The 2023 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

As always I'll start with the "in memoriam" roll of retiring players:

Stars: Justin Verlander (Detroit retired #35), Corey Kluber, Max Muncy, Kenley Jansen, Joey Votto, Marcell Ozuna, Chris Sale, Andrew McCutchen, Madison Bumgarner, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, Aroldis Chapman.

Others of note: Jackie Bradley Jr., Jason Heyward, AJ Pollock, Kyle Hendricks, Yuli Gurriel, Andrelton Simmons, Brandon Belt, Lance McCullers Jr.

Former Rays: Kevin Kiermaier, Wil Myers, Drew Smyly, Ryan Sheriff, Matt Moore, Hunter Strickland, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Avisal Garcia, Tim Beckham, Jesus Aguilar, CJ Cron, Brad Miller, Jake Odorizzi, Nate Eovaldi, Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal.

Awards season:

Gold Glove: Surprise! Elly De La Cruz wins at 3B. He was good of course but I thought perennial favorite Matt Chapman of Minnesota would take it.

Reliever of the Year: In the AL the Rangers' David Bednar was a unanimous choice after a 51-save season with an 0.56 ERA and in the NL the Mets' Edwin Diaz took 29 of 30 first-place votes in a runaway win, having saved 46 games with a 2.16 ERA.

Silver Slugger: No winners for us.

Rookie of the Year: Toronto's Blaze Alexander took 24 first-place votes thanks to a .270-14-66, 3.3 WAR season in the AL and the NL winner was Chicago's James Triantos with 23 first-place votes coming off a .299-16-73, 3.2 WAR year.

Cy Young: AL voters had a hard time coming to a consensus as a whopping seven different pitchers received first-place votes but in the end the winner was Seattle's Logan Gilbert, who claimed 14 of them despite a losing record (9-11, 3.00). I gave my vote to our Ryan Pepiot but only one other voter did and he finished fourth behind Gilbert, LA's Ryan Costeiu and Houston's Matthew Boyd. In the NL it was an even closer vote with the Mets' Dylan Cease getting the nod even though 2nd-place finisher Corbin Burnes had more first-place votes (14-12). Cease won 145 to 137 and Atlanta's Spencer Strider was right behind at 128 and 7 first-place votes. Cease was 17-7, 3.25 while Burnes was 15-11, 3.86 but with 284 whiffs.

MVP: Another close one with Aaron Judge squeaking by Riley Greene in the AL. Judge beat out Greene 16-13 and 342-324, after a .277-47-123 year preferred to Greene's .331-27-77. Greene had the better WAR, 6.7-6.2. Wander Franco finished sixth. In the NL things were much more clear-cut with Atlanta's Austin Riley a unanimous winner after a big .323-44-136 year good for an MLB-leading 7.1 WAR.

While all this was going on we were wheeling and dealing with a trio of trades. The first:



This one doesn't solve our 40-man roster problems but saves us $3-4M. Ynoa is a solid swingman who was 13-8 with 3 saves in 141 IP with Atlanta and earned 1.2 WAR. He seems ticketed for long relief for us.

Mission accomplished, catcher version:




Going into the offseason I was comfortable with Patrick Bailey as our #1 and was looking for a backup or a #1B. Instead I was able to acquire a true #1 (much to the incredulity of my assistant GM) in Langeliers, who's averaged .250-20-80 and 2.8 WAR the last 3 years with Oakland. He's probably going to cost about $6M in arbitration this year but we can afford it. The Ynoa acquisition gave us a glut of swingman/long relievers and while Baz was great in the long role he couldn't hack it as a starter. C+ prospect Tea was what got the deal done.

One more:



So I've cast my lot at DH with Jace Jung as Manzardo is headed to Tinseltown along with fireballing reliever prospect Matthew Peguero for an excellent starting pitching prospect in Santana, who is rated as thus and put up these sterling minor league stats:



Again my AGM thinks we pulled off a heist. Santana's a bit of a changeup artist and a little homer-prone but pitching in the Trop should help with that. He's rated the #111 prospect in baseball and the deal opens up a 40-man roster spot as Manzardo and Peguero were both on it while Santana needs to take one of those spots. As Santana's on the 40-man he has a shot at the big club but will probably pitch at Durham to start the year.


Meanwhile you don't see a lot of blockbuster AI deals but here's one:



Interesting that the Dodgers also get Johnson, the 2022 1st-round pick and #89-ranked prospect.

November 24: The Pirates sent 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cubs for a couple of mid-level prospects. Hayes still has a 70 glove but the hit profile remains questionable and he missed most of 2025 with a severe hip strain.

November 30: Arbitration hearings were held and we lost 3 of the 4 cases. Shane McClanahan, whom I'm waiting to see how he recovers from AC joint surgery before offering a long-term pact, got $15.5M instead of the $14M we offered; Ryan Pepiot got $4.75M instead of $4.2M; and Shea Langeliers received $6.5M instead of the $5.9M we offered, so that's about $2.6M more than we planned for. We did win our case against Reiver Sanmartin, who will get $1.3M. Randy Arozarena was non-tendered as we couldn't get anything for him in trade as was Ryan Thompson. As a result we go into the winter with a payroll just a shade under $114M with $40M potentially to spend.

December 3: The Padres shipped former Ray Jake Cronenworth to the Royals for a couple of prospects.

December 6: The Cardinals sent a 4-prospect package including Zach Gelof and Kameron Davis to Seattle for veteran SS JP Crawford.

December 7: San Diego seems to be in firesale mode as they sent workhorse starter Joe Musgrove to the White Sox for a couple of minor leaguers.

December 9: After trading him last year to the Mets for young catcher Kevin Parada and seeing him win a Cy Young in the Big Apple, the White Sox brought back SP Dylan Cease on a 6/192 deal. As great a year as Cease had, I don't trust his 40 control.
December 10: The Reds sent fireballer Hunter Greene to the Rockies for 2B Adael Amador and a couple of prospects. Greene has been a rotation fixture for Cincinnati but has consistently put up ERAs in the high-4s.

December 12: The Pirates are going for it, sending 2024 overall #7 pick Derek Curiel to the Giants for stalwart starter Logan Webb.

December 14: An interesting trade saw KC send starter Brady Singer to Colorado for 1B Sterlin Thompson in a trade of former Florida Gators. Thompson hit .305 in 216 AB as a Rockies rookie.

December 16: The top starting pitcher on the free agent market joined the Yankees as Brandon Woodruff signed a 5/112 deal.

December 18: Former Ray Tyler Glasnow will remain a Dodger on a big 5/139 extension. Also the Angels sent 3B Anthony Rendon to Arizona for a 19-year-old prospect with LA retaining 70% of his $38M salary. I kicked the tires on a Rendon deal myself but decided against it.

December 19: The Reds shipped hard-hitting C Tyler Stephenson to the Twins for OF Gilberto Celestino and a prospect, former Ray Jose Alvarado joined Milwaukee on a 3/18 deal, and 2B Nico Hoerner signed with the Giants for 3/56.

December 23: Added C Blake Hunt, IF Junior Caminero, OF Brock Jones, Ps Alex Ayala Jr., Franklin Dacosta, and Michael Mercado to the 40-man roster.

Cooper Criswell and Kameron Misner were waived off the 40-man and outrighted to Durham to open up a couple of more spots. Caminero and Jones are two of our top prospects while Ayala and Mercado are decent starter options. Hunt gives us a third catcher on the 40-man and Dacosta is a lefty reliever who could help next year. There were a couple of slightly better pitchers coming off surgeries that weren't protected and who I'm gambling will go unpicked in Rule 5 in starter Antonio Jimenez and reliever Israel Mateo.

December 24: A surprise trade saw the Angels send Cy Young runner-up Ryan Costeiu, who was 18-7, 3.22 last year, to the Mariners for 3 prospects.

December 24: The Rule 5 draft came and went and we didn't lose anybody. 8 players in total were taken with Dodger pitching prospect Bobby Miller going 1st overall to Seattle.

December 26: A couple of veteran closers found new homes with Raisel Iglesias joining San Diego for 2/14 and Jordan Romano surfacing in Texas with a 3/16 deal.

December 30: The Pirates acquired Nick Castellanos from Philly for starter Victor Gonzalez and a prospect.

[Art Deco]

January 2: Orioles signed 3B Eugenio Suarez to a 2/33 contract.

January 3: SP Chris Paddack, who helped pitch the Twins to World Series titles in 2023 and 2025 is now a Yankee on a 3/45 deal.

January 4: Another Twin collected his rings and left for greener($) pastures as 2B Jorge Polanco is San Diego-bound for 5/64.

January 6: The top catcher on the free agent market Reese McGuire signed a big 7/97 deal with Kansas City.

January 14: The Hall of Fame voting is in:

3B Adrian Beltre 75.0 (3rd year) Inducted HOF
CF Carlos Beltran 73.8 (4th year)
RF Ichiro Suzuki 67.5 (2nd year)
SP CC Sabathia 62.8 (2nd year)
SS Alex Rodriguez 61.6 (5th year)
C Joe Mauer 53.4 (3rd year)
CL Francisco Rodriguez 45.0 (4th year)
CF Andruw Jones 34.1 (9th year)
LF Ryan Braun 33.4 (1st year)
LF Manny Ramirez 31.9 (10th year) Dropped

Congrats to Beltre, who made it in by one vote. Oh so close for Beltran and Ichiro and CC are closing in behind.

January 20: Signed an interesting international amateur free agent as the signing period opened:



January 27: Zach Eflin, who won 31 games for us in 2023 and 2024 before turning into a pumpkin last year and being traded to Cincinnati (where he wasn't any better at 2-6, 6.12), still managed a 3/27 deal with the Mets and reliever Devin "The Airbender" Williams joined the Red Sox for a year at $7.4M.

February 13: With two years left on his big contract he never lived up to outside of a 4.8 WAR year in 2023, Detroit offloaded Javier Baez (and retained all his salary) to St. Louis for a couple of prospects. The last two years he's averaged about a .650 OPS but is still a fine defensive SS (5.5 ZR in 25).

February 16: Old friend Ryan Thompson surfaced in San Diego on a minor league deal with a major league option.

March 1: Three former Rays had to settle for minor league deals: Randy Arozarena hwith Boston, Nathaniel Lowe with St. Louis and Francisco Mejia with San Diego, who originally traded him to the Rays about five years ago.

March 8: Brandon Lowe, who merely hit .325-25-85 in 330 AB for the Yankees last year after we traded him there, parlayed that into a 5/126 extension so we'll be seeing a lot of him in the years to come.

Also Jose Siri suffered a significant hamstring strain and will be out 5-6 weeks.

March 11: Signed OF Adam Duvall to a minor league contract with a $1.7M MLB option.

Wanted some OF depth, especially a RH bat with power, and Duvall fit the bill.

March 13: Some more vets found new homes on one-year deals before the season started, including former Rays stalwart Yandy Diaz, who joins Minnesota for $4M. Joey Gallo (Baltimore, $3.8M) and Brandon Drury (Yankees, $5M) also signed.

March 20: Who says you can't go home again? Christian Vazquez signed a 1/6 deal with the Boston Red Sox.

March 30: Traded P Colby White to St. Louis for minor league C Mac Guscette.

We had a roster crunch and White was out of options. Rather than waive him and perhaps lose him, we acquire Guscette, a promising young catcher drafted in 2024 out of UF who has 55/60 power and eye and is an average defensive C. He had a 1.101 OPS in 40 games at AA last year, and while those are numbers he'll never likely approach again they at least show he has a bat.

[Art Deco]

The big news out of camp is that thanks to the Jose Siri injury, Jackson Chourio has made the club and will be the starting CF to begin the year. Also we'll be starting another rookie, at least against righties in LF Brock Jones, coming off his 53-homer season in AAA.

The Opening Day roster shakes out as thus:

C-Langeliers, Bailey
1B-Vargas
2B-Franco
SS-J.Devers
3B-De La Cruz
IF-Winn
LF-B.Jones
CF-Chourio
RF-Auer
DH-Jace Jung
OF-Doughty, Burleson

Doughty will platoon in LF with Jones.

SP-McClanahan, Pepiot, Rasmussen, Bradley, Brash
LR-Perkins, Springs
MR-Ynoa, Moran, Juenger
SU-S.Dominguez, Doval, Cleavinger
CL-Adam

Perkins, Springs and Ynoa are all capable of starting should we have the need.

Last cuts: Luisangel Acuna, Matt Canterino

Here's the handsome group:



I was going to post spring training stats, but they're really meaningless.

The preseason predictions:



Next up: We open the season at Fenway with 3 against the Red Sox over four days.

[Art Deco]

Forgot that I'm only doing monthly updates on this save and that I should have included Opening Day in the previous post. To remedy that oversight here it is:



A dominant outing from Shane McClanahan in the bitter cold of Boston, as he appears to be fully recovered from AC joint surgery last year. (I initiated extension talks but he wants 7/210, which is too rich and too long for my blood). A couple of Rays debutants had nice games with Brock Jones going 1-2 with a run scored, steal and HBP in his first MLB game and Shea Langeliers providing the game-winning RBI single. Jackson Chourio however was 0-4 in his MLB debut. It was also weird seeing Randy Arozarena in a Red Sox uniform.

We'll check back in at the end of April.

[Art Deco]

Record: 17-8
1st place AL East, 1/2 game up on the Yankees

Picking up where we left off last year (in the regular season that is), the Rays are off to a blazing start in 2026 and might even have a better record if not for a few games blown by the bullpen. Our collection of dynamic young talents is carrying us with Elly de la Cruz off to an MVP-like start and rookies Jackson Chourio and Brock Jones not far behind. The starting pitching (with one exception) has been very good, the team defense is solid and the only quibble is with the pen. How the month has gone:



Aside from a few tough losses the most frustrating thing so far is that we can't shake the Yankees, who are off to their own 17-9 start:



Yes Mason Auer is the unlikely MLB RBI leader with 25.



The offense has been something to behold, hitting .293 as a team and able to sustain rallies with hit after hit instead of the home run. They're only 8th in the league in longballs with nobody other than de la Cruz hitting more than 3 this month. And with the team speed off the charts we're stealing bases like crazy. Meanwhile it's not often you see the pen with a significantly worse ERA than the rotation but that's the story so far. It's pretty much the same pen as last year so I'm going to chalk it up to one of those things for now (in fact Huascar Ynoa, the main new addition, has been one of the better relievers so far). And the team defense has been brilliant with Wander Franco going from a liability at SS to Gold Glove-caliber defense at 2B.







The de la Cruz, Chourio and Jones trio has been incredible in April and with Chourio seemingly always on base Auer has been an RBI machine. And we've done all this with a fairly lousy month on offense from Wander, whose WAR is being carried by his +2.7 ZR at 2B - an incredible number for 25 games of action. Shea Langeliers hasn't hit as much as we'd hoped but he's been a Gold Glover behind the plate and while it's probably early statistical noise, his CERA is 3.12 to Patrick Bailey's 4.50.

Overall we stayed injury-free. Jose Siri is on a rehab assignment at Durham but we're in no hurry to bring him back as Chourio isn't giving back his CF job nor shifting to LF as Jones has been a revelation. Maybe he takes Cade Doughty's backup role although I like the fact Doughty can play the IF as well.



The rotation has been great with one glaring exception: Drew Rasmussen. After being perhaps our most consistent starter in 2025 Ras saw his stuff downgraded to 45 and has been routinely hit hard. He's better than this of course and he has by far the worst BABIP among the starters, but it's something to keep an eye on. The pen meanwhile has been an adventure with normally shutdown setup guys like Doval and Dominguez struggling and even closer Jason Adam had a meltdown where he blew a multi-run lead by giving up a 3-run homer in the 9th.



With Chourio and Jones graduated (but still on this list), Junior Caminero becomes our best near-term hitting prospect but he suffered a severely sprained ankle which will sideline him until mid-June; fortunately we don't really need him to help out. Diaz or Santana could join the rotation if needed, as could Costume, and all could contribute as relievers. Down there at #20 is Chase Petty, whom we claimed on waivers from Baltimore and has closer stuff and could be called on if the big league pen continues to struggle.

This has been a fun team so far, and we'll see what's in store for May which includes a big series mid-month at the Trop against the Yankees who have their own collection of exciting young talent (Tyler Soderstrom, Jasson Dominguez, Jordan Lawlar, Tink Hence, Brock Wilken).

[Art Deco]

Record: 34-19 (17-11 for the month)
1st place, AL East by percentage points over the 35-20 Yankees

In the end another pretty good month for the Rays although it took winning the final four games to make it so after they ran into their first stretch of adversity, losing 6 straight before that:





Wander and Elly are 1st and 3rd in RBIs across MLB and Taj leads MLB in ERA.



The offense keeps chugging along although they were shut out three times during May. The team batting average came down as it was always going to do, but we're still second in the league in runs scored. The pitching was a mixed bag but has still been solid overall. We did suffer one injury of note during the month as starter Drew Rasmussen left his first May start with a sore shoulder and will be out for a week or two in June. Former starter Jeffrey Springs took his place in the rotation and acquitted himself decently while April waiver claim Chase Petty was brought up to take Springs' place in the pen. In other moves Jose Siri came off the IL and basically will platoon with Brock Jones, with Cade Doughty being sent down to AAA as his ratings have cratered (40 contact!) and he wasn't hitting much as a result. Also we made a trade just before the end of the month:



Boston had really soured on Casas to the point where he's spent most of the year at AAA after an underwhelming 2025 (244/330/394). He did have a .413 OBP at Pawtucket with 8 homers and his ratings remain good (50/60 with a 70 eye and 60 contact potential). With Jace Jung struggling at DH (and prospect Junior Caminero on the IL at Durham), I'm looking for alternatives and Casas could be one. Interestingly right after the deal Jung went 5-12 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in the Oakland series to close the month, maybe he heard the footsteps).



Wander and Elly really carried the team through the month as most of the rest of the lineup regressed from April.



The pitching was pretty good, outside of our two most normally-reliable starters Pepiot and McClanahan. Pepiot's numbers for May weren't the greatest coming in but they were skewed by a 1 1/3 IP, 7 ER outing in his final start against Oakland, a game the Rays came back from 7-1 down to win 15-7. As alluded to earlier Springs was very good in his return to the rotation and new guy Petty showed off his power arm with 17 Ks in 9 1/3 IP (albeit with 6 walks).



Caminero significantly sprained an ankle and will be out until mid-June. Once he's back healthy and hitting he's a candidate to come up. Also a candidate to come up is this guy should we have a rotation opening:



Santana has been everything we'd hoped for when we dealt Kyle Manzardo (who's been a miserable 239/323/304 with 0 HR) and Matthew Peguero (who's taken over as LA's closer) to the Dodgers for him. He's more than capable of pitching in the bigs right now but needs an opening. And as we've been getting poor defense at SS from Devers and Winn (combined -5.8 ZR) there's a real possibility that Carson Williams comes up sooner than later to take over at SS.


So it's on to June and the Yankees certainly look like they're not going anywhere so it should be quite a battle.

[Art Deco]

Record: 48-30 (14-11 for the month)
1st place AL East, 5 games ahead of the Yankees

The Rays may have cooled off a bit but it was still a very good month for them as the Yankees really cooled off (10-17) and the division lead expanded. In fact Tampa Bay is 7 up on New York in the loss column as through some weird quirk in the schedule we've played four fewer games than the Yankees.

We did suffer one injury of significance as Huascar Ynoa tore his labrum and is done for the year. He's a free agent this winter so it's likely he threw his last pitch as a Ray. And we did make one fairly large trade:



After the Triston Casas acquisition in late May we needed to find a fit for him and we cut the cord on Jace Jung, who seemed to be getting progressively worse since he was picked up in 2024. Burleson was always the 27th man on the roster and Devers was supplanted at SS by Carson Williams. So we packaged the three of them to Texas which was willing to part with a couple of guys that I felt would really help us. Hall's a fireballer with great stuff and movement (65/65) but iffy control (45) who had a 2.16 ERA and 0.9 WAR in 8 starts for the Rangers. He was put into the rotation in place of Ryan Pepiot who has gone from 2025 Cy Young candidate to 2026 major struggler and Pepiot was moved to a long relief role. Also coming over was Mitchell, who was off to a torrid 352/431/519 start for Texas, good for 2.2 WAR in only 58 games. The former Pirate has been kind of a late bloomer, coming into his own during his age 27 season, and while he was undoubtedly playing over his head he's still a 60 contact/50 power guy who will mix into the lineup more than Burleson did.



So here's how things look around MLB as we're just about at the midway point of the season:



The Rays sport the best record in the AL and the 4th-best in MLB. Also make sure you find someone who loves you the way OOTP loves Jalen Beeks. After being a dominant bullpen force for us in 2023 and 2024 he's turned into a dominant starter with the Mets. This isn't the first time Beeks has been an OOTP stud in one of my Rays saves even though IRL he can't even stay in the majors (or find the plate) this season and he was never this good in the past.



Can't really complain about leading the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed, even though we're somewhat deficient in a few of the component parts. This team is allergic to drawing walks yet they string the hits together, and the team defense remains lousy even after Williams was installed at SS. One thing of note here is that we've dominated at the Trop (29-11) while playing .500 ball on the road.

Since we're at midway mark here are the YTD stats for easy pace calculating instead of the monthly stats.



We have some highly exciting young players in Elly, Wander, Chourio and Auer and they've all produced. De La Cruz is a bonafide MVP candidate and if Wander hits with more power he could be one as well. You can see here that Jung, Devers and Burleson added up to -0.1 WAR. Mitchell has been an improvement with power and batting average, but he has stopped walking since coming over as perhaps it's contagious. Not for Casas though as he boasts a .403 OBP since joining the team. Vargas however has been a colossal disappointment and has started losing ABs against righties to Casas and Mitchell. Also I find it baffling Langeliers and Williams have combined for only 3 homers, but again these problems are more nitpicks with how well the offense is doing overall.



And while Elly is a top MVP candidate there's little doubt Taj is a Cy Young contender at 10-0, 1.98 with the peripherals to back him up. Cleavinger is having an incredible year in relief, yet to be scored upon and Hall has looked good since coming over from Texas. McClanahan remains a bit inconsistent and if he could get on a roll the sky's the limit, and Petty was another excellent in-season pickup.

Speaking of Taj:



Down on the farm:



Of course Williams and Petty have been up with the big club for over a month now and Santana continues to roll at Durham and will be our first option should a starter go down. Caminero came back from his six-week injury and is hitting again at Durham, but with the acquisitions of Casas and Mitchell his window for immediate help kind of closed. Of course there will be some new names on this list next month as we have the draft, and I'll probably have a post that recaps it as well as any wheeling and dealing we do prior to the trade deadline at the end of July.

[Art Deco]

A quick update on the team as we had into the All-Star break: 8-3 so far in July, overall record at 56-33, 6 games up on the Yankees (8 in the loss column).

The All-Star rosters, with not as much Tampa Bay representation as I hoped/expected:

The American League All-Stars have these fine performers on their roster:

SP Taj Bradley (TB)* - 12-0, 1.81 ERA, 104.2 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.7 WAR
SP Luis Castillo (SEA) - 6-10, 3.20 ERA, 109.2 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.9 WAR
SP Daniel Espino (CLE) - 7-3, 3.34 ERA, 94.1 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, 2.6 WAR
SP Luis Garcia (HOU) - 9-3, 3.62 ERA, 117.0 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Kumar Rocker (TEX) - 9-4, 3.00 ERA, 105.0 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 2.3 WAR
SP Edwin Uceta (DET) - 3-2, 3.32 ERA, 81.1 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 0.8 WAR
SP Owen White (TEX) - 6-9, 3.12 ERA, 106.2 IP, 1.08 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 1.8 WAR
RP Enyel De Los Santos (TOR) - 5-3, 2.38 ERA, 53.0 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 0.8 WAR
RP Clay Holmes (BOS) - 5-0, 2.55 ERA, 53.0 IP, 0.87 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 1.3 WAR
RP Jordan Romano (TEX) - 2-2, 0.90 ERA, 30.0 IP, 0.90 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 1.4 WAR
RP Framber Valdez (HOU) - 3-0, 2.42 ERA, 52.0 IP, 1.52 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 0.6 WAR
CL Emmanuel Clase (CLE)* - 2-1, 30 SV, 1.47 ERA, 36.2 IP, 0.74 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 1.5 WAR
CL Andre Scrubb (KC) - 3-4, 24 SV, 3.09 ERA, 32.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 14.9 K/9, 1.2 WAR
C Leonardo Bernal (OAK) - .224/.301/.429, 268 AB, 12 HR, 3 SB, 102 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
C Alejandro Kirk (TOR) - .284/.333/.428, 222 AB, 8 HR, 109 wRC+, 1.4 WAR (Injured)
C Cal Raleigh (SEA) - .245/.305/.466, 253 AB, 14 HR, 1 SB, 112 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
C Adley Rutschman (BAL)* - .260/.326/.462, 277 AB, 11 HR, 116 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
1B Yordan Alvarez (HOU)* - .252/.342/.555, 321 AB, 25 HR, 1 SB, 143 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)* - .316/.390/.512, 320 AB, 11 HR, 143 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
2B Oswaldo Cabrera (NYY) - .286/.347/.489, 329 AB, 12 HR, 4 SB, 130 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
2B Brooks Lee (DET) - .310/.379/.465, 355 AB, 10 HR, 6 SB, 129 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
2B Trevor Story (BOS) - .301/.355/.601, 306 AB, 20 HR, 7 SB, 158 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
2B Anthony Volpe (CWS)* - .325/.385/.575, 240 AB, 13 HR, 8 SB, 164 wRC+, 3.5 WAR (Injured)
3B Elly De La Cruz (TB)* - .305/.346/.586, 331 AB, 22 HR, 27 SB, 151 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
3B Eddinson Paulino (SEA) - .279/.324/.408, 348 AB, 7 HR, 15 SB, 104 wRC+, 1.8 WAR
3B Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) - .310/.351/.620, 258 AB, 20 HR, 4 SB, 163 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
SS Carlos Correa (MIN) - .286/.356/.428, 325 AB, 8 HR, 4 SB, 118 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
SS Gunnar Henderson (BAL)* - .267/.342/.486, 329 AB, 17 HR, 6 SB, 129 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
SS Ryan Ritter (LAA) - .256/.316/.398, 266 AB, 7 HR, 5 SB, 97 wRC+, 1.5 WAR
LF Riley Greene (DET) - .293/.364/.457, 335 AB, 10 HR, 1 SB, 124 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
LF Brandon Lowe (NYY) - .286/.358/.552, 308 AB, 23 HR, 2 SB, 151 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
LF Cal Mitchell (TB) - .322/.390/.495, 283 AB, 12 HR, 4 SB, 142 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
CF Byron Buxton (MIN)* - .318/.376/.582, 337 AB, 21 HR, 5 SB, 158 wRC+, 5.1 WAR
CF Jacob Melton (TOR)* - .361/.416/.566, 341 AB, 16 HR, 11 SB, 174 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
CF Mike Trout (LAA) - .267/.370/.505, 311 AB, 19 HR, 6 SB, 142 wRC+, 3.7 WAR
RF Aaron Judge (NYY)* - .282/.370/.558, 330 AB, 26 HR, 1 SB, 155 wRC+, 3.2 WAR

While the National League All-Stars will be represented by these talented players:

SP Jalen Beeks (NYM) - 9-2, 2.42 ERA, 89.1 IP, 0.94 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 2.6 WAR
SP Corbin Burnes (MIL)* - 9-4, 3.85 ERA, 117.0 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 10.9 K/9, 3.1 WAR
SP Bubba Chandler (PIT) - 7-3, 2.30 ERA, 125.1 IP, 0.93 WHIP, 14.0 K/9, 4.2 WAR
SP Ryan Murphy (SF) - 5-5, 2.79 ERA, 90.1 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 1.2 WAR
SP Shohei Ohtani (STL) - 6-6, 3.76 ERA, 107.2 IP, 1.14 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 1.5 WAR
SP Connor Phillips (CIN) - 3-3, 2.52 ERA, 100.0 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 10.3 K/9, 1.3 WAR
SP Spencer Strider (ATL) - 9-2, 2.25 ERA, 116.0 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 10.8 K/9, 3.4 WAR
RP Aaron Ashby (MIL)* - 2-3, 3.13 ERA, 60.1 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 0.9 WAR
RP Jakob Brustoski (CHC) - 2-2, 1.68 ERA, 48.1 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 11.9 K/9, 1.1 WAR
RP Dylan Lee (LAD) - 3-3, 14 SV, 2.36 ERA, 53.1 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 1.2 WAR
RP Colin Poche (STL) - 2-4, 2.81 ERA, 51.1 IP, 1.23 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 0.6 WAR
CL Andrew Baker (PHI) - 2-6, 16 SV, 2.97 ERA, 30.1 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 16.3 K/9, 1.8 WAR
CL Edwin Díaz (NYM) - 5-2, 24 SV, 1.36 ERA, 39.2 IP, 0.93 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 1.2 WAR
C Joey Bart (SF) - .261/.322/.436, 188 AB, 9 HR, 113 wRC+, 1.2 WAR
C Steve Cooper (LAD) - .302/.343/.472, 252 AB, 6 HR, 125 wRC+, 1.9 WAR (Injured)
C Harry Ford (WSH) - .281/.350/.474, 196 AB, 7 HR, 9 SB, 124 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
C Will Smith (NYM)* - .294/.360/.621, 248 AB, 22 HR, 171 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
1B Brett Baty (NYM) - .253/.315/.500, 336 AB, 22 HR, 126 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
1B Corbin Carroll (AZ)* - .318/.383/.484, 337 AB, 8 HR, 8 SB, 141 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
1B Freddie Freeman (LAD) - .296/.364/.509, 334 AB, 18 HR, 3 SB, 141 wRC+, 2.0 WAR
1B Luis Garcia (WSH)* - .320/.353/.496, 341 AB, 11 HR, 1 SB, 127 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
1B Matt Mervis (MIA) - .269/.332/.545, 323 AB, 23 HR, 1 SB, 136 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (CHC) - .286/.329/.453, 329 AB, 6 HR, 2 SB, 112 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
3B Manny Machado (SD) - .265/.346/.466, 298 AB, 15 HR, 1 SB, 126 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
3B Austin Riley (ATL)* - .284/.345/.500, 334 AB, 17 HR, 2 SB, 127 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
3B Luis Urias (MIL)* - .241/.329/.414, 307 AB, 14 HR, 3 SB, 107 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
SS Edwin Arroyo (CIN)* - .292/.361/.483, 325 AB, 11 HR, 4 SB, 133 wRC+, 4.6 WAR (Injured)
SS Francisco Lindor (NYM) - .263/.306/.419, 353 AB, 12 HR, 5 SB, 103 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
LF Kris Bryant (COL)* - .284/.325/.525, 299 AB, 15 HR, 2 SB, 123 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
LF Bryan Reynolds (LAD) - .298/.352/.492, 258 AB, 13 HR, 1 SB, 135 wRC+, 1.8 WAR
LF Zac Veen (COL)* - .273/.332/.473, 275 AB, 12 HR, 13 SB, 114 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
LF Austin Wells (CHC) - .279/.378/.520, 229 AB, 14 HR, 1 SB, 149 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
CF Trent Grisham (SD) - .275/.339/.487, 265 AB, 12 HR, 3 SB, 129 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
CF Alek Thomas (AZ)* - .311/.369/.473, 357 AB, 7 HR, 6 SB, 133 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
RF Mookie Betts (LAD) - .260/.342/.460, 311 AB, 14 HR, 5 SB, 124 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
RF Dominic Fletcher (AZ) - .301/.338/.474, 306 AB, 13 HR, 122 wRC+, 2.5 WAR

It's the first All-Star selection for our three (Taj, Elly, Mitchell). Really surprised Wander did not make it, hitting 326/374/530 with 12 HR, 63 RBI and 3.7 WAR but he wouldn't have been able to play anyway with a knee contusion that will sideline him a week.

The derby:



Elly with the win in an epic battle against Ohtani! An extremely rare HR Derby win for a Ray in all my saves. You'll notice here that Brandon Lowe is still kicking butt for the Yankees as that deal hasn't quite worked out (although Masyn Winn is hitting well off our bench).

The game:



A bit more scoring than the usual All-Star affair. Taj acquitted himself well starting the game while De La Cruz and Mitchell each went 0-2.

And now the draft:



Scott:

A high-school righty with tremendous potential:



A long way to go, and I'm sure these potential ratings will drop some but if they don't drop too much he could still be a great starter.

Allen:

Another high-school starter with great potential and possibly up to five plus pitches. Stamina could be an issue though:



Beal:



Our run on pitchers continue with this college righty from Liberty. He's got a lower ceiling but a higher floor and could help us in a year or two.

Cuellar:



May have reached for this high school reliever but you never know.

Kembel:



Finally a bat as we grabbed this Minnesota high-schooler with a lot of potential.

[Art Deco]

Record: 65-38 (17-8 for the month)
1st place AL East, 8 1/2 up on the Yankees

Another great month as we expanded the lead on the Yankees and took 3 of 4 from them in a key series at Yankee Stadium during the month. On the injury front Jason Adam went down mid-month with a tired arm but will be back right after the first of August, and Jackson Chourio developed a sore elbow on the 31st that will sideline him for the month of August. We also made a trade of some significance right at the deadline:



Finally ran out of patience with Vargas, once a key middle-of-the-order guy who's fallen on hard times despite maintaining his good ratings. He was hitting 244/297/348 after another lousy month, sat against righties for the most part and slipped into negative WAR. Add in the fact that he's projected for $7.6M in arbitration next year and it really wasn't a hard choice to deal him. And when the Cubs offered up Alcantara, who profiles as such:



He was having a monster season at AAA, albeit repeating the level, and was added to our active roster where he'll play against lefties and occasionally against righties.







Some erosion on offense but the pitching remained impeccable.



In last month's report I bemoaned Langeliers' lack of production and he responded in a big way with 7 HR and 1.3 WAR. Siri did well in limited action and he'll be seeing a lot more of it in August with Chourio out for the month. Elly De La Cruz really tailed off this month though he was showing some signs in the final week of breaking out of his slump while some of the other regulars cooled off as well. But Triston Casas really took hold of the 1B job and had a very productive month.



Taj Bradley has to be considered the front-runner for the AL Cy Young as he's now 13-0, 1.65 for the season with 3.3 WAR. Springs has been brilliant as well and Pepiot has really taken to multi-inning relief after being dropped from the rotation. A rough month for Matt Brash though as 7 HR allowed in 17 innings is never good.



Guess we had a good draft as the pitchers we took in the first three rounds are now ranked as our #1, 5 and 7 prospects. Last year's 2nd rounder Quelch has moved up the rankings and as you can see he has 21 HR at Durham as he boasts MLB-ready power. I considered bringing Caminero up when Chourio went on the IL but instead went with Luisangel Acuna, who gives up more versatility.

On to August now, which will be all about consolidating our position.

[Art Deco]

Record: 80-51 (15-13 for the month)
1st place AL East, 5 1/2 up on the Yankees

Our roughest month of the season and the Yankees did shave 3 games off the lead but fortunately there's only one more month to go. We did have a plethora of injuries which contributed to the uneven results:

* Jackson Chourio came back on the 22nd from his previous injury and then on the next day he was beaned and suffered a concussion which will put him out for the rest of the regular season, although he should be back for the playoffs.

* Luisangel Acuna, called up from Durham to fill in for another injured player, tore a calf muscle and is done for 2026.

* DL Hall suffered an elbow strain late in the month and will be out until mid-September.

* Drew Rasmussen came back from his rehab assignment, had two bad starts and in the second of them developed elbow tendinitis and is out until mid-October, which essentially means he's done.

* Ryan Pepiot left the final game of the month with a tired arm and will miss two weeks.

With all of the pitching injuries we finally called up our top pitching prospect Waylin Santana, who was brilliant at Durham (14-4, 3.19, 52/171 BB/K ratio in 166 IP, good for 5.2 WAR) and he won his MLB debut going 5 6 1 1 1 6 against San Diego. And after Acuna was hurt, Junior Caminero finally was promoted too and hit quite well at 286/359/471 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in 70 AB.





The starting pitching has been great but the bullpen's been a source of concern. We had a few epic 9th-inning meltdowns which cost us games from both Jason Adam and Camilo Doval, and Adam is out of the closer role as we're going to a bullpen by committee the rest of the way. The offense remained pretty good despite all the injuries.



Rough months for Jones, Casas and Elly, but Mitchell started raking like he did in the first half with Texas and Carson Williams continues to be a revelation. And the league took notice:





The starters were great but as mentioned earlier the bullpen was brutal, especially Adam, Moran and Doval. There's a new name at the top of the ERA list and that's lefty reliever Dylan Lee, claimed on waivers from the Dodgers on the 11th. Lee was the Dodgers closer earlier this year (19 saves) but for whatever reason they waived him and we pounced. He may end up our closer at the rate things are going.



One fast-rising prospect has been 2025 2nd-round pick Joe Quelch, who had his ratings upgraded and has hit 30 homers between Durham and Montgomery this season. He may contend for a roster spot next season.

[Art Deco]

Final Regular Season Record: 101-61 (21-10 for the month+)
1st place, AL East, top record in AL

Despite another round of injuries the Rays closed out 2026 with an excellent final month to comfortably win the AL East, clinching the division with almost a week to go. We'll be facing either the Guardians or Yankees in the ALDS in about 5-6 days' time.

I mentioned injuries and we had a few more:

* Starting 1B Triston Casas fractured his foot with about a week left in the season and will miss the ALDS; he may be available for the ALCS should we advance.

* Jackson Chourio isn't recovering from his concussion as hoped and now will at least miss the ALDS and could be out longer with an "uncertain return date".

* Reliever Chase Petty partially tore his UCL and will be out into mid-2027.

* Reliever Ryan Pepiot sprained his ankle on the 19th and missed the rest of the regular season. His recovery is pegged for about a week from now so he's on the playoff roster but we'll see.

The Chourio injury opened up playing time for rookie prospect Junior Caminero, who's hit pretty decently since coming up (268/324/444) but the Casas injury is more problematic since we didn't have real cover at 1B. Tommy Saggese, who had a big season at Durham (296/384/528 with 27 HR) after a lousy 2025, had his contract purchased and became the regular 1B over the final week or so and hit .222 with a homer in 6 games. He'll probably start in the ALDS.





First in runs scored, first in fewest runs allowed, not a bad combination. Consistently good all season, the only bad thing you can say about this team is that it played mediocre to lousy defense.



We were led by the terrific trio of Wander, Auer and Elly who all had down-ballot MVP seasons. Langeliers probably earned at least 2/3 of that WAR in the second half of the season as he became one of our more reliable hitters. Winn and Siri were valuable off the bench and Carson Williams really stabilized the infield after being called up mid-season.



The true strength of this club was its starting pitching and the Mac/Taj/Springs trio was probably the best 1-2-3 punch in the league. In his final start I made sure Bradley got one more out in the 7th inning before taking him out so his ERA would dip below 2. Springs meanwhile may have been the big story as his renaissance as a starter made up for Drew Rasmussen turning into a pumpkin and then getting hurt. Waylin Santana was largely impressive in September as can be seen above and should be a part of the 2027 rotation. The bullpen stabilized a bit from its lousy first half and Camino Doval (who put his first half struggles behind him) took the closer's job from Jason Adam, who struggled all year and lost 2 MPH off his fastball with the resulting ratings downgrade. In fact Adam has gone from closer to off the playoff roster at this point.



We've already promoted most of the guys who can help us now and for 2027 but Quelch is a possibility for LF as Brock Jones did tail off considerably in the second half (although he did still earn 2.3 WAR for the year).

But it's time to put aside the future as the playoffs are ready to begin. Next post will be a Wild Card round recap as we learn our ALDS opponent.

[Art Deco]

All four series ended up in two-game sweeps won by the home team.



So the Yankees will be our ALDS opponents.



And the White Sox will face Houston in the other ALDS.



The Mets will take on Atlanta in one NLDS.



And the Cubs will face the Dodgers in the other one.

[Art Deco]

Yuck...



It looked great early. Shane McClanahan was perfect through 3 with 5 strikeouts, Jackson Chourio came off the IL from his concussion to deliver a 2-run single and Elly De La Cruz hit a mammoth homer to put the Rays up 3-0. But then it all went wrong as Mac couldn't get anyone out in the 4th & 5th, Jack Perkins was horrible in relief of him and despite a few comeback attempts the Rays fell short in Game 1 of the ALDS 9-6 and will need a win tomorrow to avoid going to New York down 0-2 in the best-of-5. Taj Bradley will try to right the ship tomorrow. Meanwhile the road team also won to start the other ALDS:

[Art Deco]

Order restored, and then some...



The Rays got just what they needed, a 12-1 rout of the Yankees to even up the ALDS at a game apiece. Taj Bradley had a rough first inning, allowing a run on three hits, but gave up nothing after that and the offense went to town from there. Mason Auer's 2-run double was the big hit to put them on top and Carson Williams' 2-run single in the 5th broke the game open. Elly De La Cruz homered again, a 3-run shot to make the rubble bounce. So now it's on to Yankee Stadium with Jeffrey Springs looking to continue his excellent 2026 season.

Elsewhere the White Sox are one win away from the ALCS while the NLDS gets underway with a couple of old friends leading their respective squads to victory:

[Art Deco]

Pitching was the name of the game as a grand total of four runs was scored in the two NLDS games today, with the Dodgers on the verge of the NLCS:

[Art Deco]

Holy mother of comebacks, Batman...



Until the 9th inning the story of this one was going to be how Brandon Lowe wreaked vengeance on his old team, hitting a 3-run homer off Jeffrey Springs to break it open for the Yankees and lead them to victory. But Carson Williams had other ideas and his 1-out homer in the 9th tied the game and Wander Franco's solo blast into the short Yankee Stadium RF porch won it as the Rays took an improbable 6-5 win to go up 2-1 in the ALDS. And the comeback wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant long relief from rookie Waylin Santana who went 5 scoreless with 10 whiffs to hold New York at 5. And with Springs leaving the game with rotator cuff tendinitis (which would explain his poor 3-homer outing), Santana is set to take his place in the rotation should the Rays make the ALCS. Also a shoutout to another rookie Brock Jones, whose 3-run homer off Yankee ace Brandon Woodruff got them back within a run. Matt Brash will try to pitch the clincher for Tampa Bay tomorrow.

Meanwhile the Astros got off the mat to keep their ALDS alive:

[Art Deco]

Going the distance...



Gerrit Cole turned back the clock as the injury-addled former ace looked like his vintage self and the Yankees forced a deciding Game 5 in the ALDS with a 5-2 win over the Rays. Matt Brash was bashed early and outside of a 2-run Shea Langeliers shot the Tampa Bay offense was flaccid. So we're back to the Game 1 matchup at St. Pete in 48 hours with Shane McClanahan hoping to fare better than he did the first time.

The White Sox will await the winner of that game while the NLDSes will continue:

[Art Deco]

Speaking of turning back the clock Clayton Kershaw pitched the Dodgers into the NLCS while Atlanta and the Mets will play a Game 5:

[Art Deco]

Survive and advance...



Shane McClanahan was utterly dominant and the bats kept tacking on runs until they broke the game open in the 7th as the Rays took Game 5 of the ALDS 7-4 and advanced to the ALCS to play the White Sox. Unlike Game 1 when Mac was untouchable for 3 innings and fell apart thereafter, he never let up today and fanned 11. Meanwhile the offense did its part with Series MVP Shea Langeliers answering Brandon Lowe's homer (there's one trade I'm regretting) in the top of the 4th with one of his own to put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and they added from there with Cal Mitchell driving in 3. Some 9th-inning bullpen shenanigans made the final result closer than it should have been but a win is a win, especially in a winner-take-all game. Taj Bradley will toe the rubber in ALDS Game 1 a few days from now at the Trop.

[Art Deco]

In an outcome that will warm the hearts of TV rights holders, the Mets prevailed in Game 5 over Atlanta and will set up a New York v Los Angeles NLCS: