The Tampa Bay Rays Trap
A slightly new look for the Big League Baseball’s Opening Day logo in 2022. We get fundamentally the same all round design that is been in use since 2018 but now the red, white, and blue bunting has been given some depth courtesy of a bit of shading. The Rays are playing their initial games in a National League ballpark below the universal designated hitter guidelines this week, which indicates pitchers’ bats have been permanently silenced. The Tampa Bay Rays official web-site shows the new logo starting in 2018 (by means of rays.mlb.com)No longer a diamond, just the RAYS wordmark with the glint of sun. Also, “quite odd”, I believed at the time, due to the fact I heard nothing at all of a Rays logo adjust for the season. I consulted the league’s official style guides and… it agreed with me.
With Lowe in the major leagues, lefty-hitting outfielder/initial baseman Luke Raley and versatile prospect Vidal Bruján are likely the Rays’ subsequent callup solutions if an outfielder becomes unavailable. Yandy Díaz is most likely to platoon here once more as he functions at 1st and third base. Harold Ramirez could get some work at 1st, also, as one more suitable-handed-hitting alternative to pair with the lefty-hitting Choi. But count on to see a lot of Choi, who’s coming off a solid season at the plate (116 OPS+) despite becoming restricted to 83 games by injuries. The Rays elected to carry 13 position players and 15 pitchers to start the season.
He has replaced a lot of these fastballs with a new sinker in an attempt to differ his fastball shapes and preserve hitters on their toes. What this new pitch does not explain however is the absence of Armstrong’s slider in 2022. It’s fascinating that current Rays farmhand Tyler Zombro, who also now works as a pitching coach for Tread Athletics, primarily helped Armstrong craft an completely new pitch, and now he is having big league hitters out with it.
They’ve previously moved strong regulars like Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows, soon after all. Although most of these existing Rays have however to reach arbitration, Arozarena just qualified as a Super Two and will now go via the arb method for the initially of four times. Margot nonetheless has two years and $19MM left on his extension, generating via him the most expensive of the bunch. For now, they have a lot of alternatives, but that can change in a hurry. Mastrobuoni made his huge league debut for the Rays in late September and played in eight games for the group over the final days of the common season, compiling three hits over 17 trips to the plate.
Now, the massive-picture issue of getting a new house for the 2028 season and beyond feels even additional urgent, so count on that to be a key storyline all through the year. Chirinos’ rehab and recovery course of action was stalled final September when he fractured his elbow though throwing batting practice. The injury required surgery and, as it turned out, set him back yet another year.
Household crowd and stupid stadium aside, they’re a very effectively ran ball club. The Guardians have historically by no means been a huge draw in Cleveland. For decades they were close to the bottom of the attendance and only saw their numbers rise when the Browns left town. Due to this, and the “rich get richer” strategy to income sharing that the MLB employs, Cleveland is generally at the bottom of the payroll rankings. This isn’t a new thing for the franchise, Cleveland was only 28th in attendance in 2016 and only 22nd in 2017.
Brett Phillips made baseball enjoyable this year, no doubt about it. He always stopped for a hello and a fist bump and appreciated finding additional copies of our Sports Illustrated cover a handful of months back. On Saturday, the Yankees walked it off against the Guardians, prompting Yankee fans to throw trash on the field and at the Guardian outfielders. Which tends to make no sense, until you bear in mind that, oh yeah, these are Yankees fans. You in all probability saw the viral video of the JUCO pitcher spearing his opponent right after a property run.
Gile enjoyed a breakout 2022 season with the Redbirds, hitting .284 with nine house runs and 31 RBIs. Our weekly newsletter, How They Lived, is a location to remember the pals, neighbors and Tampa Bay community members we’ve lost. The Winter Meetings have brought changes to the Rays bullpen. LHP Brooks Raley — arguably one particular of the most helpful members of the 2022 bullpen — was dealt to the Mets to make room for a Rule 5 acquisition in RHP Kevin Kelly.
The Astros necessary to win by additional than 1 run to cover the spread. “His slider was unique early and then he just got in a rhythm there. He was dominant,” Boone mentioned. The Red Sox offense definitely had no chance at making up that deficit at their pace for the initially seven innings, and positive enough that pace continued. The Red Sox went down with out a run the rest of the way to lose the game.
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander stated the two sides had been engaged in “an ongoing discussion” about an extension considering that 2019, Glasnow’s 1st complete season with Tampa Bay. They instantly saw what Neander called Glasnow’s “undeniable” and “Cy Young-caliber” talent, and they swiftly came to appreciate how well his character fit in with their group. Certainly, it was a important win for the Rays beyond Rasmussen’s shot at history.
Kiermaier, a career Ray, has a $13 million club selection with a $two.five million buyout, per Cots Contracts. Chances are he’ll hit cost-free agency, and it’ll be exciting to see what happens as he is coming off an injury-plagued season. But it would definitely be strange to see him in a further uniform. The Tampa Bay Rays have been one particular of the significant winners of MLB’s new 12-team playoff format, finishing third in the American League East but creating the playoffs as the sixth seed. They couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity however, falling to the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians in a two-game wild-card series sweep.
Pache was the very first up to face Phillips, and the rookie watched two pitches come sailing in high above the zone just before taking a hack at a slider that was head-high and away. For a swing that looked like he was playing pepper rather than facing a pitcher, Pache took the ball for a ride to the warning track in left, feet shy of a homer. Cristian’s demeanour was as per usual, taking it as a significant at-bat even if he flew out to a six-foot-higher pitch.
