Brenton Shephard

@ECloskyWTSP @JacobsonOnAir Helps to be off the turf I’m sure.

@JacobsonOnAir And BLowe has been healthy. Go figure!

It’s funny that people talked about the Rays trading Brandon Lowe for years. They finally do it and the potential last piece of the puzzle is now a power hitting second baseman.

@JacobsonOnAir Letting BLowe go was always a bad move. Only people complaining about him were people who would complain about anything. BLowe has been arguably a top 5 second baseman in the league his entire career. He’s battled injuries, so have most guys playing their careers in the Trop

@jayRecher @MLBNetwork I’d do it. Fits perfect for Rays after adding Hicks

OK @MLBNetwork How about this Dan O??? Rays get : CJ Abrams Nats get : Carson Williams, Nathan Flewelling, Brody Hopkins

@MLBNetwork @MLBNow @robparkerMLBbro 100% recency bias. Varsho hit a walkoff grand slam vs Rays back in May. It was in extra innings. Adell robbing 3 HR is insane.

Was Kody Clemens' ultimate grand slam on Thursday the highlight of the regular season so far? @MLBNow | @robparkerMLBbro

@RaysTheRoofTB This doesn’t seem like a bad deal.

We have the return...including someone we just interviewed a month ago with Bowling Green 😭 Mets get Aidan Smith (part of the return for Randy), Emilien Pitre (2024 draft pick) and Gary Gill Hill (2022 draft pick) for Peralta

@TJenksTampa *everyone thought meh

@TJenksTampa Everyone thought the meh about Nick Martinez too. If it’s not a crazy give up, then it can be a solid add. I’m not disappointed with this atm. Still wouldn’t mind seeing Casey Mize,

@TJenksTampa I'm hearing the Tigers were asking for Gillen, Rueben Bain, Ian Seymour, and the claim to be the originator of the cuban sandwich, but Tampa Bay didn't pull the trigger.

I kind of want to see Andrew Friedman start going for style points. Like, go sign that 30-year-old Czechian electrician from the World Baseball Classic and see what you can trade him for next summer. Start throwing for the end zone when you need a field goal.

@9Laws2270207 @TKras Manny is doing really well with rehab. If he comes back, they don’t even need a rh reliever. Maybe lh reliever, but if they add a starter, they’d have Booser, Seymour, Cleav for lh options, plus Matz (meh).

@TKras @BrentonShephard And a right handed bullpen option could easily put the rays in serious contention conversations in the media. Even though we already know their contenders as fans as a small market club

I’m not sure what moves you can make if you’re the #Rays at this point. It’s a tricky situation. They’re still trying. My hunch is they’re absolutely getting a starter (Peralta or Detmers are the likely targets) & maybe a 2B or catcher. But let’s be honest: Nobody is beating the Dodgers. Everyone is jockeying for the silver medal.

@TKras That’s fine, Rays weren’t fully healthy when they played either. Adding 1 SP vs adding a few bats isn’t the same. I’m not saying it’s over or the Rays are a lock if they do, but if you think it’s over, as you originally stated, no point in talking Rays on air. It’s all football.

@BrentonShephard It’s reality as we know it. I think the #Rays will make moves but it’s quiet right now. Don’t forget: the Dodgers are not completely healthy yet. They’re the heavy favorites.

@JPPetersonshow @RaysBaseball If the Tigers even wanted the Rays prospects. Who’s to say they didn’t specifically like pieces the Dodgers had? Not saying that’s your point, but it’s the point so many are missing.

If @RaysBaseball were to make a comparable trade with what the Dodgers gave up for Skubal…AI says it would cost; Top prospects Theo Gillen or Grady Emerson AAA P Brody Hopkins Top 100 prospect OF Aiden Smith Rays Top 10-15 Rays prospect Way too much for a rental. Let’s see what Neander does there is still time. The Rays never shop at the top, let the prices come down and make a deal. Rays fans your thoughts?

@ECloskyWTSP @FemiAbebefe Thank you Evan! This is the point people are missing. Rays get Skubal & they still need a reliever, 2b, & OF or C or both. They’d give up 3 top pieces just for Skubal and have no ammo for everything else.

If TBR were a more complete team, I might think differently, but they still have a flawed lineup (which requires other trades that will happen soon). Skubal also has been injured this year and his stuff isn’t as good as his previous two (even though obviously still elite). MIL has 5 Top-100 guys. They could have stomached it far more than TBR. Gillen might be Top-5 guy in 2027 and they didn’t have a sensible next option for DET to compete with Hope. I get the big picture point, but Rays needed more ammo in Top-100 to compete in this deal.

Having slept on it, I continue to just smh at the Brewers & Rays. Absolute cowards for not going for it. Tomorrow isn’t promised. You have the chance to win THIS YEAR’S World Series but instead opted to keep prospects. Disgraceful.

@TJenkinsTampa It’s funny because maybe the Tigers’ liked the prospects from the Dodgers better than the Rays/Brewers. People think everything is just video game franchise mode and they can force teams to accept deals from specific places.

So did every other team not named the Rays and Brewers, by the way. But sure, they’re the ones to blame. And shockingly, when your roster and your payroll looks like the Dodgers’, prospects are more expendable to you than literally any other team in the league.

@TJenkinsTampa @lizaboth The crazy thing is that if the Rays still get Arraez, Mize or another solid SP, a good reliever, and another bat for the OF or C, they can compete w/Dodgers in the WS. That’s IF both teams made it.

@lizaboth And there’s still a realistic situation where the Brewers or Rays or Red Sox or whomever push a larger pile of chips in the middle of the table and the Dodgers still outbid. This is just the trade that landed, not necessarily all they were willing to send if necessary.

I genuinely think that one of the laziest, surface level, context blind takes on the Skubal trade is that any other team simply could have made this trade.

@d_russ @ZacOnTheMic People thinking TB/MIL can just reload in FA or offer Skubal a $30+ mil deal for 8 years to justify giving up their top prospects are delusional. I said from the get go, Skubal wasn’t worth it for the Rays. If they needed just him to put them over the top ok, but they didn’t.

Wrong take. That package is so cheap you have to blame the Tigers here for zeroing in on wanting these players.

@ECloskyWTSP On the plus side, it doesn't appear to be an arm injury. As long as it's not an oblique issue, he'll be back. That lean and stretch would make me think back spasm or hamstring strain. Definitely not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night ;)

Shane McClanahan is getting pulled from the game. Didn’t even put up a fight. Obviously, something injury related. Erik Neander has been scouring the market for starting pitching for this exact reason.

@cbfsu @jayRecher 23 isn’t borderline old. If he would’ve been there for 3 years struggling, maybe. He’s shown tools still and the biggest issue is getting a better feel for the strike zone. It’s not crazy to think that can happen.

@BrentonShephard @jayRecher Because he’s getting borderline old for that league (or at least as a prospect) and he’s still struggling with contact rate. Hard skill to get better at, at this point and if he’s striking out 30% of the time in AAA that has little chance of getting better at that in the majors.

With how often the #Rays have stressed the importance of having Taylor Walls & his defense at SS for this club I find it hard to believe that they’re willing to go big spending on a guy like Zach Neto who has 15 errors this year And I hear the asking price is steeeeep #RaysUp

@cbfsu @jayRecher Because I’m not so short sighted & believe a player is a bust if they don’t turn into a star MLB player & cruise through the minors. Carson has been in AAA for all this year and part of last year. He can improve still. He’s 23. The real question is why do people act like he’s 28?

@BrentonShephard @jayRecher Carson has like a 115 strikeouts in 350 ABs in Durham. I don’t understand how people still have high hopes for him. It’s not happening.