The Tampa Bay Rays are suddenly staring at an offseason that looks a lot bigger than anyone projected back in spring training.
At that point, plenty of people had them pegged as the fourth- or fifth-best team in the AL East. Instead, Kevin Cash’s club is four wins from the World Series and already holding a 1-0 deficit against the Cleveland Guardians. That kind of run changes the conversation fast, and it also raises the bar for what comes next.
One move floated as part of that next step comes from Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer, who predicted the Rays would swing a trade for Hunter Goodman, the All-Star catcher from the Colorado Rockies.
“A trade for Hunter Goodman would do the trick. He had more home runs this year (41) than the Rays have gotten from the catching position across the last three years (36). Conveniently, the 27-year-old is controlled through 2029,” Rymer wrote.
That kind of power would fit a Rays lineup that finished 22nd in the Majors with 169 home runs. Tampa Bay already gets much of its slugging from Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda, and Yandy Diaz, but adding a catcher with Goodman’s bat would give the group another real weapon.
Rymer also noted that Tampa Bay had been connected to Goodman at the trade deadline and pointed out the Rays have the prospect depth to make Colorado listen. “Any offer headlined by Grady Emerson or Theo Gillen could get it done,” he added.
A catcher tandem of Liam Hicks and Goodman would give Tampa Bay serious thump at the position. Hicks finished with 18 homers and a .801 OPS in 142 games, and he remains under team control for the next four seasons.
Goodman has already established himself as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, and if the Rays found a way to bring him in, their lineup would get a lot more dangerous next season.
In Other News...
Jose Ramirez's Costly Meltdown Just Opened A Big Door For Rays
The Rays got a timely boost in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series when Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez helped turn one fourth-inning sequence into a mess. Cleveland wound up handing Tampa Bay three runs in the inning, a swing that changed the feel of the game and gave the Rays a much-needed opening as the series moved forward.
Ramirez owned the mistakes afterward and said the inning was frustrating, while Guardians manager Stephen Vogt stressed that sloppy plays have to be cleaned up before the series shifts back to Cleveland. For Tampa Bay, the takeaway is simpler: a postseason inning that looked headed nowhere suddenly became a real advantage, and those are the moments that can linger if the Guardians do not tighten things up quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Blake Snell Just Reopened A Kevin Cash Debate Rays Fans Know Well
Blake Snell was back in the postseason spotlight again, and with him came a familiar Rays conversation that never seems to go away. In a recent National League Championship Series game, the Dodgers left-hander worked into the seventh inning before Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell went back-to-back for Milwaukee, changing the feel of the game in a hurry and reminding everyone how quickly October can turn on one decision.
For Tampa Bay fans, the debate is unavoidable because Snell has become the face of a long-running theory about pitchers losing effectiveness the deeper they go into a lineup. His career numbers have been used to illustrate that third-time-through-the-order danger, and every time a manager decides to keep him in, it pulls old Rays memories right back to the surface. Dave Roberts choice to stick with him only sharpened the parallels, even if the comparison still leaves plenty for Rays fans to argue about. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Fans Just Got Hit With A Brutal ALCS Game 3 Change
The ALCS is heading into a pivotal Game 3 with the series tied at one win apiece, but the start time has taken a sharp turn. Major League Baseball has pushed first pitch from 6 p.m. EDT to 1 p.m. EDT, with the matchup between the Rays and Guardians still set to air on TBS and related platforms.
Forecasted rain in Cleveland prompted the adjustment, a move MLB made to keep the series on schedule and reduce the risk of weather complications. For Tampa Bay, it means a much different rhythm for a game that suddenly has even more weight, with the next swing in the series now coming in the middle of the day instead of under the lights. [Read more 🡒]