The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday 6-3 in Grapefruit League play in Florida. They will wrap up their spring training schedule today when they take on the Detroit Tigers at 12:35 PM in Florida. The team will then head to home to Tropicana Field where they will host the divisional rival Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at their home opener. The Rays will give the ball to Zach Eflin while the Blue Jays will be starting Jose Berrios in the opening-day game. Before today’s finale against the Tigers, the team has announced three moves.
LHP – Patrick Wicklander
Wicklander was assigned to the Tampa Bay Rays roster this morning ahead of their game against Detriot. He spent last year pitching between High A+ Bowling Green and Double AA Montgomery. He started seven games for the Bowling Green Hot Rods finishing with a 1-1 record. He pitched 29 innings for them with, 33 strikeouts, 11 walks, a 3.41 ERA, and a 1.45 WHIP. With the Montgomery Biscuits, he started 11 games while coming out of the bullpen 12 other times. He finished with a 5-2 record over 81.2 innings of work. He struck out 69, walked 27, had a 4.08 ERA, and a 1.46 WHIP while at Double AA.
C – Joshuan Sandoval
Sandoval was assigned to the Tampa Bay Rays roster this morning before the game with the Tigers. Last year Sandoval played rookie ball in the Florida Complex League for the Rays. He appeared in eight games with, one double, one home run, two RBIs, two walks, 10 strikeouts, and slashed .200/.261/.400 with a .661 OPS on the year.
SS – Chandler Simpson
Simpson was assigned to the Rays roster this morning before they faced off against the Tigers in the Grapefruit League finale. Simpson split last year between Single-A Charleston Riverdogs and Double-AA Bowling Green Hot Rods. With the River Dogs, he played in 91 games with 66 runs, nine doubles, four triples, 24 RBIs, 81 stolen bases, and slashed .285/.358/.333 with a .691 OPS. With the Hot Rods, he played in 24 games with, 22 runs, four doubles, one triple, seven RBIs, 13 steals, and slashed .326/.429/.393 with a .822 OPS on the year at Double AA.
