Latest news and updates about the Rays
The Yankees were the only member of the top trio of American League teams playing on Monday, with both the Rays and Red Sox off inadvance of series against the A’s and Rangers, respectively. The AL West-leading [read: .500] Astros were also sidelined. So yeah, if the 2026 Yankees are the gold standard, then you […]
It wasn’t looking pretty for seven innings, but the Yankees finally erupted in the eighth to put away the Twins and secure the series opener. With the Blue Jays losing earlier in the night, the Yanks officially clinched a playoff spot and the celebration was on once their game was over. With the Rays and […]
We used to have bullpen punt from ahead and now we have starting pitching punt days Sep 15, 2026, 2:46 AM UTC You know, there was probably a version of this game where the Braves scripted things to work Reynaldo Lopez and AJ Smith-Shawver for only a set number of batters each, and things ended up fairly exciting. That wasn’t what happened, though. The Cubs jumped over Lopez akin to what the Rays managed in his return from the Injured List, and the Brave never caught up, despite bringing the ty...
You know, there was probably a version of this game where the Braves scripted things to work Reynaldo Lopez and AJ Smith-Shawver for only a set number of batters each, and things ended up fairly exciting. That wasn’t what happened, though. The Cubs jumped over Lopez akin to what the Rays managed in his return […]
The 2026 regular season may be on its last legs, but the same cannot be said for the latest weekly award winners – AL Player of the Week Victor Mesa Jr., who turned 25 years old on Tuesday, 23-year-old NL Player of the Week Jackson Merrill and 21-year-old Play of the Week recipient Luis Lara. The trio of young outfielders performed at their best with the stakes at their highest, as the Rays, Padres and Brewers make a final push to determine their playoff fate. All-time Player of the Week winne...
The 2026 regular season may be on its last legs, but the same cannot be said for the latest weekly award winners – AL Player of the Week Victor Mesa Jr., who turned 25 years old on Tuesday, 23-year-old NL Player of the Week Jackson Merrill and 21-year-old Play of the Week recipient Luis Lara. The trio of young outfielders performed at their best with the stakes at their highest, as the Rays, Padres and Brewers make a final push to determine their playoff fate. All-time Player of the Week winne...
FT Resident GM Jim Bowden joins A.J. Pierzynski and Erik Kratz to break down the Dodgers handling of Shohei Ohtani’s injuries and why he believes they waited too long to put their two-way star on the IL. Bowden explains why the Brewers and Rays have a legitimate shot to turn their small-market success into a World Series run and makes his case for Junior Caminero as AL MVP. Plus, Jim discusses why he believes managerial changes could be coming in Seattle and Pittsburgh, what he’s hearing about...
There’s just 13 games left in the Yankees’ regular season, and they still remain four games behind Tampa Bay for the top spot in the American League. Failure to surpass the Rays would throw the Yankees down into the Wild Card Round for the second straight year, and into a gauntlet where they’d play against […]
A team traded for a name-brand right-handed starter in the midst of a career-worst season and an identity crisis before the deadline, raised his arm angle, re-emphasized the changeup in his pitch mix, and are getting quite the buy-low boost as a result. Unfortunately, we're not talking about the White Sox and Luis Castillo, but the Tampa Bay Rays and Freddy Peralta. After a rocky transition to the American League, Peralta has reversed the low of his season. He's won his four last starts, a...
A.J. Pierzynski and Erik Kratz break down Cam Schlittler’s dominant season and why they believe the AL Cy Young race is already over, while pushing back on Aaron Boone’s case for Schlittler as an MVP candidate. The guys discuss how dangerous the Rays could be in October after clinching a playoff spot and what their upcoming series with the Yankees could mean for the AL East. Plus, they debate whether four AL East teams could reach the postseason and why the Blue Jays could be a dangerous match...
Yordan Alvarez has looked like a lock for American League MVP for most of September, sitting at .310 with 38 home runs, 96 RBIs and a 1.016 OPS. But at least one prominent voice believes the award belongs in Tampa Bay instead. MLB Network’s Jim Bowden made the case for Rays third baseman Junior Caminero […] The post Insider reveals the player who ‘should’ win AL MVP over Astros’ Yordan Alvarez appeared first on ClutchPoints .
It is time for our updated 2026 MLB Power Rankings! The regular season may be winding down, but many postseason races are heating up. Both the American League and National League still have multiple teams competing for the final Wild Card spots. Meanwhile, multiple division races are far from decided. One team that is pulling […] The post ClutchPoints 2026 MLB Power Rankings, Vol. 27: Rays pulling away from Yankees in AL East appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Rays pitching prospect made his Major League debut this weekend against the Astros. His stuff was electric and his command was better than expected. He could be an impact reliever during the final two weeks of the regular season and into October. It’s not a hyperbole to say that Hopkins has the best stuff in […]
AJ Pierzynski and Erik Kratz react to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally homering at home, Cam Schlittler strengthening his AL MVP case and the possibility of four AL East teams reaching the postseason. FT Resident GM Jim Bowden breaks down how the Dodgers handled Shohei Ohtani’s move to the IL, the Rays and Brewers clinching playoff spots and which managers and general managers could be on the hot seat. Sox Machine host Josh Nelson discusses the White Sox’s recent slide and their crucial AL Centra...
This was the 23rd week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Monday, September 14th). According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), prospect Theo Gillen tops the system and might just find himself in the running for Minor League Player of the Year. Gillen ranks 4th […]
The Padres surged up the charts in this week's power rankings, while the Rays returned to the top five.
This March, I was struggling to get that new-season thrill for the Tampa Bay Rays. The last two seasons were slogs, and frankly I didn’t see a lot suggesting this year would be better. Maybe Shane McClanahan would be healthy. Maybe Yandy could continue to be a league leading hitter even as he aged. The […]
The Atlanta Braves recently got Reynaldo Lopez back from injury and thrust him straight into the action as a starting pitcher back on the ninth of September in a contest against the Tampa Bay Rays. Lopez was coming off a knee injury, and some rust was to be expected from someone who missed around six […] The post Braves to give Reynaldo Lopez another chance vs. Cubs after disastrous return start appeared first on ClutchPoints .
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The Colorado Rockies were eliminated from the playoffs a week ago, but there are still plenty of other teams who will be playing. So far, the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers are the only two teams who have officially clinched postseason berths. The White Sox have a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for […]
ST. PETERSBURG — The final three weeks of the regular season were supposed to be a test for the Rays. A grind. A slog. A real challenge to their position atop the American League standings. So far, they’re making it look easy. Come see the Rays host the A’s and Red Sox in September After winning a three-game series in Atlanta to begin the week, the Rays capped a weekend sweep of the AL West-leading Astros with a 14-4 rout on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field. It was Tampa Bay’s Major League-...
While the Bucs’ season got off to a disappointing start with a loss in Cincinnati, the American League-best Rays completed a sweep of the Astros. The Rays plated two touchdowns worth of runs to keep them in great position to win the division title, Freddy Peralta got the start and while he wasn’t quite as […]
Go Rays!
TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (75-74) and Tampa Bay Rays (89-59) play the finale of this 3-game set this afternoon at Tropicana Field. RHP Hayden Wesneski (5-1, 3.35 ERA) will start for the Astros as he takes on Rays RHP Freddy Peralta (8-11, 4.82 ERA). BIG WES: RHP Hayden Wesneski has pitched well in recent […]
Under the free-fall circumstances of the past week, we’re just going to skip the White Sox-specific question here. You can see, and probably already have seen, the results of last week’s poll question to the right of this story. Let’s leave it at that. The national questions this week were straightforward enough: Who is going […]