It's time to look back at every team from around the MLB and what they showed us during the 60 game sprint!
We are going to explore a few things for each team: Review in-season transactions, what we learned, what we loved, what we didn't love, the most significant need(s), and lastly, the biggest takeaways.
Let's jump over the AL with the Tampa Bay Ray's today. We talked about the Padres, A's, Marlins, Yankee's, Cardinals, Whitesox, Cubs, Twins, Reds, BlueJays, Brewers, Indians, Giants, Phillies, Braves, Astros thus far; you can find all posts on the homepage https://www.theballboyblog.com/.
What moves did the 2020 Rays make?
-Tampa Bay Rays traded LHP Anthony Banda to San Francisco Giants for cash.- A little extra money for the Rays is never a bad thing.
-Tampa Bay Rays traded Riley O'Brien to Cincinnati Reds for LHP Cody Reed.- Reed only threw 2.2innings for the Rays and didn't give up a run, and notched 2K's and a 0.1WAR rating.
-Kansas City Royals traded RF Brett Phillips to Tampa Bay Rays for SS Lucius Fox. Philips only had 20AB for the Rays getting 3H during those chances.
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What did we love about the 2020 Rays? With the Rays pulling off a massive upset over the Yankees in the ALDS and season long to be the AL's best team was nothing short of amazing. Look at this regular season and postseason stat like Randy Arozarena 64AB, 18H, 7HR, 11RBI, .281/.382/.641, and the postseason 77AB, 10HR, 14RBI, 29H, .377/.442/.831, the man set himself up for a big 2021 for the Rays. Brandon Lowe also had a solid season .269/.362/.554, and a 2.1WAR loved it! Willy Adames also had a strong season for the Rays posting a .259/.332/.481 and 1.6WAR. Joey Wendle also had a good season at the hot corner for the Rays posting a .286/.342/.435 and a 1.2WAR. I loved the offense we saw from these guys! The pitching trio of Tyler Glasnow(4.08ERA, 91K, 1.13WHIP, 0.8WAR), Ryan Yarbrough(3.56ERA, 1.19WHIP, 1.2WAR), and Blake Snell(3.24ERA, 1.20WHIP, 1.1WAR) was a trip that we loved in 2020. Diego Castillo was also fantastic in 2020, posting a 1.66ERA, 1.06WHIP, 1.0WAR over his 21.2IP. The pitching as a whole was something we loved to see all season from the Rays as they had a 3.56ERA and 1.22WHIP, while opponents only allowed a .238BA.
What did we not love about the 2020 Rays? The game six exit that will forever be filled with speculation and questions. We did not love the season from Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who posted a .197/.314/.395 and a 0.0WAR. Which tells us he was average at best. Overall the offense wasn't great at all. It was below average according to the slash line of .238/.328/.425 and a .753OPS. This was the biggest flaw for the 2020 Rays and what hurts them the most in the World Series.
What do I personally not love? I don't love that you aren't using the extra storage space you have in the garage, the shed, the attic, or basement. You could be making money off of it. You could buy 1 $20 storage rack at Lowes and then rent that space out. Do I need to say no more, great! My friends over at Stash-It Self Storage has you covered; use the promo code "YOUNG" when you're done posting to let them know I sent you.
What was the biggest takeaway from the 2020 Rays?
Kevin Cash is a genius when leaning on data and winning games as they won 40, and that was solely on their pitching. With Cash as the manager of this team, another deep playoff run is likely. Getting the offense moving in the same direction as the pitching will also be very important to winning a world series in the coming years.
What is next for the 2020 Rays?
After declining Charlie Morton's 2021 option and Mike Zunino's, they have two impactful holes to fill. With both players wanting to come back to the team that got to the World Series, I can see them both taking club-friendly deals. However, both have a robust Free Agent market. With Randy Arozarena breakout and being right on the cusp of a World Series, look for this team to continue to re-tool, rely on analytics and make another deep playoff run in 2021 with their low payroll.
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