Tampa Bay Rays Fans MUST ROOT for the Los Angeles Dodgers To Achieve PAYROLL REFORM

Tampa Bay Rays Fans MUST ROOT for the Los Angeles Dodgers To Achieve PAYROLL REFORM

Dodgers or Jay’s? It sounds pointless for Rays fans, but there is a right side. You are Locked on Rays, your daily Tampa Bay Rays podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome into the Locked OnRays podcast. Locked on Rays is part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. and we are Kevin and Ulissiz and we are lifelong Rays fans who have been podcasting about the Tampa Bay Ray since 2019. Later on today’s show, we discuss Edwin Useta’s closer potential. In a few minutes, why Taylor Walls is likely to get the opening day nod at shortstop. But to start, it is Dodgers versus Blue Jays in the World Series. And here’s who you need to root for as a Rays fan. And we’re going to talk about all of that thanks to Fan Duel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the app today. Kevin, I will tell you this. Uh, as a race fan, it makes sense to root for the Dodgers and not the Blue Jays. And I’ll explain why people I know are so upset right now at that. They’re throwing things around the room. They’re swerving on the road. How dare you as a Rays fan root for the Dodgers. Alex, you just caused a couple of car accidents and probably a couple road rage incidents. You You are definitely the reason for I4 being a mess. Uh later on, that’s a lot to carry. Um I’ll explain why, folks. If you dislike what the Dodgers are doing with the luxury tax, if you dislike what the Dodgers are doing with deferments, if you dislike what they’re doing with seemingly an endless pocketbook and getting all the superstars in their rotation and in their lineup, well then you have to root for the Dodgers. Why? Because you have to break status quo. If you want to actually see change in MLB, then something really big has to happen. MLB does not change lightly. It it takes a long time, more than other leagues, for MLB to say, “Okay, we’re going to catch up and do this thing now.” Well, something so big has to happen for this. These all things, the lo the luxury tax and the deferment and all of the things that you blame the Dodgers for doing. We have to see the Dodgers overtake the sport for just a little bit so that the owners, the the the commissioner, the public just kind kind of sees this whole thing and go, “Okay, well, something’s something is a foot here. We need to address this because the Dodgers won in 2024. Let’s say they win in 2025. Let’s say they win in 2026.” And then we have uh a possible lockout for the CBA nugget negotiations. That’s what would actually break the status quo. A big spotlight on the Dodgers are breaking baseball. The Dodgers are winning so much. We have to address this. And that’s why race fans that want to see actual change need to root for the Dodgers. Unless the higherups in Mo want the Dodgers to continuously win, which means more show Otani on the big screen for longer and deep into October. Uh your point is valid. Um it it can sometimes take baseball a while to change and it usually takes something catastrophic or noteworthy to happen. Now, if something like a salary cap and eliminating deferments were to happen, it would happen under the Rob Manford regime and not the Bud Seake regime. I mean, how long have we been talking about salary cap issues? Like 30 years at least. I remember I was uh in in grade school. I know I’m aging myself a little bit and that had been an ongoing point of contention and conversation. But we’ve seen all the all the moves and mechanics and ways to address and in their idea improve or enhance baseball or bring it into the 21st century with uh pitch clock and trying to make it more friendly for offenses with uh larger bases and eliminating of shifts to some extent. So, we’ve seen progressive leadership from Rob Manford and and maybe it does take something like this where the Dodgers are winning the whole thing every other year. And I’ll also add um in addition to and again because the Rays aren’t in it, it’s you know I I’m kind of whatever about the World Series, but on a side note, I I would rather have the Dodgers win it than the Blue Jays because the Blue Jays are an AL East rival, right? So, I don’t want to give them any, you know, kudos uh for winning the whole thing and definitely not if it was the the Red Sox or the Yankees, but um you think if, you know, I’m just kind of reading the teles a little bit, if the Blue Jays were to win the World Series and get all that recognition that comes with that, well, you might have some free agents out there, some players out there that might be more apt to sign with the Blue Jays than maybe the Rays or somebody else, you all the money shakes out. Exactly. Which would also harm the race in in the aspect of the division. Very good point. Um and let’s say the the the Jays win, right? Well, then that’s not breaking status quo. Then then the whole argument is like, see, you can do it without being the Dodgers. You can win it. Even though the Jays have a the fifth highest payroll in in MLB and nobody wants maybe that’s the thing is okay in order to make it to the World Series we’re going to have to have a payroll above $230 million whether it’s $230 million or $350 million okay nobody else is going to be able to compete and that’s what we’ve been saying about the race for years is you know not saying that you have to spend $200 million but even if you want a a taste at the World Series your payroll has to be at above 100 above 100 if if you look at since 2012 12. I think I saw this on Twitter. Since 2012, the Rays have been the World Series finalist that has the lowest payroll since 2012 at 27th in 2020 World Series. So like we have to break our own personal record to achieve because nobody’s doing what the Rays are doing. So if you want some quote unquote help from Manfred the commissioner and MLB and and the public then the Dodgers have to just annihilate the Jays in 2025 and they have to annihilate in 2026 so that we can all point and say this is an issue. This is a problem because if the Jays win and if somebody else wins next year, even if the Dodgers do well, then it’s not breaking status quo. It’s not a big event. I know it goes against what we’re what small market or small revenue rather people would think, oh, why would we, you know, root for the Dodgers or the big bad team? Because you want change. Yeah. And if you want change, this is what happens. And I will say this just as an aside beyond the change conversation here. There are some notable former Rays players on the Dodgers with Blake Snell like how and not to bring up Sour Grapes from 2020, but it it would be interesting and kind of funny in a way if you know he pitches game one and then the next game that he goes like eight innings deep both times and he shows that okay, I can pitch deep in a World Series and win the game for my team. Yeah, that would I think that would be what we all consider crude humor or dim humor. Yellow’s humor if you gallows humor. Yeah, for all race fans, that’s exactly what that would be. But from big powerhouses to big gloves, let’s talk shortstops. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t even name all of our financial accounts, let alone what they’re worth. between 401ks, savings, investments, it’s easy to lose track. And that can mean leaving money on the table. 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Kevin Carson, let’s talk about what he did in 2025. 106 plate appearances, a slash line of 172, 219, 354. That’s a 573 OPS. He did show a lot of pop. Five home runs in 106 uh plate appearances. That’s pretty nice. That’s 25 30 home run potential from the shortstop position. We like that. Uh what we don’t like so much is the lack of plate discipline and which is highlighted with a K rate of 41.5%. He’s 22. He could use some seasoning back in AAA and then get an early callup in 2026. At least that’s by my barometer right now. How about yours? Yeah, I agree. And kind of going back to our conversation earlier this week, I mean, as far as I know and understand and looking at some of the reports, he’s not going to be playing in winter league ball this year. And I feel like that would have been a good opportunity for him to develop and foster and uh work on some of the issues that he dealt with at the big league club. I think that yes, it’s not the sexiest option that Taylor Walls is going to be the opening day shortstop, but it’s the steady option for now. In fact, if you look at it, Carson Williams offensive numbers, you could argue, were worse than Taylor Walls in 2025. Now, I think Carson Williams has a much higher ceiling because he has he is more of the full package in the full picture. But I think Taylor Walls, assuming he doesn’t get hurt, would seem like a guy that you give the run to at short for the first couple weeks, maybe first month plus in the season. And that I think would allow Carson Williams time to build confidence and refine some of those areas that he had issue with at the big league club because any prospect I don’t I mean maybe outside of Wander Franco can make adjustments on the fly at the big league level. Carson, like 99% of the prospects out there, you get told and instructed something. You’re tweaking this, you’re tweaking that. It’s best to do it in the minor leagues where the games don’t really count as much as in the minor as in the major leagues. So, what I would like I’m with you. I would like to see him kind of find a groove, really get into a groove in Triple A before getting that call up. kind of show us show us that make it to the point where we cannot hold you down anymore and and I feel like in 2025 he was kind of called up by injury. So yeah, circumstances. So I mean because we didn’t really have Hassan Kim at all. It’s like Carson Williams wasn’t really like tear I mean he was tearing the cover off the ball but he was he still had the issue of the strikeout rate and so forth. He he you could still see some things that like I don’t know how much how well that’s going to translate at the big league level. I think for him to be able to settle in in Triple A, see that the strikeout rates lower, see that maybe the walk rate’s a little bit higher, make sure that the the defense is there along with the power. Uh I think that would be a a solid move to ease him in. And it’s not the it certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Rays have done something like this. I mean, Jonathan Ronda pretty much dealt with it year in and year out among other players. And Junior Kameedo was the last one. They did they didn’t even like give it to him. I know he got hurt, but even when it was seemingly his to take, you know, the the the plan was for him to start in TripleA. So, you know, barring injury, of course, the injury didn’t happen. But regardless, if it happens to a guy as talented as Junior Kimera, it’s going to happen to Carson Williams. And that’s not knocking Carson. It’s just like a normal progression of most prospects. Like, you don’t just like become a Juan Stoa Jr. all the time. You know, the guys that just get called up and they’re just super. Even Mike Trout had a horrible uh first stint in the major league. So, I don’t think this is by any means a bad thing that he could start in Triple A. I I feel like it would be best for his development. And honestly, with how Taylor Walls finished the season, I it’s not like he deserves it, but yeah, he I know what I’m going to get with Taylor Walls uh with the glove and I know what I’m not going to get with Taylor Walls at the plate. That’s a a known quantity, so I’m okay with that. Carson Williams right now is a it’s a it’s a question mark and I think a question mark leaning negatively right now on the offensive side of things when you’re striking out 42% of the time. Heck, I mean if if Hassan Kim wasn’t injured like he was, uh maybe he doesn’t get designated for assignment. If he was what we expected him to be, the Rays probably would have said, “Hey, let’s run it back with him because, right, we know what Taylor Walls is and we know that Carson Williams needs some more refinement.” And who knows, maybe the Rays go out and sign some sort of bridge shortstop uh to back up Taylor Walls or vice versa until Carson Williams is ready. But I’ll also say it is kind of it would be kind of funny or interesting in a way that if Taylor Walls somehow finds a way to win a gold glove at the end of this year that he’s not the opening day starter, I mean, at least give him the first game as kind of a tip of the cap for earning that marker there. Yeah. That’s true. No, it would be kind of a grim humor in that in that sense if that were to happen. But no, I I don’t think it’s a it’s a bad thing. They’ve done this before, so why not with Carson, right? Certainly. And uh he definitely has we see the talent, especially with the home runs, but uh what he showcased overall is is not sustainable uh for 162. He he definitely needs to uh he needs to work on some things and you hope that he’s able to figure it out this off seasonason and into spring training get several weeks in AAA and we hope that you know by miday or something like that. He’s hitting 300 and his strikeout rate’s 25%. And then you can maybe say, “All right, now’s the time, kid. We’re we’re ready for you.” And then because you want to get to a point where you call him up next year and he doesn’t have to go back down that he’s up, he gets the playing time and that’s it. You don’t have to deal with the shuffling, the up and down, up and down sort of a deal that the Rays have a tendency to do uh with some of the other players there. All right. Uh one guy who will probably not be shuffling up and down, that is Edwin Useta. That is a guy that we should not be sleeping on. Uh, in fact, the Rays might have found their next closure in waiting with him. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer that you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Uh, it undoubtedly makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little extra something riding on the action. And whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel, they make the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? or visit fanduel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Let’s be real, making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress, some tired or it happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where Rouette comes in. 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Ulyses Edwin USA should be the closer when Pete Fairbanks is not available. And we know that Pete Fairbanks sometimes isn’t available, especially in cold weather with that uh hand issue that he has uh during the chillier conditions. But it’s funny because and I know we were mired in the struggles of the Rays. uh you know it’s hard to talk positively about this team uh when you’re going under 500 and having another losing season and uh the wheels are coming off towards the end of the season after you know our our playoffs were in uh early September and then after that yeah it was dunzo but Edwin USA really put it on this year especially in the second half of the season he was like a different person night and day Jacqueline Hyde pre-allar break and post all-star break and just based on what he did post all-star break with the numbers, the strikeouts, the innings pitched. I mean, everything he put it together put it together to the point where, you know, if something were to happen to Pete Fairbanks, at least the second half of the season, I would have been comfortable with putting you in as as the closer, as the guy to to get the three most important outs of the game. And if you split his his 2025 between the first and second half, like you’re saying, it’s almost the same in sample size. The first half he had 40 and 2/3 innings pitched. The second half he had 35 and a third. So a five inning difference. But look at the difference in erra. 553 to 178. What about that whip though? 1.40 to 0.91. No traffic means no messes. And the strikeout rate unreal, Kevin, because when he started in the first half, 28.1, that’s changed to 36.7%. So he was a completely different pitcher from the beginning to the end. He did a 180 and in fact he actually became the third Rays reliever to touch triple digits in strikeouts in his season joining Ryan Yarro who had 106 in 2018 and Brad Boxberger who had 104 in 2014. So really an an astounding 2025 turnaround and ultimately it it just actually became a good season for him. Yeah, it really did. And again, he’s not like a bulk reliever or a long reliever. He’s basically one and done. One and a third, one and two/3s done. So for him to get the amount of strikeouts, no disrespect to Ryan Yarro, but you knew Ryan Yarro as like a two, three inning guy. I mean, he really didn’t he racked up so many innings that he was bound to get over aundred strikeouts at one point in time. But yeah, with USA um really coming along uh the second half of the season and if if you look at his pitch mix and some of the highlights, he really does have three out pitches between the change up, the cutter, and the four seamer. And he’s been able to full hitters on all three of those pitches. And which is what you want from a closer, you want him to miss bats. You want strikeouts from a closer. So, if Pete is not available, Edwin is definitely a second option right there. Yeah, his his chase percentage, his whiff percentage, his strikeout percentage, his hard hit rate percentage, it’s all in the red or dark red, which is a good thing, folks, if you’re looking at the Savant Page. And um it it makes me wonder and think, and this is probably a topic for another time, but uh last I checked, Pete Fairbanks is going to be owed what $12.5 million this year around there because of the incentives. I think it was 7 million the club option, but they there were incentives that could reach up to that high. Yeah, that’s a lot of money for a one inning reliever and a guy who isn’t even giving like year in and year out, he’s not giving you that many innings. Like before this year, I know this year he had a careerhigh in innings with 60 in a third or whatever it was, but before that it was like he maxed out at 45 innings, right? Sometimes there were seasons where he got hurt. So it it makes me wonder with what the Rays are going to do with Pete Fairbanks in that salary number that’s hanging over his head, especially with Usetta and the strides he showed and with Biggie pitching in the DR and looking good. And if he’s available, I mean that that could be a pretty good 89 punch right there for a lot cheaper. And and maybe it and maybe we could see that 89 punch uh sooner than we think because apparently last uh last night there were reports coming from the DR that Edwin Usetta might be available to pitch in the DR later on this uh winter league season. So I mean that December. So Big and Usetta could be the 89 of that team. Yeah, that would be awesome. And look, you you always worry about relievers and volatility and injury risk and all that, but the the fact that we’re hearing that is playing winter league ball, that means he he wants it. He he is driven to to get better and to stay on track and I, you know, you would think and hope that he has big things planned for 2026. And then again, maybe he is legitimately, you know, hey, I want to be the closer down the line. I showed enough in the second half of the season where I can be that guy at least for 2026 and beyond. But, you know, say Pete Fairbanks is back with the team. I mean, we, you know, you’d rather have Pete Fairbanks than not, but I understand with the Rays, it’s always about dollars and cents at the end of the day. Um, but if he was to go down for spell, I think, you know, as a Rays fan, you should be comfortable and confident with what you said to provide with, you know, the the three most important outs. Now, sometimes players turn into a different animal for better or worse when they’re put in that spotlight, but I I feel like you has has the stuff and the mentality and he has a unique delivery in motion that it could work if if he has to to fill in a time or two for Fairbanks next season. And, you know, he’s done it before. He had one save in 2025. He had five in 2024. So, he’s no stranger to it. But if that moment were to arise, you’d hope that, you know, the unique delivery, I think, is a big one. Uh when you’re getting those last three outs, it’s it’s coming from a weird angle. It’s coming from a weird delivery for a hitter to kind of get that tunneling from it when that might be a little bit more difficult when you know that you have to succeed in order to win the game uh from from the opposition side. So yeah, hopefully if he does that, get that that get that shot, it’s a positive one for Edwin. Yes. Uh now we just need some more uh help with pitching across the board. Just make sure there’s enough bodies there to fix in all the uh all the holes that are in the bullpen when guys go down with injuries or struggle uh at a at a point of time. The other thing, did we even mention that Usetta had 10 wins this season? I know. I know. I know wins are, you know, overrated and not looked at as a stat, but still like he is putting up like starter level strikeouts and double digit wins. Yeah, it’s odd. It’s odd. Yeah, for sure. Hey, you know, guys are uh you know, they they put it together when he is on the mound evidently. So, um but yeah, we’ll we’ll definitely uh be focusing more on all these players in the offseason because folks, it is a long off seasonason if you’re a Rays fan. It’s it’s a long offseason if you’re a Dodgers or Blue Jays fan. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. We’re we’re going to have player reviews. We got a lot of uh a lot of fun stuff planned. So, and you know what? If you guys have ideas, we’ll shoot them our way. Put them on down in the YouTube comments. We you guys should know that we are we are reading whatever you guys on. We put the the YouTube comments on the show very very often. So, don’t be a stranger on ideas. If you’d like to put them down, put it in the comments. Email us locked ongmail.com. Uh we’ll be having mailbag episodes. you send us a good idea, we might make a whole episode out of that. So, we are open to it all because like we said, it is a long off season. On that note, we do hope you all have a wonderful day. Stay safe and we will talk to you later.

World Series showdown: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays! Should Tampa Bay Rays fans root for LA to force MLB changes? Kevin Weiss and Ulises Sambrano analyze the potential impact on small-market teams.
The hosts break down the Rays’ shortstop situation, with Taylor Walls likely to start on Opening Day. They discuss Carson Williams’ development path and the benefits of AAA seasoning. Edwin Uceta’s emergence as a potential closer is examined, with impressive stats and unique delivery making him a viable option when Pete Fairbanks is unavailable.
Tune in for expert analysis on the Rays’ bullpen strategy, Fairbanks’ contract situation, and how Tampa Bay’s approach to payroll management could shape their relief corps. Will Uceta’s winter league dedication pay off in the upcoming season?
0:00 Intro: Dodgers vs Blue Jays World Series
3:34 Why Rays fans should root for Dodgers
9:04 Monarch: All-in-one personal finance tool
11:16 Taylor Walls likely opening day shortstop
15:06 Carson Williams needs AAA development
24:24 Uceta’s impressive second half performance
28:12 Long offseason ahead for Rays fans

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