The 2023 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Record: 89-43 (21-7 for the month)
First place AL East, 21 1/2 up on Toronto (magic #: 9)

You wouldn't think it based on their August record but the month started off in mediocre fashion for the Rays as they went 7-7 over the first two weeks before reeling off a 14-game win streak to close it out. They started the month essentially a lock to win the division and now they stand a good chance of clinching before the NFL season even starts. We had two injuries of note: Luisangel Acuna, who himself was filling in for the injured Carson Williams, strained his Achilles about mid-month and won't return until the second week of September. By that time Williams will be back as he went on a rehab assignment on the 30th, assuming he doesn't re-injure himself for a second time. The other casualty was lefty reliever Brett Martin, acquired just before the trade deadline. He ruptured a disc in his back and is done for the season. Not a critical loss since we already have lefties Cleavinger, Hall and Nardi in the pen.



Here's how things shape up around MLB:



Yup that's rookie Waylin Santana leading the AL in wins and ERA, making him a candidate for both Rookie of the Year and Cy Young. And the AL could have its lowest batting average winner since Yaz's .301 in 1968.



The pitching has been nothing short of remarkable, the hitting ain't bad either and the defense has been terrific. No notes, as they say. And despite a brilliant 89-43 record Pythagoras says we should be 93-39.



Big month from the hitters with Casas, Langeliers and Alcantara in particular going nuts. And also having a great month was Saggese - although due to some bug in the game his OPS of 1.000 for August shows up as .000, putting him at the bottom of this list which is sorted by OPS. Only Auer, who's had a season-long struggle at the plate, had what could be called a "down" month.



And nothing but brilliance here with only Costume (who was sent down for Martin and only recalled around the 20th), Taj and the injured Martin with ERAs above 4.00 for the month.

Still, given this club's poor record in the playoffs in this save I remain convinced they'll be lucky to get through the ALDS.



The real up-and-comer this past month has been Hirata, the 23-year-old signed out of Japan last winter. He hit 287/369/667 with 11 homers in August and that was after a 333/467/619 July with 7 homers. He's also an excellent defender, especially at 2B. We're loaded in the middle infield right now with Williams, Winn, Acuna, Cabrera, Saggese and Caminero so we could trade from this surplus in the offseason.

Next check-in will be at regular season's end and then the real fun begins.

[Art Deco]

Final Record: 107-55 (18-12 for the month+)
1st place AL East, 21 games ahead of Baltimore

And so the regular season ends. The division was clinched on the 10th and it was a month of playing out the string and hoping nobody gets hurt. As far as the latter goes, we did suffer a couple of injuries with Ryan Pepiot likely out for the playoffs with a rotator cuff strain and Mason Auer suffering an abdominal strain although he should be back for the postseason as we get a week off while the wild cards play.



Boston rookie Samuel Zavala won the batting crown thanks to being the only AL regular to hit .300, which he did on the nose making him the batting champ with the worst average since another Red Sock, Carl Yasztremski at .301 in 1968. And as you can see at the bottom left our own rookie Waylin Santana won 20 games (and the ERA crown), the only MLB pitcher to do so. It came down to his final start against Baltimore on the penultimate day of the season, and although he was staked a 4-0 first-inning lead he allowed Baltimore to tie it, before the Rays regained the lead for good before he left after 5 innings.

Elsewhere Toronto snuck into the playoffs despite an 80-82 record; they'll play AL Central champ Detroit in one wild card series while Baltimore and Seattle will face off in the other, with that winner set to play the Rays in the ALDS. Over in the NL, Philly nosed out the Cubs on the final day to take the last wild card in that league.



Just of course a great regular season, which once again will ring hollow if we don't win in October.



Our surprise MVP in terms of WAR was Kevin Alcantara, who had an amazing September/October (9 HR, 33 RBI in 25 games) to finish the year with 4.3 WAR. Due to injuries, trades, platoons, and a lot of depth we only had 4 guys play 125+ games so nobody ran away in the WAR department although you could assign 7.4 WAR to the roster spot which held Wander and Bobby Marsh since they were traded for each other. Marsh didn't disappoint as a middle-of-the-order force with a .959 OPS and combined with this time in LA he finished 307/421/531 with 31 HR and 110 RBI, earning 6.5 WAR. Thomas Saggese was a hugely pleasant surprise, coming up mid-year as an injury replacement and forcing his way into the lineup, earning 2.3 WAR in 80 games with a .930 OPS. In the disappointment department, Mason Auer plummeted from 5.2 WAR in 2026 to 1.3 this year, a 75% drop, and Brock Jones was sub-replacement after a decent rookie season last year.



Great pitching all around with Santana the Cy Young frontrunner as a rookie, and our second-best pitcher turned out to be Jeffrey Springs, lights-out in September (and really the entire second half):



The playoff rotation is really a conundrum as our nominal ace Shane McClanahan and last year's Cy Young winner Taj Bradley were our 4th and 5th best starting pitchers this season. Right now I'm leaning towards Bradley as the odd man out with the likely order being McClanahan-Santana-Springs-Brash.

A final look at the farm:



What a debut year in American baseball for Hirata (45 HR, 5.5 WAR). As mentioned in last month's summary it'll be hard finding him a position on the big club next year but I'm going to have to try.

So now on to the real test: the playoffs.

[Art Deco]

The Orioles will face the Rays in the ALDS.



Toronto will play the Angels in the other ALDS. Joey Gallo had a 3-run homer in the 9th to win Game 1 and send the Jays on their way.



Keibert Ruiz walked it off in Game 2 for the Nats after they prevailed in a Game 1 slugfest. They'll head to LA to play the Dodgers in an NLDS.



This was the only Wild Card series to go the full 3 games and Philly actually held a 5-1 lead in the 5th of Game 3 before Milwaukee put 7 on the board. The Brew Crew will face the Mets in the other NLDS.

[Art Deco]

A good (if costly) start...



Elly De La Cruz homered twice and the Rays pieced together a well-pitched game as they beat Baltimore 3-1 to open the ALDS. But the win came at a cost as starter Shane McClanahan had to leave the game with rotator cuff inflammation and his season is done. Taj Bradley, last year's Cy Young winner but this year's odd man out of the playoff rotation, came on and pitched well to earn the win and the bullpen after him was lights-out. Tampa Bay couldn't do much against Matthew Boyd except hit homers with Elly's 2 solo shots and Jackson Chourio blast to lead off the game the sum total of their offense but it was enough. 20-game winner Waylin Santana will get the ball for Game 2.

In yesterday's NLDS action:



A big day for Japanese pitchers.

All of today's DS action:

[Art Deco]

Rolling on to Baltimore...



The Rays scored early and often in routing the Orioles 12-6 and taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 ALDS. A 7-run 3rd broke it open with the big hit being Carson Williams' 3-run homer and possible Cy Young-elect (and Rookie of the Year-elect) Waylin Santana was brilliant over 6 shutout innings before the bullpen made things a little messy in the late innings. Jeffrey Springs will now try to close it out two days from now in Baltimore and punch the Rays' ticket to the ALCS. One down note, though: Jackson Chourio strained his back trying to throw a runner out at the plate and will miss a week.

Elsewhere it was also a rout as the Jays evened things up with the Angels:

[Art Deco]

Not quite done yet...



The Rays couldn't quite get their bats going and September Pitcher of the Month Jeffrey Springs turned into an October pumpkin as they fell 4-2 to Baltimore and saw their ALDS lead slashed to 2-1. The offense was held hitless after a Bobby Marsh RBI double in the first until a Kevin Alcantara single in the 9th. He scored on an Oswaldo Cabrera double and the Rays had the tying runs in scoring position but Shea Langeliers and Carson Williams couldn't get them home. Matt Brash will get the ball with another chance to clinch tomorrow.

Yesterday's NLDS:



The Mets made quick business of the Brewers while the Dodgers stay alive thanks to a 5-run 10th inning.

Today's DS games:




Great pitching by the LA teams saw Aaron Nola hurl a complete-game shutout to give the Angels a leg up while Tony Gonsolin pitched the Dodgers into a deciding Game 5 back home in LA as the road team has won all 4 games in this series.

[Art Deco]

Moving on...



The Rays belted six homers, including a pair each from Bobby Marsh and Kevin Alcantara, and ended up routing the Orioles 11-4 to advance to the ALCS where they'll await the Jays-Angels winner. They jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead before Matt Brash, who struggled with his command, left with two out and two on in the 4th for DL Hall, who was in to face the lefty Jackson Holliday. Hall promptly gave up a 3-run homer to Holliday to let Baltimore tie it up and we stayed that way until the 7th when Marsh doubled in a run to put the Rays ahead to stay before the home run derby began.

And we still don't know our ALCS opponent because the Jays forced a Game 5:

[Art Deco]

Congrats to the Dodgers, who came off the mat down 0-2 to the Nats:



Wander Franco! Pete Fairbanks! Those names look familiar. LA will be facing the Mets in the NLCS.

Meanwhile the Rays learn their ALCS opponent:



And it will be the LA Angels, as Tyree Reed's walk-off homer in the 10th capped a highly dramatic game which saw the Jays tie it in the 9th after coming back from 4-0 down.

[Art Deco]

Advantage Rays...



The Rays used the longball and overcame some shaky pitching to take Game 1 of the ALCS 7-6 over the Angels at Tropicana Field. 2-run homers from Mason Auer, Luisangel Acuna and Bobby Marsh were the difference, with Marsh's making it 7-4 and proving important when Camilo Doval nearly melted down in the 9th, needing 35 pitches to get through the frame and allowing a pair of runs. Auer's homer gave them an early 2-1 lead but Taj Bradley, deputizing for the injured Shane McClanahan, couldn't hold that lead and gave up 2 homers of his own. But Acuna's blast tied it up and Shea Langeliers' RBI double off Angels ace Aaron Nola, who pitched an ALDS shutout, put Tampa Bay ahead to stay. Waylin Santana will look to duplicate his excellent ALDS outing in Game 2 tomorrow and give the Rays a 2-0 lead heading to Anaheim.

The Rays are also trying to prevent a Freeway Series and set up a rematch of the 2020 Fall Classic as the Dodgers have taken control of the NLCS by opening it with a pair of wins:

[Art Deco]

California dreamin'...



The Rays are halfway to their first World Series since 2020 after an 8-4 win over the Angels to go up 2-0 in the ALCS. Bobby Marsh was the hitting stud as you can see above with two more homers (giving him 5 in the postseason already) including a 5th-inning grand slam which broke it open. And the rookie continues to dazzle as Waylin Santana won his 22nd game of 2027 with yet another brilliant performance. It's now off to Anaheim with Jeffrey Springs trying to put the Rays on the brink.

[Art Deco]

It's all over but the shouting in the NLCS as the Dodgers are now up 3-0 on the Mets as a 2020 World Series rematch looms larger and larger.

[Art Deco]

We have a series...



Don't go printing those World Series tickets just yet as the Angels got off the mat and beat the Rays 6-4 to pull within 2-1 in the ALCS. Jeffrey Springs got off to a rough start giving up a pair of 2-run homers in the 2nd to put the Rays in a 4-0 hole but they climbed all the way back when Oswaldo Cabrera went yard for the second straight day. But Springs gave the lead right back to LA, offering up a 2-0 meatball to Mike Trout which he knew what do with, and now Tampa Bay needs to keep the Angels from tying it up. That job will fall to Matt Brash who will start Game 4.

Meanwhile the Mets were no match for the Dodgers, who swept their way into the World Series:



Freddie Freeman was named series MVP after going a ridiculous 10 for 15 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in the 4 games.

[Art Deco]

One win away...



The Rays bounced back from their Game 3 loss by routing the Angels in Game 4 and taking a 3-1 ALCS lead. Mason Auer had another huge day filling in for the ailing Jackson Chourio with 4 hits including a homer and 3 RBI while Oswaldo Cabrera continued his Reggie Jackson impersonation by homering two more times today to give him 4 in his last 3 games. Matt Brash turned in his usual solid five-and-dive and now they're one win away from a date with the Dodgers in the Series. Taj Bradley will try to improve on his Game 1 performance and get them there so we're returning to the Trop for a Game 1 instead of a Game 6.

[Art Deco]

AL CHAMPS!!!



For the first time in this save the Rays have reached the World Series and will match up with the Dodgers after a gritty, come-from-behind 3-2 win to take the ALCS from the Angels. Bobby Marsh was named Series MVP but it could have just as easily gone to either of the two guys who were responsible for the tying and winning runs in the 8th as Oswaldo Cabrera singled in the equalizer and after Cabrera was thrown out trying to steal second Shea Langeliers belted a homer to provide the decisive margin. Taj Bradley recovered from a rough beginning to turn in 5 solid innings and the bullpen held the fort the rest of the way although Camilo Doval was shaky again in the 9th, giving up a leadoff single and hitting a man before getting the final outs to clinch it, setting off this celebration:

[Art Deco]

Done in by Maddux...



The bats and the bullpen let the Rays down in Game 1 of the World Series as the Dodgers' Maddux Bruns, coming off a 14-5, 2.30 season and the likely NL Cy Young winner, turned their lumber into sawdust while the bullpen let a close game get away in a 6-3 loss. Likely AL Cy Young winner (and Rookie of the Year) Waylin Santana was excellent against his old organization, shutting them out on 3 hits through 5 with a 1-0 lead before surrendering back-to-back homers to (that man) Wander Franco and Mookie Betts, and then Hayden Juenger couldn't get anyone out, allowing Santana's man to score. Seranthony Dominguez then continued his inconsistent season by allowing a couple of more, and the Rays were in a hole they weren't climbing out of. Back to the drawing board tomorrow for Game 2 with Jeffrey Springs getting the ball.

[Art Deco]

Back to even...



The Rays got even at 1-1 in the World Series thanks to some outstanding pitching and timely hitting. Jeffrey Springs was excellent until he had to leave with a mild hamstring strain (he may be able to pitch Game 6) and then the bullpen was literally unhittable over the final five innings. Meanwhile Triston Casas delivered a bases-clearing double in the 1st inning to set the tone and the Rays never looked back. Taj Bradley will try to win Game 3 for us in LA in two days.

[Art Deco]

Ugh...



Taj was terrible and the Rays didn't put a man on base until the 5th inning after they were already behind 5-0 in an ugly loss in LA. Bradley was one out away from getting out of a 3rd-inning jam but Freddie Freeman singled in a pair and Wander Franco continued to torment us as I feared when trading him with an RBI single behind Freeman. Only Jackson Chourio's 8th-inning solo shot saved face and avoided a shutout. And to add injury to insult, Kevin Alcantara had to leave the game with back stiffness and it's "moderate" so his availability will be iffy the rest of the way. Matt Brash will try to get us back even tomorrow in Game 4.

[Art Deco]

Agony...



For the longest time it looked like the Rays would take their turn as winners after the series had gone Dodgers-Rays-Dodgers, especially after taking a 5-1 lead. But the pitching let LA back into the game, the offense dried up after the 4th inning, and Camilo Doval's nightmarish postseason continued as the closer blew a 5-4 lead in the 9th to push the Rays to the brink of elimination. Matt Brash never provides length but usually he provides quality; instead he gave up 3 runs to let the Dodgers get back in it. And although Fernando Costume turned in a heroic 2 1/3 innings of relief and Matthew Peguero got out of a two-on jam in the 8th the dam finally broke against Doval, who allowed hits to the first three men to allow the Dodgers to tie, and a sac fly was the killing blow.

And the injury bug struck again as Jackson Chourio had to leave with a back strain serious enough to end his season while we face the unenviable task of beating Maddux Bruns tomorrow to stay alive. Waylin Santana gives us our best chance tomorrow but it looks like all the injuries have finally caught up to us.

[Art Deco]

This is going to hurt...



The Rays knew coming in it was going to be the longest of shots, needing to win three straight against the Dodgers starting with one against their ace Maddux Bruns. Still they got the better of the matchup between the two likely Cy Youngs as Waylin Santana was excellent and they held a 3-1 lead thanks to a couple of homers off Bruns. And even though the Dodgers' Brian Reynolds hit a 3-run homer off Jack Perkins in relief to give LA a 4-3 lead, Luisangel Acuna homered to tie it up as part of one of the most heroic World Series performances of all-time, going 5-5 with a walk, the game-tying homer and 5(!) stolen bases. On to extras we went and the Rays finally broke through in the 13th after Acuna's 5th hit and stolen base led to the go-ahead run. But the decision was made not to push the struggling Camilo Doval to a third inning of work and Garrett Cleavinger and Hayden Juenger were not up to the task, loading the bases with the Dodgers' Steve Cooper delivering a Series-winning 2-run single off Juenger. This year's Rays fought hard and got farther than any team before them in this save, but the brass ring still eludes them.

[Art Deco]

We're still a bit down from losing the World Series after a 107-win regular season but time marches on and we have to get ready to give it another shot in 28.

Our fan loyalty went up and so did the payroll as Stu Sternberg is willing to give us $170M to play with. This would allow the return of everyone who can and still have about $15M left over. Whether I want to do that will be explored here and of course there are some free agents we'll lose, most notably SP Jeffrey Springs as well as a couple of key relievers in lefty Garrett Cleavinger and our closer Camilo Doval. (Seranthony Dominguez is also a free agent but after his subpar 2027 he's not a big loss). Depending on how things shake out Cleavinger might be the only one I'll make an effort to re-sign.

Position-by-position, not much change anticipated:

C: The strong combo of Shea Langeliers and Patrick Bailey is back but Langeliers is getting very pricey ($16.5M projected) as he enters his final year of arbitration. Both of them earned 1.7 WAR last year which speaks better of Bailey since he played about 1/3 of the time. I'm comfortable with turning over the full-time job to Bailey and it'd be nice to have the $16.5M to use elsewhere so stay tuned here.

1B: Bobby Marsh is a franchise stud coming off a 6.5 WAR season. He'll do.

2B: Oswaldo Cabrera earned 1.6 WAR in half a season after coming over from the Yankees and should be a solid option here.

SS: Carson Williams is the man - when he stays healthy as he missed about half the season last year. Super-utility guy Luisangel Acuna spent a lot of time filling in here last year, but his defense is poor at the position with Masyn Winn probably the better option as the backup.

3B: Elly De La Cruz is another franchise stud, although he had a slightly disappointing season by his standards.

IF: As mentioned we have Winn and Acuna to back up, and also Thomas Saggese, who's more a bat-first guy. Junior Caminero remains on the periphery of things and Testuhisa Hirata hit 32 homers at Durham last year so they could factor in as well.

LF: Kevin Alcantara had his big 30 HR/100 RBI breakout last year and is a fixture in the lineup now.

CF: Jackson Chourio is the man and just needs to stay healthy.

RF: Mason Auer's WAR dropped 75% from 5.2 in 2026 to 1.3 last year as he barely cleared the Mendoza Line at .210 after hitting .278 the year before. He came through big in the postseason and is still a superior outfielder who can also play CF so he'll remain a fixture and probably bounce back with something between 2026 and 2027.

OF: Acuna is really the 4th OF here. Brock Jones struggled miserably, in line with his poor 2nd half of 2026 and is probably ticketed for Durham. Roster space permitting, slugging prospect Joe Quelch has a shot at a backup OF role.

DH: Triston Casas returns and after a slow start he had a great second half. He'll platoon some with Saggese, who really broke out last year.

Rotation: Shane McClanahan, Waylin Santana, Matt Brash and Taj Bradley will all return, to give us a top 4 that will be the envy of most teams. With Springs gone we'll need another starter and right now I'm looking at Jack Perkins making the move from the pen. DL Hall is another reliever who can start but he'll be needed more in the bullpen especially if we lose the lefty Cleavinger. Joel Diaz and Braxton Beal are possibilities at Durham but are probably more likely to take Perkins' long relief role. Ryan Pepiot is also in the picture coming off an injury.

Bullpen: This will be the area that needs the most off-season work as we're losing as many as three pieces - four really if Perkins joins the rotation. Matthew Peguero will move up from setup man to closer to replace Doval, and Fernando Costume may be ready to move into the setup role. This would leave Pepiot and lefties Hall and Andrew Nardi as additional locks for the pen along with middle-long man Hayden Juenger. As mentioned someone like Diaz could stick in long relief as well. I'd still like to sign or trade for another high-quality arm or two.

So if you've read this far you'll see that we're pretty much running it back with only minor tweaks, the logical choice when you're talking about 107-win team that made the World Series.