Most important takeaway from Rays' 1st half? Chance to make the 2nd fun
Baseball operations president Erik Neander said as much while discussing Thursday's preemptive strike to bolster their beleaguered bullpen by acquiring Bryan Baker from Baltimore.
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'It's a competitive group, and they have a chance to play postseason baseball and have a chance that if things break your way to do some damage in the postseason,' Neander said.
'You never want to take those opportunities for granted. We felt like this was an area where we could afford to help this team and felt like there was an opportunity to do it in a way that was aggressively responsible, and wanted to pull the trigger.'
That the Rays lost Thursday to Boston with Baker giving up the lead was rough initial feedback on the trade for the No. 37 pick in Sunday's draft. And it didn't help that there was another bullpen-caused loss Friday, when closer Pete Fairbanks served up a walkoff homer to Ceddanne Rafaela, extending their skid to 10 losses in 14 games.
Unlike most teams that — by words or actions — declare themselves as buyers or sellers leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, the Rays tend to take a more wide-open approach, often doing a bit of both.
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What they've never really done — depending on how you view the 2021 acquisition of Nelson Cruz that kind of flopped, anyway — is take an all-in approach, where they fling open the door to the farm system by trading top prospects and/or take on hefty salary by adding veterans.
Could that change with this potentially being the final chance for principal owner Stuart Sternberg to hoist a trophy, should sales talks with Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski's group be consummated?
Do it for Stu?
Neander wouldn't say whether their plan has even been determined. For now, all he'll acknowledge is that they 'really like this team' and how the players have come together, and are willing to consider additional moves based on results leading up to the July 31 deadline.
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'How the next few weeks go, obviously, are important,' Neander said. 'We often talk about the closer we are in the division (race), the more aggressive that we're typically willing to be.
'But we'll stay at it. We've got a few weeks to figure out how to make ourselves better, and we'll explore those avenues. Whether or that leads to action or not, time will tell.'
As if required by law, he added that the Rays also could consider deals that are more future-based, and assorted other combinations.
'Just can't help but always acknowledge that we're not always declarative or binary in the way we approach anything,' he said.
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Pre-break recap
Though Sunday is Game 97 of 162, many baseball people still refer to the season in halves split by the All-Star break. That said, here's our recap of what's happened so far.
Most Valuable Ray
Second baseman Brandon Lowe and third baseman Junior Caminero did some good things. But there's no question the Rays' other All-Star position player, first baseman Jonathan Aranda, did the most. His consistent offense, high-quality at-bats, a handful of clutch hits and improved defense make him our easy choice.
Biggest disappointment (injury division)
The Rays had big plans for centerfielder Johnny DeLuca, who played all of nine games before being sidelined by a shoulder injury. But they had major expectations for starter Shane McClanahan. The two-time All-Star appeared to be back to ace form in spring training after missing 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. But he was forced off the mound in his final exhibition start due to a triceps nerve issue and is targeting an early August return.
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Biggest disappointment (non-injury division)
Starter Taj Bradley and outfielder Christopher Morel's names come up, but reliever Edwin Uceta seems the clear winner based on the multiple games he helped lose. Last year, Uceta looked like a great find from the clearance rack. This year, with an ERA nearly four times higher (1.51 to 5.77 through Friday), his walks doubled (8 to 16) and homers soaring (2 to 9), not so much.
Most pleasant surprise
Caminero and Aranda have been better than expected. Drew Rasmussen, who wasn't assured a spot in the rotation, pitched his way to the All-Star Game. But the answer here lies with the trio of rookie outfielders — Jake Mangum, Kameron Misner and Chandler Simpson — who at various times sparked and even saved the team through a combination of their hitting, baserunning and fielding.
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Season highlight
The answer for the romanticists is Misner's walkoff homer on opening day, making Steinbrenner Field actually feel like home. The answer for the realists was the June 18 game vs. Baltimore, when they fell behind 8-0 in the second inning and came back to win 12-8.
Rays rumblings
Condolences to the families on the recent passings of Lee Elia, the Devil Rays colorful hitting coach from 2003-05 under Lou Piniella; and Joe Coleman, the Triple-A Durham pitching coach and spring instructor from 2001-07. ... The Rays again are offering discounted tickets on Groupon. ... Zack Littell is 20th on mlbtraderumors.com's list of top trade candidates, Fairbanks 36th. Morel and Taylor Walls were honorable mentions. ... Related, McClanahan's return could line up with the Rays trading a starter at the deadline and/or facing the Dodgers Aug. 1-3. ... ESPN.com's David Schoenfield gave the Rays a B-plus in his midseason grades. ... After opening post-break play at home vs. the Orioles and White Sox, the Rays will play 19 of their next 22 games, and 25 of 33, on the road. ... Triple-A shortstop Carson Williams was fourth on The Athletic's list of top prospects who could be traded. ... Jeff Passan's ESPN.com list of trades to best fill needs has the Rays getting reliever Griffin Jax from the Twins and sending Taj Bradley to the Cardinals.
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