Sunday, 4 a.m.
Sometimes, the key to a team's improvement are the addistions it makes.
Take the Tampa Bay Rays, who spent their off-season bringing in help in the form of Nick Martinez and Steven Mats, among others.
And sometimes, the key is know who to move on from.
The Rays have had some mixed results there, too. Taj Bradley is having a solid season. So is Brandon Lowe.
But how about the other former "mainstays?"
Did you see where the California designated Josh Lowe to the minors Saturday. Lowe was hitting all of .184 with five homers.
It continued a downhill slide from Lowe for years. He hit .292 in 2023. That slipped to .241 the next year and .220 the next season. Perhaps Lowe will rebound someday, but can you blame the Rays for not waiting?
How about Pete Fairbanks, the former closer. The Rays were critisized for not paymore more to keep Fairbanks. But Faurbanks is just 1-2 with an 8.35 era so far this season. He has six saves, less than half of the Rays' Byron Brown.
Then this is Shane Baz. He had a strong showing against the Rays last week, but he's off to a 1-5 start with a 4.87 era.
Zack Littell was 8-8 last year with a 3.58. But he's 3-4 this year with a 5.83.
Mason Montgoery is 1-1 with a 3.79 era.
Cristopher Morel? He's hitting .154 in Miami.
Catcher Danny Jansen is hitting .186 in Texas.
Ben Rortvedt is hitting .224 in Los Angeles.
Jake Mangum is hittting .250 in Pittsburgh, 46 points lower than a year ago.
In other words, major league baseball can be viewed as a high-stakes power game. You're betting on a player's future.
Through the years, the Rays have done that fairly well. They don't hit with all of their free agents. They don't win all of their trades. But for the most part, they've kept the wins coming.