The Tampa Bay Rays have been the perfect staff in Main League Baseball over the primary three months of the season. In July, they have been the second worst.
With 16 losses in 24 video games, it was their worst month since 2007, the 12 months earlier than they dropped the “Satan” from their moniker. Throughout this monthlong about-face, they went from main the American League East by 6.5 video games to trailing the upstart Baltimore Orioles by a recreation and a half.
But, within the closing hours earlier than Tuesday’s buying and selling deadline, there was no panic within the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, the place Tampa Bay was on the point of play the second of three video games towards the last-place Yankees. The Rays understood they have been by no means going to maintain up the quick tempo they carried via April, simply as they acknowledged they might not proceed to play as poorly as they did in July.
The Rays had simply withstood the nadir of their season, and so they nonetheless had the third greatest file within the majors and held a four-game lead over the Houston Astros for the highest spot within the A.L. wild-card standings. As they noticed it, they have been in pretty fine condition.
“We consider that this group is a championship-caliber group. We consider that they’ve proven that to be the case this season, over the course of your complete season,” Rays Basic Supervisor Peter Bendix stated Tuesday evening. “And we consider that that’s the group transferring ahead that may take us the place we wish to go.”
Tampa Bay has outscored its opponents by 142 runs this season, leading to an anticipated file of 69-41, three video games higher than the staff’s precise file. Baltimore’s run differential — plus-60 — signifies that staff would usually be 59-48. So among the hole between the groups could possibly be attributed to luck.
The most important downside for the Rays throughout their July swoon was their offense going chilly. After scoring 5.64 runs a recreation over the primary three months, they averaged 3.63 in July.
“We had eight or 9 guys all raking on the similar time to start out the 12 months,” stated Supervisor Kevin Money. “After which eight of the 9 stopped on the similar time.”
The bats look like waking up once more. Over the previous week, the Rays have averaged 4.43 runs a recreation. Second baseman Brandon Lowe is batting .423 with 4 dwelling runs in his final seven video games. Third baseman Isaac Paredes has hit three of his team-leading 21 dwelling runs inside the final 4 video games. And Randy Arozarena, the staff’s All-Star outfielder, broke an 0-for-26 slide with a two-run homer on Tuesday.
After Monday’s 5-1 win over the Yankees, outfielder Josh Lowe stated he felt the staff was getting its confidence and power again.
“It’s a 162-game season — guys get drained,” he stated. “All of us form of simply acquired drained on the similar time. However it’s time to choose it up once more. I feel all of us realized that we’re getting right down to the wire a bit of bit. It’s time to place it into gear and get enjoying some good baseball.”
That religion explains the method Tampa Bay took within the weeks main as much as the deadline. As an alternative of going all-in for the largest stars on the block, the Rays made a number of smaller strikes so as to add depth to the upper ranges of their farm system and reinforce their injury-depleted pitching employees.
“When you may have a staff like we do, that we consider as a championship-level staff, you are feeling a number of urgency to make that staff higher — and also you even have perhaps fewer areas which are apparent in which you’ll be able to enhance,” Bendix stated. “We actually do consider within the high quality of this staff so far.”
Starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen each went down with season-ending accidents earlier this 12 months, as did reliever Garrett Cleavinger. Josh Fleming has been out since early June with elbow irritation and isn’t notably near returning. Neither Andrew Kittredge, a reliever, nor Shane Baz, a younger starter, have pitched in any respect this season after having Tommy John surgical procedure final 12 months. An indirect pressure value Tyler Glasnow almost two months in the beginning of the season, and the staff’s ace left-hander, Shane McClanahan, missed the primary half of July with again tightness.
With all that in thoughts, the Rays made their most notable deadline deal on Monday after they acquired the right-handed starter Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians for Kyle Manzardo, a 23-year-old first baseman who’s a consensus top-100 prospect within the minors.
Civale, 28, has quietly change into one of many higher beginning pitchers in baseball over the previous 12 months and a half. Throughout 13 begins this season, he’s 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA. He doesn’t have overwhelming stuff — his fastball velocity sits within the low 90s — however he makes up for it by pounding the zone with a mix of cutters and curveballs and inducing weak contact. Importantly, he’s underneath membership management via the 2025 season. Having him round for extra than simply the following few months made the Rays extra prepared to half with a prospect of Manzardo’s expertise.
“I don’t suppose we’ve ever had our high 5 starters all wholesome on the similar time,” Erik Neader, Tampa Bay’s president of baseball operations, stated on a convention name on Monday. “This was the obvious want we had.”
Because the frenzy of deadline day picked up within the afternoon, the Rays’ gamers adopted alongside eagerly, although their pleasure had little to do with strikes they anticipated their entrance workplace to make. They knew among the different high groups within the A.L. had traded for All-Stars and future Corridor of Famers, however they weren’t involved.
“We’re watching, however not in a aggressive method,” stated Brandon Lowe. “We comply with as a result of all of us love baseball and it’s enjoyable to see what strikes groups make.”
He added: “We don’t want wholesale modifications.”
Just a few hours later, the Rays beat the Yankees, 5-2, for his or her third straight win and fifth in seven video games. They’re 1-0 in August.