SEATTLE -- The town of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada, may be a little sparser than normal this weekend. And according to Tristan Peters, it’s pretty sparse to begin with.
“It’s just fields as far as the eye can see,” he said. “They say you can watch your dog run away for a week.”
On Thursday morning, Peters learned he was getting called up from Triple-A Durham to replace the injured Jonny DeLuca. Thus began a minor exodus from Winkler (pop. 13,475), with Peters’ family -- parents, grandparents, at least one of his brothers, aunts, uncles and at least a few of his 36 cousins -- making their way to Seattle. Joining them were a fair few friends, old teammates, old opponents and possibly at least one person from the local newspaper.
They didn’t have to wait around for his MLB debut, either. Rays manager Kevin Cash dropped him straight into the starting lineup, batting fifth and starting in center field. Peters went 0-for-3 at the plate and tracked down all three fly balls hit his way in the Rays' 3-2 loss to the Mariners.
“It’s surreal,” said Peters -- who became the fifth MLB player from Manitoba, joining Russ Ford, Mel Kerr, Harry Sketchley and Corey Koskie. “I’m just excited to get out there and help the team win a few ballgames.”
Peters, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 Draft (No. 207 overall) by the Brewers, was traded to the Giants in 2022 before coming to the Rays after the 2022 season in return for Brett Wisely. He hit .275 in Double-A in 2023 and was promoted to Durham going into the next season, but saw his offensive numbers stall a bit after making some changes in an attempt to hit for more power.
Going into this year, Peters did his best to reset and looked to a future teammate to do so: Rays first baseman Brandon Lowe.
“I went into the offseason and changed my stance,” he said. “I actually watched a lot of B-Lowe’s videos. I lowered my hands like him a little more, worked on riding my hands up and getting on top of the board, and just kind of using all fields more.
“I talked to him a little in spring. I didn’t want to copy him. I just wanted to see what he does, because he’s a great hitter. He’s not a big guy, but he creates so much power, so I kind of wanted to find some of that. But I put my own spin on it so I could feel comfortable in that kind of stance.”
The changes really took hold in June, when Peters slashed .385/.486/.670 with five home runs, 11 doubles and 27 RBIs en route to earning himself International League Player of the Month honors.
All told on the season, he’s hitting .282 with an .823 OPS and 11 home runs -- one off his career high.
“Give him a ton of credit,” Cash said. “Over the years, he’s just made steady progress, and really has come into his own on both sides of the ball.”
The higher offensive numbers complement Peters’ true calling card: his defense.
Peters made headlines back on April 30 when he reached well over the left-center wall in Durham to rob a home run. Since then, he’s only added to his highlight reel, including another robbery at the end of July.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Joe Boyle said. “Give him a sec to get comfortable here and find his way, but I think he’s going to be good right off the bat.”
DeLuca back to IL
Peters was called up with DeLuca going on the 10-day injured list -- retroactive to Aug. 7 -- with a strained left hamstring suffered in the Rays’ series finale against the Angels.
DeLuca underwent an MRI during Tampa’s off-day Thursday, Cash said, which revealed the extent of the strain, though at the moment the Rays are hoping he’ll have a shorter stay on the IL.
“We have to see how his hamstring and body respond,” Cash said.
It’s the second stint on the IL for Tampa Bay’s Opening Day center fielder, who missed nearly three and a half months with a shoulder sprain suffered in the Rays’ first road trip of the season. He made his return on July 25, but only played in 11 games before getting hurt again.