Hey, Ray Jay
Hurler can turn season around after deal
BECAUSE OF the bizarre nature of Monday’s trade deadline, not many moves were expected.
To the surprise of many, more than 30 trades were completed, sending a slew of players to new locales (mostly San Diego) in the middle of a global pandemic. Though some big names — like Mike Clevinger, Jonathan Villar and Starling Marte — traded places, they’re not the players who benefitted most from deadline deals. NEW JAY, NEW RAY
After being involved in countless trade rumors the past few years, Robbie Ray was dealt to the (Buffalo) Blue Jays.
Many may look past this being a big deal, largely because Ray entered Friday with the second-worst ERA (7.34) in the majors among pitchers who threw a minimum of 30 innings, and also ranked third in homers allowed (10) and first in walks (32). He also allowed opponents to hit .261 against him, had his lowest swinging strike rate (11.9 percent) since 2016, as well as career-worst marks in barrel rate (14.6 percent), hard-hit percentage (53.9) and groundball rate (19.3 percent).
Control has always been an issue for Ray (walking almost 11 percent of the batters he has faced in his career), but he hasn’t always been this bad. He was an All-Star in 2017 while going 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA and
218 strikeouts, and he finished seventh in Cy Young voting. Despite some struggles and injuries, he was still 18-10 with a 4.17 ERA and 12.1 strikeout rate over the past two seasons.
One thing that has always remained consistent: His strikeout rate and velocity. He is striking out a career-high 12.3 per nine innings this year, while averaging 94 mph.
In his Blue Jays debut Tuesday, Ray allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over 3 ¹/₃ innings. He struck out four and walked one. Of his 48 pitches, 36 were thrown for strikes and eight were swinging strikes.
Ray, who is just 28 years old and available in 40 percent or more of ESPN and Yahoo leagues, can build on that short effort while a member of a topfive pitching staff — especially if he relies less on his fastball, a pitch he throws about 50 percent of the time. He also has a 27 percent walk rate with the fastball and opponents are hitting .290 against it this year. ZACH ATTACK
The real beneficiary of Clevinger being shipped to San Diego is Zach Plesac. Plesac and Clevinger were demoted in August for violating the team’s COVID rules. Clevinger rejoined the rotation on Aug. 26, but with the ascension of Triston McKenzie, there was no room for
Plesac — until Cleveland traded Clevinger. Plesac returned to the rotation Tuesday and allowed one run on four hits over six innings while striking out six. He has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his four starts, and opponents are hitting .161 against him. VIVE LA FRANCE
Over his first 20 games, Ty France hit .309 with two homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and a .868 OPS in part-time duty with the Padres. After being sent to Seattle as a part of the deal that brought Austin Nola to the Padres, France should see plenty of playing time (and he is eligible at every infield position besides shortstop). This is a 26-year-old who hit .294 with 69 homers, 352 RBIs and a .859 OPS over five seasons in the minors, including a 76-game stint at Triple-A last year, when he hit .399 with 27 homers, 89 RBIs and a 1.247 OPS. He is available in more than 95 percent of ESPN and Yahoo leagues. TONY REWARD
Ross Stripling could get some starts in Toronto, but removing him from the Dodgers’ rotation should benefit Tony Gonsolin, who has allowed one earned run over 17 ²/₃ innings (0.51 ERA) and a .153 opponent average. He’s still available in 55 percent or more of ESPN and Yahoo leagues, and will make his next start Sunday against the Cubs.