The Spring’s the Thing
As the Rays begin Spring Training down in Port Charlotte, let’s take a look at their three biggest stories from the offseason:
No new stadium – In December, Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg announced that the project for a planned stadium in Ybor City was officially dead. Sternberg (as well as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred) felt the proposal was lacking specific details regarding money (the Rays had only pledged $450 million of the proposed $892 million) and expected completion dates on the many steps needed for a project of this magnitude. The team is now likely to play out the rest of their 2028 lease in Tropicana Field, but decisions will need to be made soon on where the Rays will play in 2029, whether it be St. Pete, Tampa, or one of the many suitors outside of Florida, including Portland, Montreal, and Las Vegas.
Player moves – As is often the case with the Rays, this offseason saw both some questionable moves and some shrewd ones.
The important names coming in:
- Charlie Morton, RHP – The Rays signed Morton to a two-year, $30 million deal, which is about as big a splash as you will see the team make on the free agent market. However, the 35-year-old was integral to Houston’s 2017 championship run, picking up victories in the decisive Game 7s of both the ALCS and the World Series. He followed that in 2018 by being selected to his first All-Star Game and by reaching career highs in wins (15), innings pitched (167.0), ERA (3.13), and strikeouts (201). Morton immediately slides into the number two starter role, behind reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Blake Snell.
- Mike Zunino, C – A Cape Coral native and UF graduate, Zunino was brought back to his home state as part of a trade with the Seattle Mariners. While his batting average is barely over the Mendoza Line (.201 in 2018), he has similar power to former catcher Wilson Ramos and is an excellent defensive backstop, having thrown out 35% of potential base stealers and winning the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award at his position (Centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays also won this award last season).
- Avisail Garcia, OF – Garcia had a career year in 2017, earning his first All-Star Game appearance, but injuries limited him to just 93 games in 2018. The Rays signed him to a one-year, $6 million deal, which looks like a classic Tampa Bay gamble on a return to form from a still relatively young player. The current depth chart shows him as likely getting at-bats in right field and at DH.
The important names going out:
- Mallex Smith, OF – In his second year with the Rays, Smith had a breakout year, hitting .296, stealing 40 bases, and leading the American League in triples with 10. He was a popular player, as evidenced by the Twitter hashtag #MallexEffect, a term coined by former Rays pitcher Chris Archer to describe the kind of impact the versatile outfielder could have on the outcome of the game. However, after the midseason acquisitions of Austin Meadows and Tommy Pham, the Rays decided to deal from a position of strength and traded Smith to the Mariners as part of the deal that brought in Mike Zunino, which filled a glaring hole at catcher.
- Jake Bauers, 1B – While Bauers showed some decent pop (11 homers in 96 games), his .201 batting average didn’t bode well for his long-term career in Tampa. He was part of a three-team trade with Cleveland and Seattle that brought in Yandy Diaz, who will likely split time at first base with Ji-Man Choi.
- CJ Cron, 1B/DH – Cron spent one season with the Rays and crushed 30 home runs, nearly doubling his previous single-season high (16, twice). Maybe the Rays did not expect him to repeat this performance, as they designated him for assignment in November, where he was picked up by the Minnesota Twins off waivers. His playing time (and hopefully his power) will be filled by Yandy Diaz, who was acquired from Cleveland in the Jake Bauers deal.
- Carlos Gomez, OF – The 33-year old outfielder seemed to provide a significant veteran presence in the locker room (and some fun moments on the field ), but the aforementioned outfield glut, as well as a .208 batting average, has made it an easy decision for the Rays to move on from Gomez.
Updates to the Trop – In the wake of the previous stadium news, the Rays have gone forward with some updates to Tropicana Field that have left some fans perplexed. As mentioned in an earlier post, the 300 level will be closed off, condensing the number of fans that do show up down into the lower levels. It does appear that the tickets will still be reasonably affordable, as the cheapest tickets for a regular game will be $15 (as usual, the ticket prices vary on the opponent).
However, the other change the Rays have made might alienate some of those remaining fans. It was announced last month that they would no longer accept cash at the stadium. While the change may have been made in the name of convenience and shorter lines, they run the risk of alienating both the older populace of St. Pete, as well as lower-income households in the area. DRaysBay did a great article on this that ultimately boils down to this quote:
“Data on banking isn’t a perfect analog for data on credit/debit card possession, but it comes close. Together, this means that a decision to go cashless has an outsized impact on poor, black, uneducated, and disabled Floridians who might call themselves Rays fans.”
https://www.draysbay.com/2019/1/28/18197257/tropicana-field-cashless-analysis-tampa-bay-rays
What are you’re expectations for the Rays? What are you most excited for this season? Let me know in the comment section below.
