NEW YORK -- The Rays have won the American League East race. They just haven’t technically reached the finish line yet.
They still have four more regular-season games to play after Wednesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. But aside from potentially boosting their chances for home-field advantage in the World Series and maybe winning 100 games for the second time in franchise history, there’s really nothing at stake for Tampa Bay as a team.
The Rays made the playoffs. They won the division. They will have home-field advantage in the AL Division Series and, if they advance, the AL Championship Series.
There are still some individual stat chases and award races in play, like Chandler Simpson’s run at a batting crown and the stolen-base lead or Junior Caminero’s attempt to win the home run title. But what else is there for the Rays to accomplish between Thursday and Game 1 of the ALDS on Oct. 3?
Here are four things to watch.
1. Rest up
The Rays went right to work on this Wednesday, calling up right-hander Mason Englert to start against the Yankees. Temporarily slotting Englert into the rotation gave everyone else on the starting staff an extra day to rest.
Left-hander Ian Seymour, who had been scheduled to start Wednesday night, will now pitch Thursday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium. That pushes back Freddy Peralta, who could potentially face the Yankees in the ALDS, to Friday’s series opener in Philadelphia and Griffin Jax to Saturday’s game.
The Rays will monitor their starters’ workloads the rest of the way, and they’ll be careful with the way they use their relievers as well. The same goes for some of their key position players, as evidenced by Simpson, Yandy Díaz and shortstop Taylor Walls getting Wednesday night off while Jonathan Aranda served as the DH.
“I just want to see good health and some guys freshened up. It's been a long season. They've played really hard to get to this point,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Let's find a way to continue to get our work in, and I know and trust that whoever's on that field, they're going to do everything they can to win games.”
2. Get healthy
The Rays are doing relatively well on this front. Walls and infielder Ben Williamson are back. Reliever Manuel Rodríguez is with the team, although he’s not yet active.
But their roster decisions will be influenced by the health of three key pitchers.
Left-hander Shane McClanahan (left forearm tightness) is not likely to be an option for the ALDS roster, Cash said Wednesday afternoon. The Rays still have plenty of strong rotation options in Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez, Peralta, Jax and Seymour, and they will need only three of them to start in the best-of-five ALDS.
The more interesting questions are regarding the health of setup man Tyler Wells (right forearm tightness) and lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger (left forearm tightness). Cash said both are throwing bullpen sessions and could pitch to hitters next week.
If they’re ready, the Rays will have more options to consider than spots available in their ALDS bullpen, especially if prospects Brody Hopkins and Ty Johnson continue to impress.
“It’s a real benefit of getting it wrapped up last night that you have some time, you have some games,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said during a Rays.TV appearance during Wednesday’s game. “Just giving [us] time to sort through the roster.”
3. Refine the roster
Of course, everyone wants to jump to conclusions about who might make the postseason roster. But Cash said those conversations haven’t yet begun in earnest and likely won’t until they get through Sunday’s regular-season finale in Philadelphia.
They have time to make those decisions, and they’ll need to wait a little longer to see who wins the AL Wild Card Series to figure out their first-round opponent. The composition of that team, likely to be the Yankees or Red Sox, will also impact the Rays’ roster.
Cash said the Rays will likely play a pair of scrimmages at Tropicana Field during their “bye” week, calling upon the group of players working out at their spring complex in Port Charlotte, Fla. That will help them stay sharp and get one last look at anyone competing for spots.
4. Junior’s march to 162
Did you realize Caminero has started every game this season at third base? Did you realize nobody in the AL has started all 162 games at third base since the “Iron Man” Cal Ripken Jr. in 1997?
“I applaud Junior for having that mentality. We'll see how we get there. It's probably a daily conversation,” Cash said. “In today's game, that's not nearly done as frequently as it maybe used to be. But Cami's a special player, as we all know, and he wants to complete a full season.”
That provides some incentive for Caminero to start the Rays’ final four games at the hot corner, even if he’s an ideal candidate to get some extra rest. But Caminero is also looking to bolster his AL MVP case, and playing defense every day for the league’s best team is his strongest argument against Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.