Rays Notebook: Pirates Gave Up on Shane Baz Too Soon
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates are in town this weekend, their first appearance in Tropicana Field since 2014. There are a few connections between the two teams, including Shane Baz, the Rays' promising 23-year-old starting pitcher.
Baz was a first-round pick of the Pirates in the 2017 MLB Draft, selected 12th overall right out of high school. He pitched that summer in the Gulf Coast League, and then spent 2018 pitching for the Bristol (Va.) Pirates, their advanced rookie-level team in the Appalachian League.
Baz was just 19 years old when he started his season there, and on Aug. 14, 2018, he got called into his manager's office. That's when he got the news — that he was being traded.
The hard-throwing right-hander was the ''player to be named later'' in the trade that brought Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow to the Rays for Chris Archer at the trade deadline. Two weeks later, Baz was added to it.
And he was stunned.
"I remember having a day game in Johnson City (Tenn,), and then getting back into the clubhouse about to head back to Bristol, and (Miguel Perez) our manager, called me in his office,'' Baz said Friday in the Rays' locker room. "He said, ''hey, you've been involved in a trade, so pack your locker and someone will give you a call soon.
"I packed up my stuff and drove down to Princeton (West Virginia, where the Rays' Appalachian League team played. "I pitched for the Rays that very next week.''
Baz said he never saw the trade coming, and doubts that anyone is. But that's baseball.
"I don't think anyone is really ever ready for that, because you expect to make it to the big leagues with the team you're drafted by,'' Baz said. "I think everybody is a little surprised when that happens, but you can't really control it, so you just have to take it stride.''
Baz was 4-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 10 starts for Bristol prior to the trade. He made two starts for Princeton before the season ended a few weeks later.
His career started to take off in 2019, where he was 3-2 with a 2.99 ERA at Class A Bowling Green. He didn't pitch in 2020, but last year he split his time between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A, making a combined 17 starts and posting a 5-4 record with an impressive 2.06. He got called up in September and made three starts for the Rays, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.03 ERA.
"I've really enjoyed my time here, so it's been a big blessing for me,'' Baz said of the trade.
He also doesn't blame the Pirates for making the move. "I remember just not having a great season overall,'' he said. "I know I wasn't very happy with myself that year, and I guess they weren't either. But I feel like I've done pretty well here so far, and I love being around everyone in this organization.''
Aranda, Raley to debut on Friday
For the first time ever, Jonathan Aranda and Luke Raley are in the starting lineup for the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Raley is batting fifth and playing left field and Aranda is hitting seventh and playing second base. Both were called up on Tuesday after outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot went on the injured list.
This is Aranda's major-league debut, and his family has flown in from Mexico to see him play. He's been tearing it up at the Triple-A level, hitting .310 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs for Durham.
"It's great to see them here after all the years that they haven't been able to see me play,'' Aranda said of his parents. "It's been tough being away from them for so long, so it's great to see them here.''
Raley, who's no relation to Rays reliever Brooks Raley, joined the Rays during spring training. He played in 33 games in the big leagues last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .182 with two home runs and four RBIs. He hit .299 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in Durham this spring before his call-up.
Margot injury news 'encouraging'
The injury news on Rays outfielder Manuel Margot is better than expected. He's still going to be out for at least two months after injuring his knee on Monday night, but he does not have an ACL tear and there will be no surgery required.
"We feel confident that it's going to be a rehab. It's a significant patellar tendon strain,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "There hasn't been many of these, so we'll take it day to day with him. We felt it was right, the 60-day (injured list), to do that. We're not going to rush it. We'll keep our fingers crossed that he'll make some good headway and we'll see him in the later part of the year.''
Margot landed awkwardly while crashing into the right-field wall on Monday night, and needed to be carted off the field. He is hitting .302 with three home runs and 27 RBIs this season.
Around the horn
Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen is scheduled to pitch three innings of a simulated game in Port Charlotte on Saturday. He went on the injured list two weeks ago with a hamstring injury. "It'll be hot and he'll get out there and get his pitches in and we'll see where we go from there,'' Cash said. "Hopefully his hamstring feels good from that point. ... Shortstop Wander Franco will play in Durham again on Friday night, his third straight game there. He is going to DH Friday, and if you all goes well, he could return to St. Pete on Saturday for further evaluation. He can be added back to the roster any time after that. ... There are a lot of fresh faces in the fourth-through-eight spots of the Rays order on Friday night. Outside of Raley and Aranda making their debuts, outfielder Josh Lowe has only played 22 games and catcher Rene Pinto just nine. Taylor Walls is veteran in this group, with 113.
Watch Kevin Cash's pregame interview
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.