Tampa Bay Rays: Weekly Recap: Oct 29th-Nov 3rd

For a week that started rather slowly, it sure did pick up steam as the week came to a close. The Rays made some moves to free up some space on their 40-man roster and made the Sandy Gaston signing official.

Monday October 29th:

An expectedly busy offseason began on Monday as the division rival Boston Red Sox won the World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays will look to improve upon their 90 win season.

“In 2018 the Rays were David and the Red Sox and Yankees were Goliath in the American League East, David however, was unable to take down the giant. In 2019, David will return stronger, looking to slay the now defending World Champions and the increasingly talented Yankees.”

I also outlined the Top 10 pitching seasons in Tampa Bay Rays history. Staring at #10 with Matt Garza’s 2008 and ending with Snell’s 2018.

“A season that should conclude with his first Cy Young award and the second ever won by a Rays pitcher, can be summed up in two words…pure dominance. He led the league in W, ERA, ERA+. He holds the single season records for the most wins, the lowest earned run average, the highest ERA+, the most K/9, the lowest WHIP, and the best WAR in Rays history. Should I continue?”

Tuesday October 30th:

Tuesday was relatively quiet and I discussed what happened to Jake Faria during a disastrous 2018 season. He battled injuries and consistency issues. Once he returned from the 60-day DL, the rotation had undergone a massive reconstruction and there was simply no place for Faria to go.

“Many questions remain unanswered after the disappointing 2018 season from Faria. Will he make the 2019 Opening Day roster? If he makes the 25-man roster, will he be a starter or in the pen? Will he return to his 2017 form? I don’t know if he will be a starter, let alone make the Opening Day roster, and the Rays would be lying if they said they know what will happen with Jake Faria.”

Wednesday October 31st:

Wednesday was yet another rather quiet day in Tampa Bay for the Rays. I talked about the very real possibility of the Rays starting 2019 with seven infielders. If the Rays do indeed start 2019 with that many infielders, they would add versatility and speed to their 25-man roster, such versatility and speed is important to Rays skipper, Kevin Cash.

“All I can say is this, The Tampa Bay Rays rely on being unconventional and this type of roster construction seems to fit their style (squeezing the absolute most that they can out of a 25-man roster). The added versatility and flexibility that carrying 7 infielders gives the Rays may just be too good to pass up this coming season. We will see…”

Thursday November 1st,

The Tampa Bay Rays made the signing of top Cuban pitching prospect, Sandy Gaston, official on Thursday. The 16-year-old will turn 17 in December could be a big piece of the Rays future. He features an above average fastball for his age.

As the offseason continued, players and organizations made decisions regarding options and qualifying offers and we looked at the free agent starting pitching market. The Rays are expected to spend this offseason and will most likely do so by paying a starting pitcher. The article discusses some of the top starting pitchers in the class and which pitchers the Rays may make a run at.

His 2018 season wasn’t stellar by any means but the glory days of the Rays revolved around James Shields, why not see if there is any big games left in Big Game James.

The Rays also claimed Oliver Drake off of waivers and chose to outright catchers Jesus Sucre and Adam Moore.

Friday November 2nd,

On Friday the Rays Colored Glasses community welcomed another writer, Pat Davenport. His first article was published that morning, making an argument for Kevin Cash to win Manager of the Year.

Kevin Cash took a team with extremely low morale and brought out the best in each and every one of his players. But also took a bold gamble and changed how the game is being played – all in one season! If that doesn’t scream manager of the year, what does?

The Rays also made a few moves, out-righting Andrew Kittredge and Vidal Nuno to free up space on their 40-man roster.

Saturday November 3rd,

Pat reviewed the busy end of the week and discussed the losses of Sucre, Moore, Nuno and the reassignment of Kittredge.

As of writing this article, 39 of the 40 places have been filled on the Rays roster, and five or six more prospects would still need to be added to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The organisation has until November 20th to decide who will stay and who will go, so be sure to stay tuned to Rays Colored Glasses to keep up with all Rays roster moves this offseason.

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In what started out as a slow week turned out to be a rather busy week for the front office as they signed an international prospect, claimed a reliever, released three players, and reassigned a reliever. Expect the following weeks to be busy as they have more people to add to the roster and only a  few spots remaining.