Published Aug. 11
ST. PETERSBURG — Pitcher Cole Wilcox’s promotion from Double-A Montgomery to Triple-A Durham was easy to miss last week amid the usual flurry of news and developments at the big-league level.
But it had some significance.
Wilcox is the only player remaining in the Rays organization from the seemingly talented package of four they acquired from the Padres in the December 2020 trade of starter Blake Snell.
Pitcher Luis Patino, the headliner at the time, went 6-5 with a 5.24 ERA over parts of three seasons with the Rays. He dealt with inconsistencies and injuries, pitched more at Triple A than in the majors and was dumped on the White Sox at last year’s trade deadline.
Catcher Francisco Mejia had some success but ultimately fell out of favor and was designated for assignment in August 2023 and left as a minor-league free agent. (A brief spring reunion after he was released by the Angels didn’t last, and he spent this season with the Brewers’ Triple-A team).
Minor-league catcher Blake Hunt worked his way from Class A to Durham, but — despite the Rays’ on-going search for catchers — was dealt to the Mariners for Class A catcher Tatem Levins after the 2023 season. Seattle had Hunt at Triple A and in May shipped him to the Orioles.
Wilcox pitched his way to top-10 prospect status with the Rays but had Tommy John elbow surgery in September 2021 and has been working his way back. He spent all of 2023 and, until now, 2024 at Double A, going 13-12 with a 4.22 ERA. He is expected to make his Triple A debut Sunday.
Snell, since the trade, won a second Cy Young award with the Padres last year, threw a no-hitter for the Giants on Aug. 2 and by the end of this season will have made roughly $62 million.
All of which is a reminder that no deal — not even one made by the Rays, who have a reputation as trade wizards — is a sure thing.
For most of this season leading up to their pre-trade deadline weekend sell-off, the Rays were mostly a .500 team. In the 12 games entering Saturday after trading Randy Arozarena and Zach Eflin on July 26, and through the ensuing deals of Jason Adam, Isaac Paredes, Amed Rosario and Shawn Armstrong, they were 6-6.
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Explore all your optionsTheir hope is that they added some key pieces to the current team, led by infielder Christopher Morel, and greatly improved their farm system by adding 15 prospects, nine of whom already have made their top 30 prospects list.
Though some Rays fans were upset with the deals, they got good reviews among industry colleagues. In a trade deadline review surveying team officials without using their names, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote, “Most executives believe Tampa Bay did a masterful job of navigating the market.”
He quoted one unnamed NL executive as saying, “What stood out most to me was the willingness of the Rays to move so many players while still seemingly staying focused on competing now and in the immediate future. That is a really tough needle to thread, and I thought they did a tremendous job.”
Initial reviews on the prospect haul also were good.
With the influx of prospects acquired in trade and via the draft, the Rays moved from a preseason seventh to an in-season second in farm system rankings by ESPN and Baseball America.
Wrote ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, “The Rays have to be annoying to root for because players don’t stay on the big league team very long, but they are a well-oiled player evaluation and development machine that does the most per dollar of any team in baseball, though the Orioles are gaining on the Rays.”
Group think
Two cool things happened before Friday’s game.
The Rays brought their 20-player draft class, plus four signed free agents, up from Port Charlotte to see Tropicana Field, talk with manager Kevin Cash and other team officials, and watch a game as part of their orientation to pro ball. Two, second-round infielder Emilien Pitre and 13th-round outfielder Connor Hujsak, are headed to join Class A Charleston.
With closer Pete Fairbanks again leading the way, about 10 players teamed to donate sneakers to a group of 20 or so students from Starting Right, Now, a program that works with local homeless teens. Last year, Rays players donated to the Poynter Institute’s Write Field program.
Wander wonder
Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of the start of the Wander Franco saga, when allegations first surfaced of an inappropriate relationship with a minor, and there is still no resolution. A preliminary hearing is slated to start Wednesday to determine the merit of the charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking filed last month by Dominican Republic prosecutors.
Rays rumblings
An Olympics mystery: Why was Michael Norman Sr., father of California-raised U.S. sprinter Michael Norman Jr., sitting in the stands in Paris wearing a Rays cap? … Cards reliever Andrew Kittredge, a Ray from 2017-23, expects the new stadium to provide a boost: “One thing they seem to be lacking at times is fan base. But a new stadium would hopefully bring some excitement. I think the fans that are there are very passionate, too. So, I think for for everyone involved — not just the organization and the players getting to play in a new building — but for everybody in that area, that’d be really cool.” ... Speedy Cardinals rookie outfielder Victor Scott II had high praise for good friend and Rays prospect Chander Simpson, who is at Double A and through Friday had 82 steals, a .360 average and .413 on-base percentage: “That game he plays translates anywhere, so definitely excited to see him continue to climb the ranks.” … Four of the five current AL Central managers played and/or coached for the Rays, with new White Sox interim boss Grady Sizemore joining Stephen Vogt (Guardians), Rocco Baldelli (Twins) and Matt Quatraro (Royals). … Longtime Rays minor-league manager and big-league coach Charlie Montoyo, who had been the White Sox bench coach, was fired as collateral damage to manager Pedro Grifol’s dismissal. … Tampa-based MaintenX, a nationwide facilities management/repair company, signed on as a team sponsor with prominent signage.
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