Quick — which team has the top OPS in baseball? That would be Tampa Bay (.967), whose 9-0 start is one of the best early storylines in baseball. In typical Rays fashion, they work it up and down the lineup, with not a single player in the top 10 in individual OPS as of Sunday afternoon (Wander Franco, through nine games, is 11th with 1.157) .
Critics will point to the early strength of the Rays’ schedule, which includes the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics, a trio of teams not expected to contend. However, Tampa Bay hasn’t just beaten inferior opponents, they’ve pummeled them. The Rays won every game by four or more runs and outscored opponents 75-18. Their run differential, which was the largest in the modern era to start the season, is now a ridiculous plus-57 through their first nine games. The 18 runs allowed in nine games is a new franchise record.
How do the Rays do it, especially offensively, which is a concern heading into the season? Player health is a big part, with Jose Siri (hamstring) the first position player to go on the injured list on Saturday. Tampa Bay was one of the most injured teams in baseball last year. According to the site Man Games Lost, which tracks total games missed due to injury and official IL stints, Tampa Bay’s injury total totaled 1,656 games missed, trailing only Cincinnati, Washington and the Chicago Cubs , three non-contending teams.
“We’re a lot healthier than we were last year,” Kevin Cash said last week. “Basically, the same group I believe. So if that group would have run, I think we would have felt the same way. We can never get them on the field at the same time. … We have a good mix of power and engagement.”
The Rays led the majors in home runs and runs scored and ranked second with a .289 batting average. This lineup may have been overlooked by baseball fans, who are accustomed to the Rays. Earlier this year, an article ranked the top 10 rotations in baseball. Tampa Bay isn’t even in the top five.
This was a severe oversight and did not escape the people of the organization. Tampa Bay, on its 25th anniversary, has assembled a starting pitching group with the potential to be historically great. Entering Sunday’s games, the Rays’ starters ranked second in baseball in ERA, fourth in walks allowed and fifth in strikeouts. They just trailed the Dodgers in pitches per inning at 14.31, and are still thought to be better with starter Tyler Glasnow (oblique) expected to return in mid-May. Glasnow could give the Rays a third top-of-the-rotation arm along with Shane McClanahan and Jeff Springs. Drew Rasmussen – who held the A’s to one hit and struck out eight in seven innings Sunday – and Zach Eflin both pitched well.
The Rays have had some very good rotations, the leader of the group in 2012 among them. However, last week in DC, Cash didn’t want to anoint the ’23 group as the best ever.
“On your paper, yes (you can say that),” he said with a laugh. “I’m not going to let you pin me on that one, I’m going to call (former Rays starter and Cy Young winner) Blake Snell, yelling at me if I do that.”
Gold Glover transfer?
How often does an infielder win a Gold Glove, stay with the same team and then never return to that position? More often than you think. Baltimore’s Ramón Urías, who will play second base this season with the arrival of top prospect Gunnar Henderson, can find another example across the field.
The Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa won a Gold Glove at third base with the Rangers in 2020 and moved into a utility infield role next season. Kiner-Falefa took on a new position this year, in center field. Urías, who made his second start at second base on Sunday, played five games at third, where he is the reigning American League Gold Glove winner.
“He’s a really good third baseman, but I really think as he moves up the middle he’s probably one of the elite, top-top guys in the league,” Kiner-Falefa said of Urías.
“It’s difficult because you want to defend, but at the same time, it’s more of an honor, it means more to be up the middle. I think the better infielders are in the middle. Corner guys, they’re really good, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like, when you win one and third, it’s cooler if you can move to the middle and try to win one or close to winning.”
Moving a Gold Glove infielder is not that rare. Recent examples include Detroit’s Placido Polanco, who won two Gold Gloves at second base and was moved to third base after his second in 2009. He won a Gold Glove at third base in 2011. Cincinnati’s Pokey Reese won the award as a second baseman in back-to-back years (1999 and 2000) and then played more games at shortstop the following season. Texas’ Michael Young won the Gold Glove in 2008 as a shortstop and moved to third base the following season. (Hat tip to the Elias Sports Bureau for the research.)
In addition to his 98 games at third, Urías played 21 games at second base and eight at shortstop last season. He was targeted to be the Orioles’ primary second baseman until the club signed Adam Frazier this winter. So Urías could be more of a utility guy, which as of 2022, is now its own Gold Glove category, which Kiner-Falefa said could make men more receptive to the role.
Henderson, the youngest player in the American League, will also get time at designated hitter, which was the case for Friday’s home opener. Urías, who had the go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning of that game, turned a crucial double play at third with a potential tying and go-ahead run on base for the Yankees in the eighth. Urías said after the Orioles’ 7-6 win it was his fielding that he was proud of.
If playing time is any indication, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde clearly appreciates Urías’ defense. And having so many good fielding infielders is never a bad thing, especially with the new rules banning the infield shift.
“You’re not going to be able to keep guys on second base anymore,” Kiner-Falefa said. “(You’re) kinda gonna need shortstops playing up the middle. Range will be an important factor for people on the move. I think it’s going to be very beneficial for defensive players who don’t have a shift because you need guys to catch those balls.
A letter…
• Mariners outfielder Jared Kelenic’s third-inning single on Saturday was 108 mph, the hardest hit ball of the game and Kelenic’s hardest hit ball of the season. He ranks in the 93rd percentile on hard-hit balls entering Sunday, at 60 percent. Perhaps most importantly for the 23-year-old Kelenic, he went 3-for-4 in the Mariners’ 3-2 win over the Guardians. Kelenic, a former top prospect, didn’t have a single three-hit game in 54 games last year and if he can bounce back this season could have a big impact on the AL West race.
• Free agent starter Dallas Keuchel, who pitched for the Rangers last season, continued to throw at his offseason home in Arizona with a fastball that clocked between 88-91 mph. The 35-year-old veteran lefty has had interest from multiple clubs, but remains unsigned.
• Is it a coincidence that some of the youngest teams in baseball — the Orioles, Guardians and Diamondbacks — are three of the top four clubs in stolen bases? maybe. But many people in the game believe that younger rosters will have two significant advantages under the new 2023 rules: familiarity with all the changes (which have already been implemented in the minor leagues) and young and fresh legs
Chris Kirschner contributed to this report.
(Top photo of Wander Franco: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
