With Major League Baseball and the Major League Players Association having announced an agreement last Thursday, virtually everything associated with the game has since been in hurry-up mode. That includes free-agent signings, trades, and fans (finally) making plans to see their favorite teams.
A spring training schedule that would have begun on February 26 now gets underway Thursday. Though there will not be a full month of Grapefruit League action, there will be more than two weeks of games, including during what would have been the opening week of the regular season, which will still consist of 162 games.
Sunday was the first official day of spring training and for the Rays that meant things were buzzing Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte where the defending American League East champs host Atlanta on Friday afternoon. Tampa Bay opens its opens 19-game schedule in Fort Myers against Boston on Thursday.
The Rays, who last season won 100 games (100-62) for their first time and finished eight games ahead of the Red Sox, before losing to the Red Sox in the ALDS, will play nine games in Port Charlotte, nine on the road and an April 6 exhibition against the Phillies at Tropicana Field.
Manager Kevin Cash’s team, like many others, is likely to look at least a little different by the time they open the season on April 8 in St. Pete against Baltimore. A busy outfield could become less congested should the Rays depart with Kevin Kiermaier, the team’s highest-paid player at $12 million, or Austin Meadows.
One thing is for sure, and that is the heightened level of anticipation surrounding Wander Franco’s first full season in the majors. The 21-year-old finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting – teammate Randy Arozarena followed a spectacular 2020 postseason by winning ROY honors — despite not making his MLB debut until late June.
Much buzz surrounded Franco in late November when the Rays locked him up for 11 years at a guaranteed sum of $182 million, a deal that could be worth as $223 million with incentives.
Also, at the end of November, a few days before the 99-day lockout commenced, the Rays signed right-hander Corey Kluber to a one-year, $8-million deal that made him the club’s second-highest paid player behind Kiermaier. The two-time Cy Young winner with Cleveland went 5-3 with a 3.83 ERA in a Yankees uniform last season. It was a nice comeback for the 36-year-old Kluber, who missed virtually all of abbreviated 2020 with a shoulder injury.
Kluber joins a rotation that is loaded with potential in the persons of Shane McClanahan, Luis Patino, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane Baz. At 25, McClanahan is the oldest of the quartet.
Seven other teams in the Tampa Bay region swing into game mode this week.
Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates)
LECOM Park
First home game: Friday vs. Yankees
Clearwater (Philadelphia Phillies)
BayCare Ballpark
First home game: Saturday vs. Blue Jays
Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays)
TD Ballpark
First home game: Sunday vs. Pirates
Lakeland (Detroit Tigers)
Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium
First home game: Thursday vs. Phillies
North Port (Atlanta Braves)
CoolToday Park
First home game: Friday vs. Twins
Sarasota (Baltimore Orioles)
Ed Smith Field
First home game: Friday vs. Blue Jays
Tampa (New York Yankees)
Steinbrenner Field
First home game: Sunday vs. Tigers
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