Tampa Bay Rays
It's hard to tell what was most unusual about last season in the AL East. Baltimore and Tampa Bay took the top two spots in the division, the first time that had ever happened. The AL East has changed a lot from the days when the big-market behemoths would overpower the rest of the division. Tampa Bay has been a formidable operation for a while now, and the Orioles capped a swift rise from the depths of a rebuild, winning 101 games and a division title in 2023.
Posted: March 18, 2024, 11:54 pm
Major League Baseball's Opening Day is right around the corner, which means fans will be packing the stands at ballparks nationwide, indulging in snacks, and guzzling down cans of beer.
Posted: March 18, 2024, 11:16 pm
Tampa Bay Rays OF Josh Lowe, for years an intriguing prospect, finally emerged as a fantasy star during the 2023 season, when he hit .292 with 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases, despite enduring a mostly platoon role. Lowe batted 501 times, but 86% of the time it was against a right-handed pitcher. Perhaps the analytically inclined Lowe handles a similar role this time around, but his 2024 season is going to start a bit late.
Posted: March 18, 2024, 4:51 pm
Braves Send Max Fried to the Mound Against Tampa Bay Rays The Atlanta Braves are taking a short road trip for Grapefruit League action with their top lefty on the mound Author: Lindsay Crosby Mar 18, 2024 9:30 AM EDT The Atlanta Braves are seemingly set for Opening Day. After optioning Bryce Elder to AAA Gwinnett on Monday morning , Atlanta's decided almost every position battle on the roster outside of the final spot on the bench. And so, now it's time to make sure you're ready for the first road trip of the season when the team heads to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies. Max Fried continues his preparations today, on the mound for Atlanta as they travel to Port Charlotte to
Posted: March 18, 2024, 1:40 pm
Around the middle of January 2021, the Yankees made their most notable move of the offseason that started after a loss in Game 5 of the Division Series to the Tampa Bay Rays. In a fairly quiet offseason following a pandemic season, the Yankees re-signed DJ LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million contract, opting to stretch out the contract for luxury tax reasons. After a down year with the Rockies, the Yankees signed him to a two-year, $24 million deal in Jan. 2019 during an offseason when fans desired Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. The deal was a relative bargain and shortly after the Yankees made the new contract official and retained the versatile infielder Rockies owner Dick Monfort said losing LeMahieu was a mistake.
Posted: March 18, 2024, 5:00 am
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The results may not have been what he was looking for, but as Charlee Soto was walking back to the minor league side of the Twins complex after pitching in front of a crowd of fans at Hammond Stadium in the Spring Breakout game, he was all smiles. The 18-year-old, whom the Twins drafted 34th overall last year, gave up four runs while only retiring two batters in an 8-8 tie ...
Posted: March 16, 2024, 11:54 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — Naoyuki Uwasawa wasn’t making much of a pitch for himself, struggling through his first three outings on the mound for the Rays as he dealt with a series of adjustments from his work in Japan. Friday, with time to impress his new Rays bosses running short, he showed more of what he can do in a solid four-inning, one-run, four-hit outing in a 7-2 win over Baltimore. “Obviously, ...
Posted: March 15, 2024, 11:44 pm
Jake Odorizzi has been working out regularly at the Lakeland-based Florida Armory pitching facility, throwing in front of scouts several times to show he is over the shoulder surgery that wiped out his 2023 season. Odorizzi had been talking regularly during that time with the Rays, for whom he pitched from 2013-17, enjoying the experience enough to make his family offseason home in the Tampa Bay area.
Posted: March 15, 2024, 10:38 pm
The start of the 2024 MLB season is around the corner! Here's a look at the schedule for the last week or so of Florida spring training games.
Posted: March 15, 2024, 4:02 pm
Acuña batted leadoff and filled the designated hitter spot against the Tampa Bay Rays. Acuña played for the first time since feeling soreness in his surgically repaired right knee after a rundown during a Feb. 29 game against Minnesota. Taking no chances, the Braves sent him to Los Angeles to be examined by Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who had operated after Acuña's season-ending knee injury in 2021.
Posted: March 14, 2024, 8:13 pm
FORT MYERS, FLA. - The Twins ended their two-day streak of shutouts, but it didn't result in a win. They tied the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-1, at Hammond Stadium as a part of their split-squad doubleheader Wednesday, and they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, in Port Charlotte. Louie Varland, competing for a spot in the Twins' rotation, permitted one hit in four innings against the Cardinals while ...
Posted: March 13, 2024, 9:20 pm
Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, has been ranked as the second-worst ballpark in all of Major League Baseball, according to the USA Today.
Posted: March 12, 2024, 8:24 pm
SARASOTA — Taj Bradley was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday due to pectoral tightness. Instead of pitching against the Orioles, the young Rays right-hander was sent to have an MRI. “When he was warming up, he felt a little tightness, pectoral tightness. So we made the decision it was probably best not to try to push through it right now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I’m pretty ...
Posted: March 12, 2024, 7:17 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — Rays officials are quite confident Junior Caminero eventually will be an impact player in the big leagues. But they seem certain the 20-year-old infielder is not ready yet, optioning him to the minor leagues on Monday. Caminero was surprisingly summoned to the majors in September after the Rays lost several key players to injuries, making an unusual jump from Double A. He went ...
Posted: March 11, 2024, 9:48 pm
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — For Rays centerfielder Jose Siri, it was the flag, a handheld version of his native country’s colors that he waved as he ran onto the field, stirring the attention of the fans and the hearts of some teammates. For bench coach Rodney Linares, who has represented the Dominican Republic at the highest level of international competition, it was the wave of ...
Posted: March 10, 2024, 11:27 pm
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca sustained a broken right hand in Sunday’s game when hit by a pitch. DeLuca will be further evaluated by team doctors to determine the severity after X-rays at a Santo Domingo hospital confirmed the fracture. He is likely to miss at least four-six weeks. DeLuca, acquired from the Dodgers with Ryan Pepiot in the December trade of ...
Posted: March 10, 2024, 8:52 pm
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — First the St. Petersburg City Council and now Pinellas County commissioners want more time before voting on whether to commit funding for their roughly combined half of the new $1.3 billion Rays stadium planned as part of the massive Historic Gas Plant redevelopment project. That’s understandable for any vote on a project of scope, and especially one with ...
Posted: March 9, 2024, 2:38 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — While managing the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan from 2012-2021, Hideki Kuriyama was intrigued by some of the philosophies and unorthodox strategies the Rays employed on the other side of the world. Open to trying new ideas and different methods by nature, Kuriyama learned enough from afar to implement the opener and defensive shifting. But, even after a stint managing Japan’s ...
Posted: March 7, 2024, 10:24 pm
Carlos Rodón gave up two more homers over three-plus innings on Wednesday in the New York Yankees' 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. AL batting champion Yandy Díaz homered on the game’s first pitch, a 93 mph fastball. Richie Palocios had a two-run drive on Rodón’s 60th and final offering at Tampa, Florida.
Posted: March 6, 2024, 11:11 pm
The Yankees fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field.
Posted: March 6, 2024, 8:27 pm
“There’s a few more cameras, but it doesn’t feel any different," Glasnow said of his first spring at Camelback Ranch.
Posted: March 6, 2024, 7:22 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — They don’t have the track stars like Carl Crawford and BJ Upton, who blazed a blurred trail at the start of the era of success in the late 2000s. But this Tampa Bay team also looks to be built for speed — with a group of fast runners who have aggressive mindsets, an almost-always green light and the benefit of recent rule changes that enable larceny. In other words, get ready ...
Posted: March 5, 2024, 8:52 pm
Henry Davis did it again.
Posted: March 4, 2024, 11:11 pm
FORT MYERS, FLA. – Max Kepler crushed a two-run homer that sailed over the right field seats, and Byron Buxton collected his first two hits of the spring in the Twins' 4-4 tie against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday at Hammond Stadium. Kepler had the green light to swing in a 3-0 count, and he clobbered an 88-mph cutter from Rays pitcher Jacob Waguespack that floated over the middle of the plate ...
Posted: March 3, 2024, 9:02 pm
Infielder Amed Rosario would increase his earnings with the Tampa Bay Rays to $2 million if he has at least 620 plate appearances this season. Rosario agreed Feb. 20 to a one-year contract with a base salary of $1.5 million. The 28-year-old would earn $100,000 each for 500 plate appearances and each additional 30 through 620.
Posted: March 1, 2024, 3:56 pm
The Red Sox reportedly are bringing in 2022 All-Star C.J. Cron. Here's what you need to know about the veteran slugger.
Posted: March 1, 2024, 3:49 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — Zach Eflin has ample reason to feel more comfortable with the Rays this spring. Last year he was the new guy, leaving the Phillies — and their veteran-led clubhouse — after seven seasons. Signing the largest free-agent contract in Rays history — $40 million over three years — created expectations, and some questions. There were logistical issues with spring camp being split ...
Posted: February 29, 2024, 10:32 pm
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes retired the Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday on a grounder to second base Thursday in a spring training matchup of the top overall picks in the last two amateur drafts. Skenes, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, was the first pick last year after going 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts while leading LSU to the NCAA title. “I think the biggest thing was just getting out there and pitching in front of people, because adrenaline is a big thing,” Skenes told reporters after the game in Sarasota Florida.
Posted: February 29, 2024, 9:43 pm
PORT CHARLOTTE — Rays outfielder Josh Lowe felt some discomfort in his left hip doing offseason sprint work, but it seemed to come and go. When he reported to spring training last week and started working out regularly, it became more of an issue and one that will sideline him for about two weeks of exhibition games but is not expected to impact his availability for the March 28 season opener. ...
Posted: February 29, 2024, 3:01 pm
The Los Angeles Dodgers will pay Minnesota $6 million to $8 million as part of the trade that moved Manuel Margot to the Twins. The cash reduces the cost of the outfielder to the Twins to $4 million. Minnesota acquired Margot and minor league shortstop Rayne Doncon on Monday for minor league shortstop Noah Miller.
Posted: February 27, 2024, 9:46 pm
Clarke Schmidt and pitching prospect Will Warren had strong spring training debuts, but the Yankees bats went quiet as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2, on Tuesday afternoon.
Posted: February 27, 2024, 8:32 pm