Thanks in large part to Jose Caballero’s most untimely broken finger, it appears the Yankees’ annual “Boone Swoon” may be arriving a little early this year. They are clearly a much different team without their effervescent shortstop — and Anthony Volpe now adding another automatic out to the lineup that already was getting nothing from Austin Wells at catcher, Jazz Chisholm Jr., at second base and next to nothing at third base.
Those things can all be fixed, mostly internally with a return from the injured list from Caballero, Jasson Dominguez and Giancarlo Stanton, more playing time at second base for Amed Rosario, and hopefully by the All-Star break, an ahead-of-schedule promotion of George Lombard Jr., much like what the Mets have done with A.J. Ewing. It is also incumbent for Brian Cashman to make a deal for a right-handed hitting catcher with the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers the most logical target.
Regardless of how and when the Yankees are able to fix all their offensive holes, however, a new unexpected challenge has emerged for them in the Tampa Bay Rays, they of the $87 million payroll with the second best record in all of baseball going into the weekend, who play an entirely different kind of baseball that just might sustain them all the way to October. For unlike the Yankees who are still a home run-or-bust offense, the Rays are a team that emphasizes putting the ball in play.
As of Friday, the Rays led the majors with a 68.3 contact percentage as opposed to the Yankees’ seventh worst 53.5. The Rays were also second in the majors with the fewest strikeouts, nearly 100 fewer than the Yankees. Both those stats had a lot to do with the Rays’ 9-1 record in one-run games to the Yankees’ 3-9. The Rays lineup on the surface doesn’t have a lot of hitters that scare you but they’ve been getting the job done. Their three best hitters — power hitting third baseman Junior Caminero, speed demon left-fielder Chandler Simpson and first baseman Jonathan Aranda from Mexico — are all home grown and Erik Neander, who may be the most dangerous GM in baseball, has filled in all around them through judicious under-the-radar trades and waiver wire pickups.
This is what Neander has been doing ever since ascending to the Rays’ GM job at 32 in 2016, constantly fielding competitive teams in spite of one of the lowest payrolls in baseball every year. This year may be Neander’s best job yet although we probably won’t see the full results of it until 2028.
What’s doomed the Rays in recent years has been injuries, particularly to their starting pitchers — five top Rays starters had Tommy John surgery since 2020 and two of their current starters, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen have had multiple TJ surgeries. They’re both healthy so far now and pitching well, and last winter Neander took a $9 million flier on much-traveled veteran righty Nick Martinez who has emerged as the ace of the staff with a 1.70 ERA through his first eight starts.
At the same time, Neander grew weary of waiting for hard throwing righty Shane Baz (another Tommy John victim in 2023) to finally reach his potential and shipped him to the pitching-desperate Orioles last December for four blue-chip prospects, three of whom, catcher Caden Bodine, left-hander Michael Forret and center fielder Austin Overn, are having strong seasons at Double-A and Single-A ball — in addition to a competitive balance pick (No. 33) in the ’26 draft. Because he has had to operate with his eye on payroll every year, Neander has had to be adept at finding untapped potential in other organizations, which was the case in another deal last winter in which he had to part ways with longtime Rays’ favorite and their best power hitter, Brandon Lowe.
The 31-year-old oft-injured Lowe was the Rays’ highest paid player at $10.5 million and entering his free agent walk year. Neander swapped him to the Pirates in a three-team trade that netted speedster center fielder Jacob Melton, currently nursing an ankle sprain at Triple-A Durham, but will likely replace faded veteran Cedric Mullins in center in a couple of weeks. As for second base, Neander engaged in one more three-team trade in February to obtain Ben Williamson, yet another contact hitter, from Seattle. And until this year, one thing that had consistently eluded Neander was a catcher who can hit, but he may have finally resolved that as well with veteran Nick Fortes, who he was able to acquire from Miami for a non-prospect minor leaguer because the Marlins had two young catchers coming they needed to make room for.
Like we said, there’s not a whole lot of sexy names on the Rays, but if you look under the hood there’s a reason why they have the second best record in baseball. They’re actually that good.
IT’S A MADD, MADD WORLD
Brian Cashman has some work to do filling the holes in the Yankee lineup, but no matter what and soon, he has to get Jazz Chisholm Jr., off his ballclub. It was only a month and a half ago when Chisholm proclaimed in spring training (amid much guffaws) that he’d be seeking an 8-10 year contract at $35 million when he hits free agency next winter. Actually he’ll be lucky now just to get a spring training invite. … It will be the cruelest irony for ex-Mets GM Billy Eppler if his draft picks — Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge — wind up saving David Stearns’ job. The kids, particularly McEwing, have given the Mets a new energy and the Citi Field faithful renewed hope that this season can yet be salvaged. But Steve Cohen should not be deluded. Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.