MLB Betting Online: Hope springs eternal in Major League Baseball. Your favorite team made a key offseason move, the prized prospect is ready for his breakout season or the injuries from last year have all healed. Whatever the circumstance, everyone is tied for first at this point.
Despite playing as a small market team, the Tampa Bay Rays have continually found ways to succeed against the money-bag offensive powerhouses that make up the American League East. This offseason, the Rays made a splashy trade to acquire some run production to hopefully help out one of the best young rotations in the Majors.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
+4909 to win 2016 World Series
+2355 to win AL Pennant
Over the past several seasons, the Rays have been known for their ability to develop young pitchers at a rapid pace. Now, the team boasts one of the deepest rotations in baseball. The Rays have the “problem” of too much starting pitching.
After leading AL starters with a 3.63 ERA in 2015, they dealt Nate Karns who, at 27, was the oldest member of the rotation. Still, the cupboard remains stocked.
On and off the diamond, charismatic Chris Archer is rivaling Evan Longoria as the face of the franchise. With more run support and without four beatings that elevated his ERA from 2.14 to 3.23, he might have won the Cy Young Award.
Featuring a 95-mph fastball to set up a slider that David Price has called the best in the game, Archer was just the eighth pitcher of the modern era to strike out 250 batters yet be saddled with a losing record.
Behind Archer, Drew Smyly and Jake Odorizzi look poised to eclipse 200 innings while effectively limiting opposing lineups. Odorizzi’s 3.35 ERA was eighth-lowest in the AL, but his run support ranked 35th.
If Matt Moore can advance his comeback from Tommy John surgery, he’ll round out the rotation. Although he’s no longer a flamethrowing ace-in-waiting, the 1.35 ERA of his final four starts was reassuring.
Brad Boxberger, who led the circuit with 41 saves, is the closer. The downside is that he did the same with his 16 losses-plus-blown saves and six walk-off defeats. Though “Box” is far too generous with walks and gopher balls, the trade of Jake McGee eliminated his only serious competition for the ninth inning.
Arguably the Rays most pressing concern from last season was the lack of run production, and the team worked to address that issue through a series of acquisitions.
The biggest was Corey Dickerson, who comes over from Colorado and is expected to immediately step in as one of the team’s top run-producers. But questions loom regarding his production after leaving hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Longoria, who enjoyed a quietly productive 2015 with 21 home runs, has been trending downward in the past few seasons, but at 30, still should have some good years remaining.
While the Rays made some moves at upgrading their offensive punch and adding depth, they haven’t made the team much stronger. The big questions involve sorting out that depth and making difficult decisions about players who could be pushed out.
If nothing else, the Rays have to survive the season with much better luck against injuries than they had last season, with key pitchers missing major chunks of the season and offensive regulars sidelined as well.
Key Additions: OF Corey Dickerson, UTL Steve Pearce, 1B Logan Morrison, C Hank Conger.
Key Losses: RP Jake McGee, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, DH John Jaso.
The AL team with the fourth-lowest ERA the past two years has lost 10 more games than it won in that time. No matter how well the Rays sling the ball, it seems, they don’t strike it well enough to be anything more than an annoyance to their foes. Coming off a relatively quiet winter, that’s likely to be their identity again in 2016.
Prediction: 74-88
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