ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays won another series on Sunday. Of course, they did.
They are two games over .500 for the first time since May 19 and three games out of the wild-card race after beginning the week 5½ games back.
The Rays discovered a new gear right around the same time baseball operations boss Erik Neander opened a chop shop for used ballplayer parts. Randy Arozarena is in Seattle, Zach Eflin is in Baltimore, Jason Adam is in San Diego, Isaac Paredes is in Chicago and the Rays are in contention.
Go figure.
“I think, obviously, we have a pretty high estimation of what we’re capable of in this room,” closer Pete Fairbanks said after getting his 20th save in Sunday’s 2-1 win against the Reds. “The reality is we didn’t live up to those expectations and put ourselves in a spot where we’re having to address these things over the past six days, or whatever.
“So, yeah, we’re going to do our best to keep stacking wins and see if we can make a run at it. I don’t think there’s any reason why, given the scenario that we’re in, that we can’t still perform admirably and sneak in there.”
Not to get carried away, but the Rays would have to go 35-21 the rest of the way just to reach 89 wins, which is what Toronto had last season in the final wild-card spot. If you want to look at it more optimistically, the Orioles (13-18 in their last 31 games), Yankees (13-24), Mariners (12-20) and Royals (18-23) are all ahead of the Rays and have lost their collective mojo in the past month.
So, maybe the uphill climb won’t be quite as steep as it looked in late June.
Still, Neander said he has no regrets about making the decision to start restocking the farm system and planning for the future by disassembling the most expensive roster the Rays have ever had in Tampa Bay.
“This is a team that, to this point, believed it was a better group than our record,” Neander said. “I’ve said that to our players. You have some of these hard conversations when you go through it, and that is a real belief that exists.
“But we also face the realities of the calendar and, with a couple of months to go, being .500 at this point, the thought of having to be 15 games above .500, or thereabouts, for the next two months, as the group was constructed before, was that something that was possible?”
You can accuse the Rays of pulling out a white flag instead of reaching for a pennant. You can quibble about the pedigree of the prospects they got in return for four veteran players. You can even suggest the Rays won’t spend the money necessary to rejuvenate the offense in 2025.
But there is no arguing that they have fundamentally changed their future with an influx of athletic position players and hard-throwing pitchers.
Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter
We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.
Loading...
You’re all signedup!
Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Let’sgetstarted.
Explore all your optionsHow different does the farm system look today? Eight of the players acquired in the past 72 hours are now among Tampa Bay’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com’s ranking. If you throw in shortstop Gregory Barrios, who they got from Milwaukee in the Aaron Civale trade at the end of June, nine of their most promising minor leaguers have only just arrived.
Their pitching is still formidable and, potentially, just as good as last month with Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen set to come off rehab assignments and Hunter Bigge arriving from Chicago in the Paredes trade.
The Rays managed to beat the Reds on Sunday by scoring two runs in the eighth inning without hitting the ball out of the infield. It was only the second time in franchise history that Tampa Bay won a game despite being held to three singles and four walks or less.
If you like that kind of baseball, you should be thrilled, because the Rays look like they’ll have a lot of 2-1 scores in the foreseeable future.
“Seeing guys leave in trades is awful. You never want to see that,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, who is hitting .354 with five home runs in his past 19 games. “But we’ve still played great baseball since some of those trades happened. And I know the competitiveness of everybody in this room. We’re not going to fold.”
It’s likely that the makeover is not yet complete. The trade deadline is still more than a day away, and there’s at least a chance that Amed Rosario, B-Lowe, Yandy Diaz, Zack Littell, Fairbanks or others could draw interest from other contending teams.
If that’s a depressing thought, just consider the guys who will be left behind.
They may not look as cheery as a week ago, but they’ve still got their foot on the gas.
John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
