2024-03-24 18:06:52
In the 2023 season, the Tampa Bay Rays continued to lead the America East in the first half of the season, but a severe downturn in July allowed the Rays to give up the first place in the division to the rising Orioles. In the end, the Rays still posted the second-best record in team history with 98 wins, entered the playoffs as the No. 1 wild card, and won the October Arena tickets for five consecutive years. Only the Dodgers, Astros, and Warriors in the league have consecutive playoffs. Years shine brighter. However, the Rays went completely haywire in the Wild Card Series, losing in straight games to the eventual World Series champion Rangers, exiting in the first round for the third consecutive year.
Heading into the 2024 season, the Rays’ lineup will almost remain the same, and the bullpen is expected to be able to replicate the performance of the previous class. However, there are rare and obvious holes in the starting rotation, and the seemingly endless wave of injuries is eroding the strength of this powerful team. Combat strength. Under such a challenge, can the Rays achieve their basic goal of advancing to the playoffs?
Off-season changes enlistment Leave the team Jose Caballero (shortstop)
Jonny DeLuca (outfielder)
Phil Maton (backing pitcher)
Richie Palacios (outfielder)
Ryan Pepiot (starting pitcher)
Amed Rosario (infielder)
Jacob Waguespack (starting pitcher) Christian Bethancourt (catcher)
Tyler Glasnow (starting pitcher)
Andrew Kittredge (backing pitcher)
Manuel Margot (outfielder)
Luke Raley (outfielder)
Robert Stephenson (backing pitcher) ．Only main players
This winter, the most significant player change news for the Rays is that they finally traded away ace pitcher Tyler Glasnow, along with Manuel Margot, in exchange for Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca from the Dodgers. In addition, Wander Franco’s off-field judicial investigation is still unclear. In order to strengthen the guerrilla defense area, the Rays sent Luke Raley, who performed well last year, to the Mariners in exchange for Jose Caballero.
To reinforce other outfielders, the Rays acquired left-fielder Richie Palacios from the Cardinals and signed veteran infielder Amed Rosario early in spring training. In terms of the bullpen, last season’s setup pitcher Robert Stephenson moved to the Angels, and the Rays signed Phil Maton, who had played for the Astros, to strengthen their support. Except for the catcher, which has not been used, other parts in need have been strengthened. In addition, the Rays also signed several familiar players to minor league contracts, including Taiwanese player Zhang Yucheng, starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi who has been with the Rays for five years, and Francisco Mejia, one of the main catchers in the past three years.
starting pitcher 2023 Major League Results Number of Board WAR ERA FIP K% BB% Zach Eflin 177.2 4.8 3.50 3.01 26.5% 3.4% Aaron Civale 122.1 2.5 3.47 3.57 23.0% 6.5% Drew Rasmussen 44.2 1.4 2.62 2.54 26.6% 6.2% Zack Littell 87.0 1.1 3.93 3.99 19.8% 2.5% Taj Bradley 104.2 0.8 5.59 4.79 28.0% 8.5% Jeffrey Springs 16.0 0.7 0.56 1.82 43.6% 7.3% Ryan Pepiot 42.0 0.4 2.14 4.18 23.9% 3.1% Jake Odorizzi No major league appearances (injury) Jacob Waguespack No major league record (Japanese professional) Shane Baz No major league appearances (injury) ．Sort by WAR
．A gray background indicates that the player will definitely not start the season in the major leagues.
The starting rotation has always been a strength that the Rays are proud of, but the situation at the start of this year’s season is a bit worrying. The No. 1 starter will be Zach Eflin. He joined the Rays last year with a three-year contract worth a total of 40 million. He pitched the best performance of his career in the first season. Among the starting pitchers in the league, Eflin’s FIP is 3.01. Ranked fourth and ninth with 4.8 WAR. With several of the Rays’ frontcourt players taking turns being injured, Eflin will take on a heavier responsibility.
.@zeflin12 gets the ball for game 1. pic.twitter.com/L24xmDHfE2
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) March 19, 2024
The second and third starters are expected to be Aaron Civale and Zack Littell. After Civale joined the team in the middle of the season last year, although his ERA doubled, judging from advanced data, his performance is still stable, and his strikeout rate has increased a lot since coming to the Rays. Littell transitioned from reliever to starter last season and was always able to get the job done with high efficiency. However, his strikeout ability is not strong and he needs to rely on his teammates behind him to catch outs, and this is only his first full season as a starter.
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