The Rays are in the playoff hunt, and they’re looking to make some moves to improve their playoff chances. Luckily for them, they made one.
Tampa Bay traded for D-Backs third baseman Ryan Roberts, who will provide depth to the infield. Roberts blasted 19 home runs last year in a breakout season, and while he isn’t doing too well this year, he is an upgrade over Brooks Conrad and Sean Rodriguez at third base.
Roberts is hitting .250 with six homers and 34 RBI this year. He has a solid .306 OBP, and has only struck out 45 times in 252 at-bats. Roberts has hit a lot of singles this year, but he definitely has some much-needed power. Tampa Bay’s offense needs a spark, and Roberts could provide that.
As for the D-Backs, they received Tyler Bortnick. Bortnick is a Double-A second baseman who is hitting .253 this year. Bortnick isn’t having a good year, although he is fast and hit .306 last year. Arizona probably could’ve asked for more, but the D-Backs want to build a great team around their young stars.
The D-Backs are currently just six games back of the first-place San Francisco Giants, but they seem to be in “sell” mode. Instead of giving Roberts a chance to bounce back and help the D-Backs in the second half, they traded him for an infielder who probably won’t be ready to play this year.
As for the Rays, they acquired a much-needed piece to improve their infield. The Rays are just 2.5 games out of the Wild Card race, despite lots of uncertainly at second base, third base and shortstop. Carlos Pena is Tampa Bay’s everyday first baseman, while Sean Rodriguez, Brooks Conrad, Elliott Johnson and Jeff Keppinger fill in the other infield spots.
Conrad, Rodriguez and Johnson haven’t been great, and Roberts is definitely an upgrade. Tampa Bay already has a good outfield and pitching staff, and with the one area they really needed to upgrade out of the way, the Rays can focus on other minor moves to improve the bullpen and add depth to the rotation.
However, it looks like the biggest move (if the Rays don’t move James Shields) is out of the way. Roberts is ready to break out in the second half, and since the Rays are definitely within striking distance, I wouldn’t be surprised if Roberts ends up being a key contributor to the Rays in a playoff run.
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