Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are optimistic that starting pitcher Chris Archer won't miss an extended period of time after leaving Saturday's start against the New York Yankees in the third inning. 

Archer told reporters after his team's 4-0 win that the injury is "nothing serious."

Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays placed Archer on the injured list and called up Brett Honeywell from the alternate site. 

Topkin noted that Honeywell will be used as the opener for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees. 

Archer missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery in June for thoracic outlet syndrome. 

The Rays signed Archer to a one-year deal in free agency worth $6.5 million. He previously played for the organization for six-plus seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2018. 

Tampa Bay's pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries to start the season. Chaz Roe, Oliver Drake, Nick Anderson, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos and Colin Poche are all on the 60-day injured list. Pete Fairbanks was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with a strained rotator cuff. 

Archer was pitching well with four strikeouts and no runs allowed on three hits in 2.1 innings against the Yankees before being removed from the game. Tampa's bullpen allowed just two hits over the final 6.2 innings. 

The Rays are in the midst of 13 games in 13 days, so they will have to get the most out of what remains of the starting rotation. Their next scheduled day off is April 22. 

Tampa is off to a 4-4 start and has won back-to-back games after losing four straight from April 3-7. 

Wendy's brought the heat on social media Thursday, and former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell took notice.

The fast food chain, which is known for roasting Twitter accounts, responded to a request from the Rays to "absolutely roast us" by saying, "We're surprised you didn't pull your social media manager in middle of writing that great tweet."

It was clearly a reference to manager Kevin Cash's decision to pull Snell from Game 6 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers even though he was cruising with just two hits and no runs allowed with nine strikeouts through 5.1 innings.

The southpaw, who has since been traded to the San Diego Padres, appeared to appreciate the tweet:

Things fell apart for Tampa Bay after Cash removed Snell, as Nick Anderson allowed a double to Mookie Betts, a run on a wild pitch (that was charged to Snell) and another run on a fielder's choice.

Suddenly, the Rays' 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit. They lost the game 3-1, which ended their championship dreams.

As Marcell Ozuna continues to hold out for a contract this offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly putting their hat into the ring for the two-time All-Star. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Rays have shown interest in signing Ozuna. 

Ozuna is the best unsigned position player still available. He played last season on a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves to rebuild his value coming off a disappointing 2019 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

The move paid off for Ozuna and the Braves. He finished sixth in National League MVP voting after leading the NL with 18 homers, 56 RBI and 145 total bases in 60 games. The 30-year-old also set career-highs with a .338 batting average, .431 on-base percentage and .636 slugging percentage. 

Despite those offensive numbers, there are limitations to Ozuna's game that may be contributing to his extended wait in free agency. He's posted below-average defensive value totals in four of the past five seasons, per FanGraphs. 

With no universal designated hitter expected for the 2021 season, Ozuna's best bet to find a home could come in the American League since he wouldn't have to worry about playing in the field. 

The Rays are always looking for potential bargains in free agency. Their primary designated hitter last season was Yoshi Tsutsugo, who hit .197/.314/.395 in 51 games. 

Ozuna's offensive upside would bring more balance to a Tampa Bay roster that's loaded with pitching. 

The Tampa Bay Rays are bringing pitcher Chris Archer back on a one-year, $6.5 million deal nearly three years after trading him to the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Archer enters the 2021 campaign as a bit of an unknown after missing the entire 2020 season following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. In his last full season on the mound, Archer twirled 119.2 innings for the Pirates with a 5.19 ERA, 1.412 WHIP and 143 strikeouts with 55 walks.

In six previous fulls season with Tampa Bay, Archer's ERA only finished above 4.10 just once, while he earned Cy Young votes during a stellar 2015 (212 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.137 WHIP).

It's that type of production the Rays will look to rediscover in their former Ace. How they plan to do so remains a mystery for the time being. Tampa has a history of tinkering both with its pitchers' mechanics and usage.

Whether that means Archer will see time as an opener, closer or somewhere in between is unclear. Here's a look at how he fits into the team's starting rotation as the Rays attempt their next reclamation project.

Tampa Bay Rays Starting Rotation

1. Tyler Glasnow

2. Ryan Yarbrough

3. Michael Wacha

4. Chris Archer

5. Josh Fleming

Archer was traded to the Pirates for a package highlighted by Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows. Now he'll get to play alongside them.

Archer's signing puts Tampa's 2021 payroll at $50.2 million, per Spotrac—good for the fifth-lowest, ahead of only the Miami Marlins, Pirates, Cleveland and the Baltimore Orioles.

If Archer is able to revert back into the pitcher who dominated in Tampa Bay early in his career, the Rays may have found themselves a bargain once again.

Chris Archer is going back to his first Major League Baseball team.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the right-hander and Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million contract pending a physical. Archer pitched for the Rays from 2012 until 2018, when they traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Archer, who missed the 2020 campaign after undergoing surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, was at his best when he was in Tampa Bay.

He was an All-Star in 2015 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 252 strikeouts in 212 innings and made his second career All-Star Game in 2017 when he finished with a 4.07 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 249 strikeouts in 201 innings.

He also finished with an ERA below 3.40 three straight years from 2013 through 2015 and was one of the best pitchers in a daunting American League East.

The Rays could use production like that again as they look to defend their American League pennant. They traded Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres this offseason, leaving a glaring need for a top-notch starting pitcher in 2021.

It may be too much to ask of Archer for him to perform like he did in his prime considering he missed last season and posted a 5.19 ERA in 2019 for the Pirates, but he is familiar with the organization and is still just 32 years old.

He also won't have the pressure of being the staff ace with Tyler Glasnow on the team. Ironically, Tampa Bay originally acquired Glasnow in the trade that sent Archer to the Pirates.

Fresh off a World Series berth with the Tampa Bay Rays, new San Diego Padres ace Blake Snell is ready to return to baseball's biggest stage with his new club. 

The 2018 American League Cy Young-winner joined 97.3 The Fan's Gwynn & Chris show shortly after his blockbuster trade was completed and set the bar high for his arrival. 

"Being able to to come to San Diego with this team, and the front office making moves the way they're making them, it's hard not to be excited for what's going to happen the next couple years here," Snell said. "This team is definitely bound to get a World Series. It's something that's right in front of us and we've got to start working."

Aside from Snell, the Padres are reportedly close to completing a second deal for top-of-the-rotation arm in Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs—who's fresh off finishing second in NL Cy Young voting after a stellar 2020. 

It's clear San Diego is all in on winning now. It just doesn't entirely take the sting away from Snell after Tampa Bay developed him.

“They really raised me and groomed me,” Snell told Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. “I was a kid when I got there and they turned me into a, I’d like to say, a good man. So, yeah, there’s a lot to be thankful for there. There’s a lot I’m going to be appreciative of. A lot of relationships that I’m very happy I was able to make. But, you know, with all that said, it prepared me for when they traded me to the Padres to be ready for this opportunity and to take advantage of it.”

Speaking to Gwynn and Chris, Snell said he expected the Rays to attempt to move him next year, when he had just one year remaining on his deal, as opposed to now. But he's seen Tampa Bay move elite talent at the height of their trade value before and wasn't surprised to find out the Padres were able to pry him from the Rays.

Snell started 108 games over five years with the Rays and compiled a 3.24 career ERA with a 1.237 WHIP over 556 innings. Most indicative of his skills are the 648 strikeouts he's racked up with just 232 walks. 

Now he'll get to showcase that talent in San Diego where the Padres look to surge past the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and deliver the first title in franchise history.  

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is on the trading block, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glove winner who has spent his entire career with the Rays organization, hit .217 with three home runs and 22 RBI last season. He has two years and $23.3 million remaining on a six-year, $53 million contract that includes a team option for 2023, per Baseball Reference.

The Kiermaier report comes one day after the Rays reportedly reached an agreement with the San Diego Padres to trade staff ace Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres for pitching prospects Luis Patino and Cole Wilcox and catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. That trade is pending medical reviews.

Kiermaier has been featured in the Rays outfield since 2014. The lifetime .248 hitter has hit 71 home runs and driven in 257 runs for his career. The 30-year-old has also stolen 97 bases, with a career-high 21 in 2016.

Tampa Bay selected Kiermaier in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft out of Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois. He took four years to advance through the Rays' farm system before reaching the bigs for good in 2014.

Per Baseball Reference, Kiermaier has finished top 10 in defensive WAR in the American League each of the last six years, holding down the No. 1 spot in 2015 and 2016. He also led the AL in center-field assists last season with six and in 2015 with 15. In addition, Kiermaier did not make an error during his 2020 campaign over 49 games.

Kiermaier played an integral role in Tampa Bay's run to the 2020 World Series and dominated at the dish in the Fall Classic with a .368 batting average and a pair of home runs.

The Tampa Bay Rays are once again preparing fans to see the club split its home games between central Florida and Montreal, Quebec, in the near future.

Chairman Stuart Sternberg told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the move is the "only option in my mind" with the team's Tropicana Field lease set to expire after the 2027 season:

"We are getting toward 2028 and you can't snap your fingers and just have the stadium show up. It's getting trickier and trickier by the year to get something done. This year certainly set things back, but fortunately we've got a strong group of people who work for us and we've got a very motivated group of people in Montreal who want us. And I think we have a plan that makes incredible sense. At least it does to me. And we're going to try to see it through."

While progress is being made in Canada, Sternberg told Topkin that he hasn't been approached by any local groups looking to build a new stadium in Florida or buy the team:

"I still hold out optimism that the local business leaders and local politicians will come around a bit and see the value proposition here in having baseball. And doing it in a way that makes a bit more financial sense and doing it in a way that makes it a more robust project here because of the complement of being in Montreal as well."

For better or worse, the chairman seems all-in on Montreal, telling Topkin there's "no plan B right now."

Built in 1990, Tropicana Field has been the home of the Rays since 1998, though the domed facility long left plenty to be desired. The location, 20 miles outside of Tampa, and the catwalks have often been cited as pain points. 

Major League Baseball previously gave Sternberg permission to explore hosting games in Montreal, but it remains unclear how such a move would work locally.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman told reporters in June 2019 that he had "no intention of bringing this latest idea to our city council to consider. In fact, I believe this is getting a bit silly."

Montreal has been without a permanent MLB team since the Expos became the Nationals and moved to Washington, D.C., ahead of the 2005 season.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena has been released from custody two days after he was arrested in Mexico. 

Per ESPN's Victor Alvarez, Arozarena "was released from all charges when he reached an agreement with his former partner, who determined not to take legal action against the Rays player."

Alvarez noted Arozarena had a hearing scheduled for Thursday, but it wound up being suspended as a result of his agreement with his former partner. 

Per a Tuesday report from the Associated Press, the 25-year-old was arrested in relation to a custody dispute over a child. 

ESPN's Jeff Passan noted authorities in Mexico's Yucatan state detained Arozarena "after an incident in which he allegedly tried to take his daughter from her mother and assaulted the woman's father."

Arozarena's agent, Abel Guerra, shared a statement with John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times. 

"The only thing I know is he was hyper-sensitive about making sure that the child's needs were being taken care of," Guerra said. "He was always sending money down there, and he was very involved in her life. I don't want to speculate about [anything else]."

Romano also noted the Rays were aware of the allegations against Arozarena, but they haven't publicly commented thus far. 

Arozarena was traded to Tampa Bay by the St. Louis Cardinals in January. He appeared in 23 games during the regular season and was the team's primary left fielder during the postseason. 

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena was arrested in the Mexican state of Yucatan "for problems relating to his ex-partner," according to the Yucatan state prosecutors' office. 

The Associated Press reported charges against Arozarena haven't been filed yet.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the 25-year-old "allegedly tried to take his daughter from her mother and assaulted the woman's father." Passan noted the situation would fall under MLB and the MLB Players Association's joint domestic violence policy.

Local media outlet Yucatan Ahora shared a video that allegedly shows Arozarena arguing with a woman while holding a child in his arms. Police arrive at the scene shortly after the video begins.

The Tampa Bay Times' John Romano shared a statement from Arozarena's agent, Abel Guerra.

"The only thing I know is he was hyper-sensitive about making sure that the child's needs were being taken care of," Guerra said. "He was always sending money down there, and he was very involved in her life. I don't want to speculate about [anything else]."

According to Romano, the Rays are aware of the allegation but haven't commented.

The Rays acquired Arozarena ahead of the 2020 season. He only made 76 plate appearances in the regular season before playing a pivotal role in Tampa Bay claiming the American League pennant. He finished with 10 home runs, 14 RBI and a .377/.442/.831 slash line.

Under the MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy, commissioner Rob Manfred can place a player on administrative leave for seven days while his office investigates any allegations. No minimum or maximum punishment is laid out, and in past cases Manfred has extended a player's administrative leave beyond the seven-day window.