The names change both on the field and in the front office for the Rays, but the winning does not. Tampa Bay won 96 games in 2019 and took the Astros to a deciding Game 5 of the Division Series before bowing out of the playoffs.
In typical Rays fashion, there was plenty of offseason turnover: gone are bats Tommy Pham, Avisail Garcia, and Travis d’Arnaud. Replacing them are Jose Martinez (via trade from St. Louis), Japanese hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo, and Hunter Renfroe (via San Diego). They join young pieces Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe, and Willy Adames, who all had breakout 2019 campaigns.
The rotation is actually very stable, with Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow sitting as the main pieces. Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos are available to start or serve as “openers,” a strategy the Rays invented in 2018.
The club made several... MORE