The Tampa Bay Rays have always been a small-market team, but that has never been an excuse to be anything but among baseball’s best. While they may never land marquee free agents, you could argue they develop players better than anyone.
The Rays have been one of baseball’s best teams over the past decade. According to StatMuse, the Rays have the 6th-best winning percentage in baseball over the past 10 seasons. Likewise, Spotrac said the Rays have been under $100 million in total payroll each of those seasons.
The Rays flourish in mid-season trades. They find ways to acquire players who fit their team, and they get the best out of them. One trade that has paid off this year is the one they made with the New York Mets to acquire pitcher Freddy Peralta.
Peralta will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, which made him enticing to the Rays. He had a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts with the Mets. Tampa Bay clearly unlocked something in the former All-Star. In his 10 starts with the Rays, his ERA was 3.25. His postseason outings have been even more dominant.
Underdog MLB reported that Peralta has been an ace for the Rays in the playoffs. He has a 0.84 ERA across two postseason starts (10.2 innings), with an opponent batting average of .179.
10.2 IP 9 K 0.84 ERA 0.94 WHIP .179 BAA
Fastball averaged 96.9 MPH on Tuesday, up 2.6 MPH from season average.
Rays Chasing History
The Rays have reached the World Series twice since 2008 and made the playoffs eight more times during those years. Now they are only three wins away from another World Series appearance and a shot at winning the first championship in franchise history.
With the ALCS series against the Cleveland Guardians tied 1-1, the Rays are headed on the road to try to reclaim home-field advantage. The Rays were 43-38 on the road this season, and Progressive Field in Cleveland is no easy place to play.
The next three games of the series are in Cleveland. So the Rays must win at least one to stay alive. Manager Kevin Cash announced that Griffin Jax will start Game 3 for the Rays. Cleveland will oppose them with their ace, Gavin Williams.
It will be interesting to see how the pitching plans are laid out for the rest of the series, but you can bet the Rays will have Peralta ready to go again at some point.
Freddy Peralta Trade Paying Off for Rays in the Postseason