The 2022 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Thanks to our mediocre 83-80 season last year, we're picking higher than I've ever picked in any Rays save I've done to date at #19. And we made the most of that high pick in a draft I'm very pleased with. Here are the top five picks:



The big get here is Eldridge, who was near the top of my board coming in and somehow was still there at 19. He's projected to be a future ace:



He's a 6'8", 220 beast and I'm showing you the more conservative outlook from my head scout - OSA gives him 75 potential stuff and 55 potential control. Now of course all the usual caveats apply - TINSTAAPP and a he's high-schooler, but I'll let my scout Metzler take it from here:



Our second round pick Walton is no slouch either:



Again a lot can happen between high school and the majors but Walton looks like a dynamic hitter with power and patience who can potentially play an average to above-average outfield corner.

Next up is Reynolds:



Given the dearth of quality catching prospects in our system I seriously gave consideration to taking Reynolds in the second round, so you know I was thrilled when he still there in the 3rd. While he isn't going to be Yadi Molina, he looks to be a quality hitter who plays decent enough defense to stay at the position.

Next is Diaz:



Yet another high-schooler, and while it's nice to mix in some college picks we have both a fairly young team at the MLB level along with a stocked farm system as detailed a few posts above so we can be patient with the draft. And Diaz has the potential to be a solid all-around hitter while playing quality OF defense, and that's a good pick in the mid/late 4th round.

Finally a college guy in Levari:



He could advance quickly with a pretty decent bat and an adequate if unspectacular glove at 3B. Plus he has good speed for the position.

Other picks of note: Magdiel Cotto, a lefty from the University of Kentucky who could be a 4th/5th starter; Michael Davinni, a college 3B from TCU who's similar to Levari but just a little less promising; and Luke Guth, a high-school SS from Pennsylvania who has 50-60 potential in all the hitting tools who may end up a decent 2B prospect.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (8-1, 6 4 0 0 1 5). S-Fairbanks (19). HR-J.Lowe (12). Josh Lowe's 3-run homer in the 6th was the big hit and the Rays held on despite Fairbanks loading the bases in the 9th.

Game 2: 1-3 L. LP-Patino (4-3, 4.2 3 2 2 5 5). An incredibly frustrating game for the Rays as they had runners on the whole time but left 12 of them on base.

Game 3: 3-6 L. LP-McClanahan (7-5, 4.2 8 6 6 3 3). HR-B.Lowe (14). The Mets activated Pete Alonso off the IL just in time for him to homer off Mac. Brandon Lowe's 2-run homer and RBI double accounted for all 3 runs - if we can only get him going.... Meanwhile Kendall Graveman made his Rays debut with a scoreless inning.

Team record: 55-32. Luckily for the Rays the Yankees dropped two games in Philly so the division lead remains at 2. Next up: 3 games in Washington before we hit the All-Star break.

MLB News: Taylor Rogers, who served as our closer the second half of last season, will miss 3 months for Arizona with a torn meniscus.

Also the Tigers traded young starter Tarik Skubal to the Padres for a younger starting pitcher prospect.

[Art Deco]

Despite having the best record in baseball at the moment our offense has been a constant struggle. And checking the trade block, I saw a chance to rectify an unsuccessful decision I made in the offseason. Looking for a RH power bat I made a deal to acquire Franmil Reyes from Cleveland rather than sign a certain free agent even though he wouldn't cost a ton and even though we had plenty of money. He ended up signing a $4.5M deal with Detroit and had a great first half of the season, and now with the Tigers out of it they put him on the block so we did this:



Welcome to Tampa Bay, J.D. Martinez. We acquired him for another guy we once had hope for as a key to our offense in Alec Bohm, who hit .220 with 4 HR in 277 AB for us last year and was a pedestrian 257/301/384 with 7 HR at Durham where he was admittedly unhappy. Perhaps another change of scenery will do him good as his ratings are still halfway decent but he was buried in our system. Meanwhile all Martinez has done for Detroit is hit 275/357/547 with 21 HR and 61 RBI. Of course he'll probably stop hitting once he joins our lineup as only Alex Bregman has thrived since being acquired for hitting help while recently-added "saviors" like Mitch Haniger (2-18) and Zach DeLoach (2-20) have struggled. JD will become the full-time DH and will send Curtis Mead to the bench as Andrew Vaughn will become the primary 1B. Mead has tailed off since a fine April. This will also send us into a DeLoach/Haniger platoon in LF and Heliot Ramos will go back to Durham.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 1-7 L. LP-Loaisiga (0-2, 4.1 8 7 7 2 5). Jonathan Loaisiga has struggled in both his starts since coming over in the Glasnow deal with a today a particular disaster. JD Martinez doubled in his first Rays at-bat, his only hit of the day.

Game 2: 4-9 L. LP-Baz (8-3, 4 6 7 7 4 4). HR-W.Franco (5). Baz gave up 3 homers in the first inning in his worst start of the year. Wander had an RBI single to go with his homer as the Rays dropped their 4th straight.

Game 3: 7-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (9-1, 5 4 3 3 2 1). HR-Vazquez (4), J.Lowe (13). In addition to J.Lowe's 2-run homer, JD Martinez was 3-4 with a pair of key RBI singles and leads the AL with 63. After Vazquez's homer, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and started a brawl which resulted in a 3-game suspension when we get back from the break.

Team record: 56-34. Despite the rough series in our nation's capital the Rays gained ground in the AL East as the Yankees had an even rougher time in Atlanta being swept, so the lead is 3 games going into the ASB.

MLB News: While sweeping the Yankees, Atlanta lost starter Ian Anderson for the next 10 months with a torn rotator cuff. Meanwhile Miami swapped veteran catcher Gary Sanchez to the Cubs for pitching prospect Brailyn Marquez.

[Art Deco]

First up a look at the Prospects Game, which featured Rays prospects JJ Goss (P) and Joshua Mears (OF). Mears is having a monster season at AA Montgomery was just upgraded by OSA to 65 current power. On cue he homered in the game while Goss had a scoreless inning:



Here are the rosters for the MLB All-Star Game. Pete Fairbanks was voted in as the "starting" reliever while acquisitions JD Martinez and Alex Bregman are also headed to Cleveland:





The home run derby:



Fernando Tatis, Jr. leads MLB in homers with 32 and fittingly then he was the HR Derby champ.

Some quick MLB news: The oft-injured Julio Urias is hurt again and will miss 3 months with a torn meniscus so maybe the Dodgers get him back for the World Series assuming they get that far. Injuries had limited him to only 20 1/3 IP this year.

The game itself:



Aaron Judge may have lost the HR derby last night, but he won the All-Star Game for the NL with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th. That was after newest Ray JD Martinez hit a dramatic 2-run homer in the top of the 9th off Josh Hader, and that came after longtime Ray Pete Fairbanks gave up a solo homer to Washington rookie slugger Chris Shaw. Martinez was 1-3, Alex Bregman struck out in his lone plate appearance and Fairbanks of course gave up the homer but fanned 2 in his inning of work.

Next up for the Rays: While most of the league returns to action on Friday we don't play until Saturday when Miami visits Tropicana Field for 2 games.

[Art Deco]

Transaction: Randy Arozarena went on the restricted list for his 3-game suspension and Heliot Ramos is back once again from Durham.

Game 1: 8-4 W. WP-Rasmussen (10-1, 6 5 2 1 1 8). HR-Walls (3), Vazquez (5). Rays jumped out to a 7-0 lead by the 4th and cruised the rest of the way. Alex Bregman drove in 3 with a 2-run double and RBI groundout.

Game 2: 6-1 W. WP-McClanahan (8-5, 6 5 1 1 0 8). HR-Mead (8). Curtis Mead's grand slam capped a 5-run 2nd which sent Tampa Bay on its way, getting revenge for the two games lost in Miami earlier in the month.

Team record: 58-34, now 5 up on the Yankees who lost a pair to the Mets including one in which Yasmani Grandal had 3 HR and 8 RBI against them. Next up: we head to the Windy City to play 3 against the White Sox, tied with Cleveland atop the AL Central at 49-45.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-4 L (12). LP-Kittredge (4-3). Starter-Baz (3.2 2 1 1 1 5). HR-W.Franco (6). A tough loss as the Rays were up 3-1 in the 7th on Wander's homer but Jeffrey Springs gave up a homer in the 8th, Fairbanks blew the save in the 9th and Kittredge lost it in the 11th. Baz had to leave his start early with a hip tweak but won't miss the next one.

Transaction: Randy Arozarena activated from the restricted list and Heliot Ramos is back on the Durham shuttle. Also Nick Anderson was sent to Durham on a rehab assignment.

Game 2: 4-1 W. WP-Loaisiga (1-2, 6 6 1 1 1 4). S-Raley (2). HR-DeLoach (1). Loaisiga finally turned in a good start in his 3rd outing since coming over and Zach DeLoach was the hitting star with an RBI single and 2-run homer, his first in the bigs. Josh Lowe sprained his ankle and will go on the IL.

Transaction: J.Lowe on the IL and Lars Nootbaar comes up to give us a lefty bench bat.

Game 3: 4-1 W. WP-Patino (5-3, 6 3 1 1 3 6). S-Fairbanks (20). HR-Mejia (2), Arozarena (10). Patino was brilliant but finished up the 6th trailing 1-0 before Mejia and Arozarena went back-to-back in the 7th. Kendall Graveman got 5 big outs and is unscored upon in 6 innings since being acquired.

Team record: 60-35. We're 5 up on Boston while the Yankees went into a massive tailspin, losing 9 straight before winning the final game of their series in Kansas City. Next up: A day off then 3 in Detroit.

MLB News: With the trading deadline less than a week away things have once again heated up in the swap market.

The biggest acquisition was by Boston, who picked up perennial Gold Glove 3B Matt Chapman from the Jays for 3 minor leaguers, including slugging prospect Blaze Jordan and IF Matt McLain. The Red Sox also acquired reliever Hector Neris from Houston for a mid-level prospect.

Baltimore fire-saled, shipping out former Ray Chris Archer, who served as their closer this year, to the Angels and sending starter John Means to the Padres. Both went for minor leaguers.

Veteran CF Lorenzo Cain, now 37, was dealt by the Phillies to Atlanta for catching prospect Dominic Keegan.

Cleveland, fighting the White Sox for the AL Central title, sent regarded C prospect Bo Naylor to the Nationals for reliever Angel Perdomo.

The Giants continued their sell-off, shipping starter Anthony DeScalfani to the Dodgers for an 18-year-old 1B prospect.

And finally the Braves sent OF prospect Michael Harris II to Colorado for reliever Michael Grove, who had 8 saves for the Rockies this year.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-5 L (13). LP-Fairbanks (2-2). Starter-Rasmussen (5 4 2 2 1 6). HR-Bregman 2 (8/18). Alex Bregman kept trying to win the game, and the bullpen kept trying to lose it and ultimately the pen prevailed. Bregman's 2-run homer in the 8th, his second of the game, put the Rays up 3-2 but Jeffrey Springs blew the save, then his RBI single (his 4th RBI of the day) made it 4-3 in the 12th before Fairbanks blew it, and allowed another run in the 13th thanks to a Zach DeLoach error.

Game 2: 0-4 L. LP-McClanahan (8-6, 4.2 2 2 1 5 7). Perhaps the most pathetic offensive effort of the year as they only managed 4 hits and struck out 12 times. Brandon Lowe was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and is now 0 for his last 26 with a .141 BA.

Game 3: 12-5 W. WP-Graveman (1-0). Starter-Baz (4.1 6 4 4 3 3). HR-Bregman (9/19), Mead (9), JD Martinez (1/22). The bats took out their frustration from the day before to bang out 12 runs on 17 hits. Andrew Vaughn was 4-4 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI, Mead was 3-5 with the HR and 4 RBI, and JD scored 4 runs in addition to getting his first Rays homer. Baz couldn't make it through the 5th for the win with a 9-0 lead.

Team record: 61-37. Despite the tough series the Rays actually gained ground when both the Yankees and Red Sox were swept in their respective series, meaning the division lead is up to 6 games.

MLB News: The bulk of the trading action happened during the last post but there were a couple of small deals made. Atlanta picked up veteran starter and former Ray Jake Odorizzi from Kansas City and the Yankees acquired veteran MI Cesar Hernandez from Oakland.

Players of the Month: AL-Mike Trout (.311-7-15), NL-Juan Soto (.385-12-24, .332-36-67 for the season).

Pitchers of the Month: AL-Robert Ahlstrom (TEX, 3-0, 0.81). NL-Walker Buehler (LA, 5-0, 1.56; 16-0, 2.40 for the season).

[Art Deco]

As detailed in the previous post, Brandon Lowe kept getting worse and worse and it really was becoming an untenable situation. Yes with a 6-game lead and the top record in baseball we've been able to withstand his performance and in theory we could wait longer for his hopeful positive regression. But he's gone from .247 to .191 to .141 the past three years and gotten worse as the season has gone on, so he's now San Diego's problem. Plus he's owed nearly $19M over the next two seasons.

In return we get a former Rays property in Cronenworth, who doesn't have the potential to be as good as Lowe was in 2021 but will hopefully provide more consistency. Cronenworth is projected for $6.5M in arbitration next year but we can always deal him as we have the likes of Royce Lewis and Jeremiah Jackson standing by. And to cover our bases (or more specifically 2nd base), we also signed veteran Jonathan Schoop to a minor-league deal.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-5 L. LP-Fairbanks (2-3). Starter-Loaisiga (6 1 2 2 2 6). HR-Haniger (1/14). Loaisiga took a 1-hitter into the 7th with a 4-0 lead, put a couple on and Jeffrey Springs promptly gave up a homer, then Fairbanks blew his 3rd save in his last 4 outings by giving up a 2-run homer of his own in the 9th to Nick Pratto and the Rays bullpen woes continue. Mitch Haniger's 3-run shot was his first in Rays colors and should have been the game's big hit.

Game 2: 5-4 W. WP-Feyereisen (7-1). Starter-Patino (5 8 4 4 0 7). The Rays turned the tables on the Royals with the most improbable of rallies in the 9th. With two out, nobody on and the Rays trailing 4-2, Arozarena was down in the count 0-2 before singling to center. Wander walked, Bregman singled and the KC OF overran the ball, scoring Arozarena, and then JD Martinez delivered his first big hit as a Ray, a 2-run single to walk it off.

Game 3: 6-7 L (12). LP-Graveman (1-1). Starter-Rasmussen (4 5 5 5 4 2). HR-Haniger (2/15), W.Franco (7). The Rays had a 5-0 lead in this game after 3 but Rasmussen lost the plot (and the plate) in the 4th, walking 3 (including one with the sacks full) and giving up a grand slam to let KC tie. The Royals later went ahead but Wander led off the 9th with a dinger to send it to extras before Graveman gave up Sal Perez's 2nd homer of the game in the 12th to lose it, the first run he's allowed in 9 appearances since joining the team. Newly-acquired Jake Cronenworth was 1-4 in each of the 3 games for a .250 BA, or about double Brandon Lowe's (Lowe was 1-9 in his first 3 games with the Padres).

Team record: 62-39. Boston took 2 of 3 to move into sole possession of second, 5 games back. Next up: 3 more at home vs Minnesota.

MLB News: Former Ray Diego Castillo, who recently took over as Seattle's closer, is done for the year with surgery for bone chips in his elbow, while Houston's Jose Altuve recorded his 2000th hit.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-5 L. LP-McClanahan (8-7, 4.1 6 4 4 2 5). HR-W.Franco (8). Mac rolled through 4 then couldn't get anyone out in the 5th.

Game 2: 4-9 L (10). LP-Feyereisen (7-2). Starter-Baz (7.1 6 3 3 0 6). Another blown game by the bullpen, which has been horrible lately. Pete Fairbanks blew the save once again (that's four blown saves in his last six appearances) on a homer and then in the 10th after Feyereisen put 2 on, Brooks Raley came in to face the lefty Kirilloff and gave up a 3-run homer and then gave up another 2-run homer to a lefty. Unbelievable.

Game 3: 0-2 L. LP-Loaisiga (1-3/8-6, 6 3 1 1 5 5). The offense has been pretty terrible lately too and today they only managed 2 hits off former Ray Joe Ryan in 6 innings and only managed 4 for the entire game. JD Martinez has predictably been a bust since coming over (246/372/354), good at drawing walks and not much else. And while Alex Bregman has been very good since coming over from Houston, the main guy we sent over for him, Kameron Misner, has gone nuts since being called up by the Astros, hitting 317/426/707 with 14 HR in 123 AB, although something tells me he'd be hitting 220/330/380 if we had kept him and brought him up.

Team record: 62-42. The Red Sox have won four games since this series started, meaning they're within 1 1/2 games of the lead and the Yankees have moved within 3 1/2 while we've lost 7 of 9. Next up: It doesn't get any easier as we head to Anaheim for 3 against the 62-42 Angels, comfortably atop the AL West. And we face old friend Tyler Glasnow in the opener, who will probably shut us out.

[Art Deco]

Transactions: We shook up the pen a bit, DFAing Brooks Raley and optioning Chris Gau to Durham (even though he didn't deserve it), and called up Jalen Beeks and Nick Anderson, the latter from his rehab assignment. I tried sending Jeffrey Springs to Durham but he refused the demotion.

Game 1: 5-9 L. LP-Patino (5-4, 4 5 5 5 3 6). HR-JD Martinez (2/23). An early 2-0 lead evaporated when Patino gave up 5 runs on 3 homers in the 3rd inning and although they got back within 5-4, Kittredge gave up 4 runs in the 7th and the losing streak reaches 5. They were beaten by Tyler Glasnow, but they did score 4 off him in 7 innings including the obligatory homer.

Game 2: 2-7 L. LP-Rasmussen (10-2, 4 7 7 6 3 3). Rasmussen was horrible and they were down 7-0 by the 4th to make it 6 straight defeats.

Game 3: 4-6 L. LP-Springs (3-3). Starter-McClanahan (4 2 3 3 6 6). Wander's 2-run triple in the 3rd put us up 3-0 and it looked like a win might be in the cards but Mac couldn't hold it (or find the plate) and we fell behind 4-3. Curtis Mead tied it with an RBI single but Springs and Feyereisen gave up runs and the Rays continue to circle the drain, losers of 7 straight.

Team record: 62-45, now tied with Boston atop the AL East with the Yankees lurking one game behind. Still in good shape for a wild card but they might, you know, want to win a baseball game or two pretty soon. Next up: we head to Texas for 3 games.

MLB News: Brandon Lowe homered in 3 of his last 4 games for San Diego because of course, although he's still 4-26 as a Padre so not too much new there. When we head to Texas we at least won't be facing Corey Seager, as he's out 3 weeks with a strained calf muscle. Steven Strasburg is out for the year with a partially torn UCL in dog-bites-man news. And finally the Padres' Manny Machado hit his 300th career homer the other night.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-8 L. LP-Baz (8-4, 3.1 6 6 6 4 3). HR-Bregman (10/20). The losing goes on as the Rays dropped their 8th straight game and they were down 8-0 at one point.

Transaction: Jalen Beeks suffered a mild abdominal strain and Chris Gau was summoned back from Durham. Also Brooks Raley cleared waivers and was outrighted to Durham.

Game 2: 7-6 W. WP-Kittredge (5-3). Starter-Loaisiga (3.1 9 5 4 2 2). S-Fairbanks (21). HR-Bregman (11/21). The Rays win! The Rays win! It took an epic comeback as Loaisiga put them in a 5-0 hole but Alex Bregman was 3-3 with 2 walks, the homer and 3 RBI to start the comeback then Zach DeLoach tied it in the 9th with a 2-run single and Francisco Mejia won it two batters later with an RBI single.

Game 3: 4-7 L. LP-Feyereisen (7-3). Starter-Patino (5 6 3 3 1 6). HR-J.Lowe (14), Arozarena (11). The Rays fought back again today from 3-0 down to tie it, but lost it when Feyereisen gave up 4 runs in the 8th on a pair of homers, so that's 9 defeats in 10 games. Wheee!

Team record: 63-47. Amazingly the Rays gained ground this weekend as their division rivals flopped out west with the Yankees swept by Oakland and Boston dropping three to Seattle, so they're 1 up on the Sox and 2 on the Yanks. The Yankees also lost Giancarlo Stanton for 6 weeks with biceps tendinitis.

MLB News: Walker Buehler finally lost, dropping to 16-1 after getting shelled by Kansas City for 7 runs in a little over an inning.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 3-1 W. WP-Rasmussen (11-2, 5.1 3 0 0 2 7). S-Fairbanks (22). Christian Vasquez' 2-run single was the big hit as Rasmussen and the pen got them through for a rare win these days.

Game 2: 3-6 L. LP-Kittredge (5-4). Starter-McClanahan (7 7 3 3 2 6). HR-Haniger 2 (4/17). Mac took a 1-0 lead into the 7th, gave up a 3-run homer, Haniger tied it with his second of the game against his old team, and then Kittredge gave up a couple of unearned runs (due to his own error) to lose it in the 8th.

Game 3: 12-2 W. WP-Baz (9-4, 6 2 0 0 4 7). HR-Arozarena 2 (13), Mead (10), Haniger (5/18), W.Franco (9), JD Martinez (3/24), J.Lowe (15). Arozarena homered to lead off the game, setting the tone for the rest of the day as the Rays set a team record for most homers in a game (7), breaking their record of 6 set on three occasions. The victory also gave them their first series win in six.

Team record: 65-48. After winning one of three in their previous series and actually gaining ground, this time they won two of three and lost ground as the Red Sox swept the Angels and moved into a tie with the Rays atop the division. The Yankees remain 2 back. Next up: Oakland visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 1-2 L. LP-Fairbanks (2-4). Starter-Loaisiga (5.1 4 1 1 0 6). Pete Fairbanks' second-half woes continue as he gave up the game-winning homer in the 9th to C.J. Cron. Rays had 11 hits, but all were singles and they had two men caught stealing and hit into two double plays.

Game 2: 5-4 W. WP-Feyereisen (8-3). Starter-Patino (6 4 2 2 0 8). HR-Vaughn (10). Wander, who earlier tripled and scored, doubled in a run to walk it off in the bottom of the 9th.

Game 3: 4-7 L. LP-Rasmussen (11-3, 4 7 5 5 0 5). HR-Haniger (6/19). The Rays handed Rasmussen a 3-0 lead after 2 innings but he gave it back and then some, allowing 3 homers in a terrible outing. Haniger had a 3-hit day including the homer.

Team record: 66-50. Well their losing ways finally caught up to them as Boston took 2 of 3 to knock them out of first place for pretty much the first time all season, and they're a game back along with the Yankees, who swept Houston. Next up: An off-day then things don't get any easier as St. Louis brings its MLB-best 73-45 record to town for 3.

Transaction: We claimed reliever Jovani Moran on waivers from Oakland and assigned him to Durham. He has 75 stuff, 60 movement but only 40 control. He was 2-0 with 2 saves for Oakland and in 14 2/3 scoreless IP, he allowed only 5 hits, walked 5 and fanned 17. He may up before long, and rosters expand in 10 days.

MLB News: In what can hardly be described as a shock, Byron Buxton is hurt again and will miss 5-6 weeks (or effectively the rest of the regular season) with a strained groin.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 4-6 L. LP-Gau (4-4). Starter-McClanahan (4.1 6 4 4 2 5). HR-W.Franco (10). The Rays jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 4 but McClanahan couldn't get out of the 5th and Gau gave up a 2-run homer to Willson Contreras to cap a 4-run St. Louis inning and the Rays were losers again.

Game 2: 1-4 L. LP-Baz (9-5, 6 6 3 3 1 6). I'm not sure I've ever seen a team less clutch than this Rays team lately, as they can never get a big hit when they need it (11 LOB today) while consistently they give up the big hit (or usually the big homer). They've now slipped to third in the AL East and into the 2nd wild card.

Game 3: 5-6 L. LP-Graveman (1-2). Starter-Loaisiga (5 5 4 4 2 7). HR-JD Martinez (4/25). I just can't with this team anymore. This stretch literally has me yelling at the computer, mainly because they have this incredible knack for giving up runs as soon as they take the lead or tie it up. Today they got a 2-run homer in the first and were down 3-2 by the 3rd. They then scored 3 in the 5th to go up 5-3 and immediately gave up 3 in the 6th, the last 2 coming on a Nolan Arenado homer off Graveman. The start also marked Blake Snell's first-ever return to Tropicana Field and the home team hit him pretty good, chasing him in that 5th. But they couldn't get anything going over the next 3 innings against the immortal Ljay Newsome and that was that. Oh, and Wander Franco strained his back and will have to hit the IL, although he'll be back after the 10 days.

Team record: 66-53, and now 5-16 in August. They were incredibly lucky that Boston and the Yankees each dropped 2 of 3, so they're still in touch in the division. But it doesn't get any easier as next up we go to Milwaukee for 3.

MLB News: Oft-injured but brilliant when healthy pitcher Carlos Rodon tore his UCL in his seventh start for Atlanta since coming over from the Giants and will miss the rest of the season as well as all of 2024, putting a crimp into his pending free agency.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 6-2 W. WP-Patino (6-4, 5.2 5 2 2 1 7). HR-J.Lowe (16). A win! What a concept! They did get a big break though as they were being no-hit by Nate Eovaldi on 50 pitches through 5 but he strained an oblique and had to leave. The Rays then went to town on the Brewer bullpen, scoring 6 over the next 3 innings. In addition to Lowe's 2-run homer, Taylor Walls had a big 2-run bloop single.

Game 2: 6-3 W. WP-Rasmussen (12-3, 6 6 3 3 1 2). S-Fairbanks (23). HR-Bregman (12/22), Haniger 2 (8/21). Rasmussen won in his return to ex-Miller Park despite allowing 3 in the 2nd. Brandon Woodruff, who no-hit the Rays last year, was up 3-1 after 5 before giving up 2-run homers to Bregman and Haniger in the 6th and the Rays won consecutive games for the first time in a month.

Game 3: 7-1 W. WP-McClanahan (9-7, 7 5 0 0 1 10). HR-JD Martinez (5/26). Mac was dominant and the Rays broke open a duel between him and Corbin Burnes with 3 in the 6th with a Christian Vazquez 2-RBI single looming large. The Rays swept a series (and won 3 straight) for the first time since the first week in July.

Team record: 69-53, and with Boston losing a pair in Pittsburgh and the Yankees doing likewise in Cincinnati, the Rays have moved back into a tie atop the AL East with the Red Sox and lead New York by 2. What a difference three days makes. Next up: Our tour of NL Central teams continues with 3 games in the friendly confines of Wrigley against the Cubs.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: 1-3 L. LP-Baz (9-6, 6 4 3 3 2 4). HR-Haniger (9/22). Baz uncorked 3 wild pitches, 2 of them with a man on 3rd and that was the difference as the Rays only managed 5 hits on the night against Aaron Nola and company.

Game 2: 4-6 L. LP-Graveman (1-3). Starter-Loaisiga (3.2 2 1 0 0 5). HR-JD Martinez (6/27), Haniger (10/23). Loaisiga had to leave with a minor back tweak but will be fine tomorrow and the Rays had a 4-2 lead in the 6th, but the pen couldn't hold it again with Graveman losing his second game in three outings on a 2-run homer as he's struggled of late after starting off real well upon coming over from St. Louis. Josh Lowe had 2 doubles and a triple in a losing cause.

Game 3: 4-2 W. WP-Feyereisen (9-3). S-Fairbanks (24). Starter-Patino (5 6 1 1 2 5). HR-Mead (11). Feyereisen blew a 2-1 lead in the 8th but got the win when Arozarena and Lowe pulled off a double steal in the 9th and Bregman singled them both home to win it. Chris Gau fanned 5 in 2 innings of relief and now has 105 Ks in 74 IP.

Team record: 70-55. Status quo as the top 3 in the AL East all lost 2 of 3, leaving the Rays and Red Sox tied atop the division and the Yankees 2 back.

September Roster Expansion: We're activating Jalen Beeks as the extra pitcher and purchasing the contract of Jonathan Schoop as the extra hitter. Schoop hit 301/330/534 in 103 AB after being signed a month ago and is going to a minimum platoon with Jake Cronenworth, who's been terrible since coming over for Brandon Lowe (222/276/272). To make room for Schoop on the 40-man, we've DFA'd 2019 first-round pick Greg Jones, who hasn't panned out and is only has 2-star potential. I doubt he's claimed. Also we have this news:



Haniger has really been on a hot streak of late as the Glasnow trade has paid dividends - aside from him, Loaisiga has pitched decently (when he isn't coming out of games hurt), pitcher John Swanda has gotten a big upgrade from the scouts and is now the #57 overall prospect in MLB and Jeremiah Jackson has moved up to #79. Meanwhile Glasnow has followed up his 1-5, 4.65 half-season with us by going 4-5, 5.32 with the Angels and sits at 0.0 WAR for the season with 33 homers allowed in total (ouch).

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Game 1: 3-5 L. LP-Rasmussen (12-4, 4.2 6 4 4 1 4). Not much to say about this one, Ras wasn't very good and the Rays never led.

Game 2: 5-3 W. WP-McClanahan (10-7, 6.2 3 3 3 0 10). S-Fairbanks (25). We had to survive Fairbanks loading the bases in the 9th for the win, and Jonathan Schoop was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI while Christian Vasquez drove in a pair. But the big story was a bad one: Wander Franco strained his PCL and is out 6 weeks. Assuming we make the playoffs we'll have to at least win a round before we see him again in 2023.

Transaction: Wander hits the IL and Royce Lewis is called up from Durham so we don't have to exclusively depend on Taylor Walls at SS.

Game 3: 10-12 L. LP-Baz (9-7, 4 4 6 6 3 4). HR-Arozarena (14), Vaughn 2 (12), JD Martinez (7/28), Haniger (11/24). Ugh. Rays took a quick 2-0 lead but Baz was horrible, giving up 6 in the 2nd. They got back within 6-4 but Beeks gave up 3 runs, Chirinos 3 more, and despite a furious late rally with all the homers they fell short. Vaughn also doubled and drove in 4 on the day.

Team record: 71-57. Another terrible series but in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king and in the AL East the one-win team in a series gains ground as the Yankees were swept by Milwaukee at home and Boston likewise by St. Louis. As a result the Rays are amazingly a game up in first on the Red Sox and 3 on the Yankees. Next up: We resume AL East play starting with three in the Bronx, so things should get interesting.

As we're now into the final month, here's a look at the standings and leaders in MLB:

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Game 1: 5-3 W. WP-Loaisiga (2-3, 5 7 2 2 1 2). S-Fairbanks (26). HR-Mead (12), JD Martinez (8/29). Mead's homer broke a 2-2 tie in the 6th and Martinez's 2-run shot proved the difference. Alex Bregman was 4-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.

Game 2: 6-5 W. WP-Feyereisen (10-3). Starter-Patino (4 3 4 4 6 2). S-Fairbanks (27). HR-Cronenworth (1/10), J.Lowe (17). Jake Cronenworth hadn't done a thing for us in the six weeks since acquiring him, until tonight when his 2-run HR tied up the game in 8th and Josh Lowe's 9th-inning solo shot won it. This after Patino put them in an early 4-0 hole. Feyereisen remains a good luck charm with 10 relief wins.

Transaction: Kendall Graveman developed back tightness and goes on the 15-day IL. Jovani Moran, claimed from Oakland a few weeks back, comes up and gives us an extra lefty.

Game 3: 13-4 W. WP-Rasmussen (13-4, 5 8 2 2 3 3). HR-Bregman (13/23), JD Martinez (9/30), Vaughn (13), Haniger 2 (13/26), Schoop (1), Vazquez (6). 20 days after setting a team record with 7 HR in a game, the Rays did it again as they sent the Yankees to their 9th straight loss in a rout. They chased Luis Severino early with the first three homers in a 5-run opening frame and didn't stop after that. Schoop added 2 doubles to his homer and somehow they held the Yankees to 4 runs despite lousy pitching which saw them allow 14 hits and walk 6.

Team record: 74-57. This time they didn't gain any ground on Boston which swept Baltimore but they've gone 6 up on the Yankees so it's now a two-team race in the East.

MLB News: The Cardinals were a buzzsaw when we ran into them last week - and now they've won 15 straight and sit at 87-45. Also three pitchers of note saw their seasons end. Arizona closer Edwin Diaz is done with bone chips in the elbow, recent Mets acquisition Sonny Gray (who was great for them at 8-2, 2.15) tore a back muscle, and most significantly Noah "Thor" Syndergaard of the Angels is going under the knife again with Tommy John surgery, meaning he'll miss probably all of 2024 as well.