Series Preview: Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians

The Tampa Bay Rays are in a weird state of flux right now where they either win a series or are being swept, there is no in between.

By taking two of three over the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, the Rays improved to 63-67 on the season and are still 6.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card chase. The Rays will have a prime opportunity to overtake one of the teams ahead of them as they’ll travel to Cleveland for a three game series against the Guardians.

An interesting note, the Rays

will be starting Ian Seymour for the series opener. When Seymour takes the mound, it will be the first time all year and first time since September 26, 2024 that the Rays will have a left-handed starting pitcher.

The Guardians are having a roller coaster of a year. In early May, Cleveland controlled the top Wild Card spot. Over the next month, the team went through some struggles, but still were tied for the 3rd Wild Card spot on June 22nd. Then they’d endure a 10-game losing streak immediately followed by a stretch in which they won 11 of 13. The Guardians are back to losing again, having dropped five in a row and are currently 64-65, 5 games back in the Wild Card chase.

Meanwhile, the Guardians have had to deal with controversy as Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were placed on leave while MLB investigates a possible sports betting scandal due to suspicious activity regarding microbets while those two were on the mound.

As for the Guardians not currently facing possible lifetime bans, Jose Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in all baseball as he is hitting .288/.362/.512 with 26 HR and 36 SB, registering a 135 wRC+ and accruing 5. 1 fWAR over 126 games. The 32-year old switch-hitting third baseman now has 54.8 fWAR over his last 10 campaigns. Ramirez accounts for most of the production from the Guardians lineup, with only two other players on the Guardians roster peforming above league average: Kyle Manzardo (114 wRC+ | 1.0 fWAR) & Steven Kwan (101 wRC+ | 2.5 fWAR).

On the mound for the Guardians, Cade Smith has taken the closer job from Clase and is among the better relievers in baseball; Smith actuall leads the Guardians pitching staff in fWAR. It shows what a struggle this year has been for Cleveland when Clase and Ortiz are two of the top five pitchers in fWAR.

The Guardians starting pitcher staff all have very similar overall numbers this year with no one standing out as the clear ace at this point. The Rays will face one of the better starters, Tanner Bibee, later tonight.

Frivolities

The top players according to Baseball Reference to have played for the Rays and Guardians:

Manny Ramirez
Corey Kluber
Julio Franco
Johnny Damon
Grady Sizemore

The Rays best player offensively against the Guardians all-time (min. 25 PA):
- Jose Cruz Jr: .368/.538/1.053 with 3 HR over 26 PA
  - The next four are Steve Cox, Jason Bartlett, Wade Boggs, & Luke Scott
The Rays most previous transacation with the Guardians:
- 7/31/23: Rays acquire Aaron Civale from the Guardians for Kyle Manzardo
The Rays first transaction with the Guardians:
- 8/4/08: Guardians claim Andy Cannizaro off of waivers from the Rays