If there were a Most Improved Player Award in Major League Baseball, Chandler Simpson would have a strong case sitting right at the top.
The Rays left fielder has turned a glaring weakness into a real asset. Last season ended with Simpson carrying a minus-9 in defensive runs saved, a number that reflected exactly what Tampa Bay was dealing with when he was optioned to Triple-A Durham on May 30, 2025. Simpson admitted he was not fully engaged when balls were hit his way, saying his attention was elsewhere as he focused more on what he was doing at the plate.
This year told a very different story. Simpson finished with an eight in defensive runs saved, and first-base coach Corey Dickerson played a key role in that turnaround by helping sharpen Simpson’s mental approach on defense. Dickerson kept him locked in through early work and ready for every ball that came his way.
“C.D. has been a great help to me this year, just staying on my mentality and (attention) to detail ... just being prepared as possible every day,” Simpson told reporters.
That improved glove is only part of the picture. Simpson also put together one of the best contact-heavy seasons in the American League, finishing second in the batting title race behind Yordan Alvarez with a .306 average. He led the AL in multi-hit games with 56 and in singles with 153.
He was also a constant threat to beat out grounders. Simpson piled up 61 infield hits, according to Baseball Savant, the fourth-most in a single season during the pitch-tracking era since 2008. He finished just two short of Ichiro Suzuki’s 63 from 2009 and four away from Ichiro’s 65 in 2010.
“It's a part of the game,” Simpson said. “I'm glad that everybody is kind of waking up again to the fact that it can be a part of winning ballgames.
Not saying that homers are not. You definitely need the power game, as well.
But small ball helps to set that up, as well.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash has noticed the difference, too. Cash pointed to a stretch in May or June when the league started pitching Simpson differently and defending him differently, and Simpson answered the challenge.
“There was a stretch there, I can't remember the exact date, but it feels like ... May or June that the league started to make an adjustment on him and it was kind of his turn to show he was going to be able to withstand this?
They're pitching (him) a little bit differently. They're defending him a little bit differently.
He definitely withstood it and came out better for it.”
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