them back within one but they couldn't get any more. Junior Caminero had an impressive debut, going 2-4 with a walk.

Team record: 13-6, still 1 behind Toronto which took 2 of 3 as well. Next up: The Rays will finally get to do something about the Jays as they head north of the border for three.

MLB News: Christian Little, a Hall of Fame legend in my 2020 save and who's currently on the Rays in my 2021 save, will not be on the 2022 version as his career is over due to a torn labrum. He got into 5 games with the Twins in 2025 before going to the Yankees system where he pitched in the minors. Also Atlanta lost star Austin Riley for 6 weeks with a lat strain.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 5-8 L. LP-Whitlock (3-1, 2.2 5 5 5 2 3). HR-Cartaya (4), Mears (1). The clock struck twelve for Garrett Whitlock, who after a scoreless inning gave up 5 over the next two, seeing his 20.1 IP shutout streak to start the season come to an abrupt end. The bats kept trying to get back in it but the pen kept giving up runs.

Transaction: Almost as quickly as he got the job, Junior Caminero suffered a "substantial" bruise of his collarbone which will sideline him for a week, so he goes to the IL and Brooks Lee is called up from Durham with Jeremiah Jackson taking over as the everyday 2B.


Game 2: 11-9 W. WP-Ruegger (1-0). S-Fairbanks (5). Starter-McClanahan (4 8 7 7 2 6). HR-Pinto (1), Mead (3), Franco (6). Holy comebacks, Batman! Mac was rocked and the Rays trailed 7-1 after 4, only to score 6 times in the 5th to tie it up. Still Toronto went back ahead with 2 in the 6th only for Wander and Mead to tie it with back-to-back homers in the 8th and then Jeremiah Jackson singled in the go-ahead run in the 9th to keep the Rays within 1 game of the Jays. Pinto drove in 3 with an RBI single and his 2-run homer.

Game 3: 6-5 W. WP-Gau (1-0). S-Fairbanks (6). Starter-Castillo (6 5 1 1 0 6). HR-Cartaya 2 (6), Luciano (2), Mead (4). They did it again, coming back late to win and continuing their remarkable streak of taking 2 of 3 in every series of 2027 to date (except the one 4-game series in which they won 3). The game was a 1-1 pitchers' duel between Castillo and Toronto's Clayton Beeter through 6 1/2 before Luis German gave up 3 to the Jays in the 7th. But a 4-run 8th capped by a mammoth 443-ft Curtis Mead 3-run homer to dead center put them up 5-4 and Cartaya added an insurance run with his second homer of the game and third of the series in the 9th, insurance they made a claim on when Fairbanks gave up a run in the bottom of the inning before getting the final out. As a result they're now tied with Toronto atop the AL East.

Transaction: Unfortunately Forrest Whitley tore his flexor tendon in the second game and is done for the year (and for the first couple of months of 2028). He goes on the 60-day IL and Taj Bradley gets to return to the big club.

Team record: 15-7. Next up: An off-day then home for 3 against Boston.

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Game 1: 4-3 W. WP-Moran (1-1). Starter-Swanda (5 5 3 2 0 8). HR-Cartaya (7). Rays came back from down 3-0 to pull out the win on Wander's walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th scoring Luciano who had led off with a double.

Game 2: 4-5 L. LP-Fairbanks (0-2). Starter-Orze (3.2 6 4 3 0 4). HR-Torkelson (4). Once again the Rays had to try and overcome an early deficit with Orze terrible yet again. They did come all the way back from 4-1 down thanks largely to Tork, who homered and then had the tying RBI double in the 8th, only for Fairbanks to give up a run in the 9th. Sadly they couldn't score despite loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9th.

Game 3: 3-2 W (10). WP-Ruegger (2-0). Starter-Whitlock (5.1 4 2 1 0 4). HR-Mead (5). Another tight game, another comeback for the Rays as they scored in the 8th to send it to extras and Mead won it with a walk-off blast to left as once again they took 2 of 3 in a series.

Team record: 17-8. The Jays swept the White Sox, who were 17-5 coming into Toronto, but then lost on our Monday off-day to the Angels, so they lead us by 1/2 game. Next up: An off-day then 3 games in Oakland.

Nobody on the big club won a monthly award for April, but we did have some recognition on the farm:



An incredible month for Chin, whom we signed from Taiwan a few years back. We are deep in OFs but Chin is knocking on the door and is an excellent defensive OF. Also 31-year-old hurler Brian Gonzalez, who was up briefly last year after coming over for Christian Vazquez, won the IL Pitcher of the Month award after an outstanding 4-0, 1.45 performance with a 5/30 BB/K ratio in 31 IP.

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Game 1: 9-4 W. WP-Gau (2-0). Starter-McClanahan (5 11 3 3 1 5). HR-Franco (7). Rays were down 3-0 going to the 7th when they scored 3 on a DeLoach triple and Wander 2-run homer to tie it, only for Gau to give up a go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning. No problem though as they exploded for 6 in the 8th on 2-run doubles from DeLoach and Wander again as the duo drove in 7 of the 9 runs.

Game 2: 4-2 W. WP-Castillo (4-0, 5 2 1 1 4 5). S-Fairbanks (7). A 3-run 4th keyed by a James Wood double propelled the Rays tonight as Luis Castillo continued his strong start to 2027.

Game 3: 5-6 L. LP-Gau (2-1). Starter-Swanda (4 5 5 5 2 2). HR-Torkelson (5). This played out similarly to the opener was Swanda's first bad start of the year put them behind 5-2 but they fought back on a solo shot and RBI single from Tork to tie it at 5 in the 8th. But once again Gau gave up the go-ahead run after tying and this time there was no ensuing Rays rally as they now seem mandated by federal law to never sweep but always take 2 of 3 games as they have in every series this season (except the 3 they took in a 4-gamer).

Team record: 19-9, now tied atop the AL East with the Jays who split their two remaining games with the Angels. Next up: The road trip continues with 3 in Texas.

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Transaction: Activated 2B Junior Caminero from the 10-day IL, optioned Brooks Lee to Durham. Lee never got into a game while he was up while Caminero goes back into the lineup despite Jeremiah Jackson playing well while he was sidelined.

Game 1: 6-0 W. WP-Orze (1-1, 6 4 0 0 0 5). HR-Pinto (2), Wood (3). Eric Orze finally pitched a good game and it was quite good while James Wood had a 2-run double and a solo homer to go with Pinto's 2-run shot.

Game 2: 5-7 L. LP-Whitlock (3-2, 4 6 4 4 0 4, 2 HR). HR-Franco 2 (9), Torkelson (6). Whitlock was awful and Wander's mega-game (3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI) wasn't enough to bring them back.

Game 3: 10-11 L. LP-Fairbanks (0-3). Starter-McClanahan (6 4 3 3 1 6). HR-Torkelson (7), Santana (2). It took the most epic of bullpen fails for the Rays to end their "take 2 of 3 in every series" streak to open 2027 as they led 10-3 after 7 innings but somehow lost it. Taj Bradley was given the ball in the 8th with the 7-run lead and gave up 4, then Jovani Moran allowed 2 more in the inning and it was suddenly 10-9. Then to cap it off the inconsistent Fairbanks gave up a 2-run homer with 2 out in the 9th to Corey Seager allowing Texas to walk it off. That wasted a great game from the offense including the slumping Natanael Santana breaking out with a double and a grand slam.

Team record: 20-11. Despite losing their first series of the season the Jays were swept so the Rays are actually 1 game up in the AL East. Next up: The road trip concludes with 4 in Baltimore.

MLB News: Former Ray, current Cardinal and 2-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell is out for pretty much the rest of the regular season with ulnar nerve entrapment.