How Rays have been showing their love, and toasting their wins

When Luke Raley ran down a fly ball to deep leftfield for the final out of Monday’s game in Washington D.C., he joined fellow outfielders Manuel Margot and Josh Lowe for the gathering in centerfield that is the usual start to the celebration of a Rays win.

Only they didn’t know what to do.

Randy Arozarena had been on the field for the Rays’ first three Ws, so it seemed logical that they did a group version of the arms-crossed gesture he made popular during the World Baseball Classic, supplanting the outfielders’ group jump from previous seasons.

After a moment of indecision, Margot suggested they “do the Randy thing,” which Arozarena, who was the DH that day, greatly enjoyed. And on Wednesday, when he made a leaping, run-saving catch in leftfield, the relievers in the Rays bullpen saluted him the same way.

“It gives me a lot of joy to see that they’re following me and they’re supporting me,” said Arozarena, via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “And it makes me happy that I can do the same thing for them and that I can keep them entertained.”

The first week of the season has shown that there is a lot of talent in the Rays clubhouse.

And also a lot of love.

Whether the cause or effect, a side benefit to not making significant additions to the roster after the offensive struggles and disappointing ending to last season is the continuity in the clubhouse, and the camaraderie.

With only two new faces among the 26 active and four injured list players — and despite the loss of veterans such as Ji-Man Choi, Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Zunino — there is a lot of familiarity and closeness among the group. Reliever Ryan Thompson said “something special” was evident from the start of spring training.

“Absolutely,” said infielder Brandon Lowe, the most veteran active Ray. “This team’s extremely close. It doesn’t matter if you’re Wander (Franco) hitting .700 or you’re still working to get your first hit, everyone’s joshing around, everyone’s having a good time. … Everybody’s comfortable with everybody else.”

Certainly the winning start makes it easier, and over the long season there are always issues that pop up (such as last September’s parking lot altercation between Arozarena and Yandy Diaz), but these Rays seem confident in the ties that bond them.

“Pretty tight group,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Really pleased. It takes work sometimes to create or remain consistent with that positive culture. They’ve worked really hard to this point. We certainly lost some guys that played a big, big role in it. But feel very confident that the guys that we have now can do the same. And that’s what we’ve seen.”

Lowe and top starter Shane McClanahan have taken over organizing the clubhouse celebrations after wins. That evolved last season as Kiermaier, who for several years would rap and chant and call out the top performers, missed the second half with injury.

They still have loud music and flashing lights, but now Lowe announces the MVP of the game, and McClanahan set up a rotation where the top pitcher from the previous win selects the one from that game.

And the chosen players now get a prize — poured from a bottle into a plastic cup.

“We just kind of congratulate everybody on a good day of work and as a group we decide who we believe is worthy of the tequila shot,” McClanahan said.

Those brief post-win parties, which have become common in assorted forms across the majors, are another part of team building.

“In a season of 162 games, if you treat your wins as you treat your losses, it’s going to be miserable,” Lowe said. “So it’s really to come in to make sure you celebrate the win, reward people for doing what they’re supposed to be doing, stuff like that. And build a little more team camaraderie.”

Rays rumblings

Raley’s powerful start has led to an apropos clubhouse nickname: Nuke. … Tyler Glasnow (oblique strain) is slated to start throwing off a mound this week, with a goal of being built up to roughly five innings around mid-May. … Adding to the Taylor Swift-Tampa Bay connections ahead of her weekend concerts: She sang the anthem before Game 3 of the 2008 Rays-Phillies World Series, having grown up outside nearby Reading, Pa. … The Rays still have about 200 Ballpark Passes available, offering standing room only tickets for all games in a month for $49 and the full season for $249. … Some media members may be getting caught up in the Rays’ early success, as Jeffrey Springs was asked in advance of his second start what he thought “to hear Cy Young next to your name for expectations.” … The Rays were one of the teams to get its scheduled April payment from Diamond Sports Group, with owns the Bally TV networks, per The Athletic. But the Rays reserved the right to join a Major League Baseball motion to the bankruptcy court if future payments are missed. … Wonder if mlb.com will update its season preview story that ranked the Rays rotation 13th best, the second honorable mention after a top 11? … Drew Rasmussen was the big eater at the starters’ April 2 sushi dinner in Washington D.C., one teammate noting he “was a vacuum … (eating) anything and everything.” … Comedian Roy Wood Jr., a Florida A&M grad, opened Comedy Central’s The Daily Show on Thursday noting: “The Tampa Bay Rays are undefeated. The Tampa Bay Rays! You know what, good for the Rays. You know they pay their players in Burger King, did you know that?” … ESPN’s Jeff Passan noted to his 1 million Twitter followers that Arozarena celebrating an April 2 “home run with a stroopwafel is the best thing I’ve seen today.” Actually it was a Honey Stinger waffle, part of the assortment of healthy energy snacks that team dietician Courtney Ellison has in the dugout. ... While 40-man rostered prospects Jonathan Aranda, Osleivis Basabe, Taj Bradley, Curtis Mead and injured Colby White were optioned to Triple-A Durham, Greg Jones was sent back to Double-A Montgomery, where he spent 2022, and will play shortstop initially with a move to centerfield, which he tried in spring training, possible. … Josh Lowe had a relative at one of the Washington games wearing a Rays jersey — with No. 35, which Josh’s brother Nathaniel wore during his 2019-20 stint before being traded to Texas. ... Infielder Jake Cronenworth, one of the few really good young players the Rays let get away (traded to San Diego with Tommy Pham for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards and Esteban Quiroz), got a seven-year, $80 million extension with the Padres. That’s after a second-place Rookie of the Year finish and two All-Star selections.

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