Rays still believe path to a title is getting as many shots as possible

CLEVELAND — No matter the ending, this season was a success once the Rays made the playoffs.

As opposed to teams that seek to win championships by riding the roller-coaster of going “all-in” for some years and stepping back to rebuild in others, the Rays’ philosophy is to get into the postseason as many times as possible.

Which they did — for the fourth straight year and eighth time in the last 15 — a feat accomplished by only four other teams (Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals and Braves).

And they expect the trend to continue.

One reason is the number of talented players and pitchers under their control for the next several seasons, a group supplemented by a late-August agreement with starter Tyler Glasnow, who agreed to an extension through the 2024 season for a team record-tying $25 million annual salary.

“That was done to — I don’t know if double down is the right description — but it was done to further solidify the belief that we have in this group and the groups that are on the horizon here, competitively speaking,” baseball operations president Erik Neander said.

Another reason is the rising talent on the farm, evidenced by their four full-season teams all reaching the playoffs (with three winning titles) and a baseball-best 411-302 (.576) composite minor-league record.

“We continue to have a really strong minor-league system. We continue to have exceptional staff throughout our organization, bringing in the right players, developing the right players,” Neander said. “It gives us a lot of confidence that when we speak about sustained success, that we’re in a position to continue to live that out. We can continue to be competitive in the way that we’ve been.

“As we’ve often said, our best chance to win a World Series is to have as many shots at a postseason (berth) as possible and believe that right now, as we look to the future, there’s certainly no guarantees, but that we’re going to continue to be in position to compete for postseason opportunities.”

Examples of teams that have torn down, rebuilt and won championships relatively quickly are few, with the Cubs and Astros the most recently prominent.

“If you cycle down, there’s no guarantee that you can cycle back up,” Neander said. “It’s not a button. And there’s no guarantees of winning a World Series.”

The Rays prefer the consistently good approach, which also fits with their typically lower-end payroll spending and requires constantly developing players.

“Until we find a way to win a World Series, there’s always going to be a doubt that can come with any particular strategy,” Neander said. “But I think we’re all ... really proud of the success that we’ve had over a long period of time now. And I think that’s going to be something that we are going to continue to find ways to get in. So always learning, always adapting.”

Neander points to 2021, when they stepped out of character and pre-emptively acquired one of top available bats ahead of the trade deadline, giving up two promising pitching prospects and taking on about $5 million in salary to get Nelson Cruz. But he didn’t do much, and despite a 100-win season and an American League East championship, they were ousted in the first round.

“There’s always a story to tell based on the outcomes of your season,” he said. “I certainly understand that unless we find a way to win a World Series, the success that we’ve had will always come with that question. That’s understandable. But we’ll continue to stay at this.”

Notable achievements

The Rays made diversity history several times this season. On Aug. 21, they started the first batting order in modern history (since 1900) with players born in eight countries. On Sept. 15, which happened to be Roberto Clemente Day, they started the first order with nine players from Latin American countries. And on Friday, per MLB.com, they had the first lineup in postseason history with eight players born outside the United States.

Friday’s game also was the first in postseason history — per Kenny Jackelen of baseball-reference.com — where two hitters with the same first name (Jose Siri and Jose Ramirez) homered off two pitchers with the same first name (Shane Bieber and Shane McClanahan).

Rays rumblings

Attendance for the Wild Card Series opener, played at 12:07 p.m. on a Friday in downtown Cleveland, was an announced 30,741. What would that game, with the same teams and same time slot, have drawn at the Trop? … Catcher Mike Zunino on Friday was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, alongside former athletic director Jeremy Foley, Olympian Christian Taylor, football players Joe Haden and Jeff Demps, and the NBA’s Chandler Parsons. ... The noonish starts led to some early ballpark arrivals. Always-working Neil Solondz, clearly getting a head start on Friday’s radio pre-game show, walked in at 7:13 a.m. … Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow said given the matchups, he wasn’t surprised at the time slots: “You kind of come to expect Tampa-Cleveland that we’re probably getting the first game.” … Among early filers for free agency: Ex-Ray Brett Phillips, who finished the season with Baltimore’s Triple-A Norfolk team. ... Rays minor-leaguers assigned to the Mesa team in the Arizona Fall League: outfielder Mason Auer, infielder Ronny Simon, catcher Blake Hunt, pitchers Alex Ayala, Sandy Gaston, Antonio Menendez, Evan Reinert. Coaching is Rays hitting development manager Frank Maldonado. … After recently firing baseball operations chief Dayton Moore, Royals owner John Sherman said he wanted them to reshape player development, lean more on analytics and be more transactional in stocking their roster. Like the Guardians. A’s, Brewers — and Rays. “You think about Tampa,” he said.

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