Tampa Bay Rays stick to unchanged roster – MLB News
The Tampa Bay Rays had been in the headlines for the past week and there were speculations that many of their key players might get transferred after a not-so-good season.
The Bay Rays are currently placed third in the American League East division behind Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. They are 10.5 games behind the Red Sox and 8.5 games behind the Yankees and it seems a distant possibility that they would make it to
the playoffs this season.
The rumours regarding the transfer saga were shunned when all players found themselves at the ballpark in the Rays’ Jersey when the clock passed the transfer deadline of 1pm on July 31. B.J. Upton and James Shields were the most talked players for transfer
but ended up keeping their contracts with the Rays’ intact.
Centre fielder B.J. Upton was the most excited player on the field when he found out that no deal was made against him. He could not hold on to his emotions and shouted out loudly during practice at the Safeco Field.
He said, "That's probably the most nerve-wracking two weeks I ever had. I've always said I want to be here. I grew up playing with these guys, a lot of good guys on this team, a good organization, so I'm just glad it's over with. We can move forward and
continue to try to win ballgames."
Upton has been outstanding this season. In 101 games thus far, he has scored 49 runs and has managed 83 hits. 16 of the 49 runs have come has home-runs and he is batting at an average of .224.
His career has been illustrative too. He completed 400 career-runs this season and crossed the 700 hits mark too. Moving forward, he would be a worthy player in the roster as the Rays prepare for the next season.
The other player among the talks, James Shields, was also relieved of the stress of being transferred. Shields’ has been in extraordinary form at the mound this season and he personally did not want to change the ambiance. He has pitched seven complete games
in 22 starts this season, three of which have been complete-game shutouts. His win-loss record at 9-9 has been decent. He has bagged 153 strike-outs at an ERA of 3.03 which is a notch more than impressive.
His statistics this season have been better than his career and the Rays did the right thing by not losing him at the prime of his career. They would now hope that they build a strong rotation around him when they start their next campaign in 2012.
With the transfer deadline over and all players well aware of their teams, it will be interesting to see how the season shapes up.
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