RBLR Roundtable #16 – Winning Ways, Tough Decisions, & Shortstop Reinforcements

This week, our writers took a look at the team’s recent strong performance, why Mangum over Simpson was the right choice, and how Ha-Seong Kim can impact the team in the near future.

Sandy (@SandyAndTheRays) : Surging in the standings

Being a Rays fan has felt pretty damn good lately. On May 23, the team was sitting in fourth place in the AL East with a 24-26 record. Just eight days later, they were back above .500 at 30-28, tied with the Blue Jays and sitting in second place six games behind the Yankees. That stretch included six wins at home, suggesting that the squad may finally be settling into the not-so-new turf at Steinbrenner Field.

When a team’s rolling like this, it’s rarely due to just one player. Still, since returning in mid-May, Josh Lowe has stood out, drawing praise from coaches and teammates for his talent, experience, and leadership in the clubhouse. Junior Caminero also exploded in the Astros series, driving in six and five runs in two of the games. Jose Caballero and Jonathan Aranda continue to deliver steady offense, and the pitching staff has been lights-out, giving up no more than four runs in each of the last 10 games. (Major shoutout to Zack Littell for throwing a complete game!)

Now, as we head into summer and approach the halfway mark of the season, the big question is how the Rays will stack up in the division — and whether a playoff push remains on the table. We should also keep an eye on the impact of Ha-Seong Kim, who’s ramping up his rehab assignment and should be joining the lineup soon.

Either way, May has been a pretty fun ride.

Jake Shutters (@JakeShutters) : The case for Mangum over Simpson

The debate regarding Chandler Simpson’s demotion to give way for Jake Mangum’s IL return has sparked a debate that has taken over national baseball discussion. Regarding this decision, two things can be true at the same time; the Rays see a long, bright future for Chandler Simpson, as well as the fact that Jake Mangum is a better fit for the current Rays roster entering June. With all the talk regarding Simpson and talking heads essentially disregarding Mangum’s 2025 body of work and skillset, I found it necessary to give the case for Jake Mangum.

Offensively

In a small sample size, Mangum was nothing short of phenomenal in his first run before his injury, posting over a 120 wRC+, striking out ~9% of the time, and walking ~6% of the time. Mangum, similar to Simpson, wasn’t barreling the baseball in his run (only at about a 3% clip, ranking towards the bottom of the league), but was getting on base at a phenomenal .368 rate. Simpson, in his 35 games played, had a much lower OBP, and surprisingly struck out at a higher rate than Mangum and walked at a lower rate. Both players have been given opportunities, and Mangum has straight up hit better than Simpson has this year.

Defensively

This is the main reason the spot went to Mangum, instead of Simpson in my opinion. Simpson, surprisingly – as one would expect his speed to allow him to be a good defender, was dreadful in left field this season. He put up -5 DRS and -3 OAA in his 35 games. On the other hand, Mangum accumulated 3 DRS and 2 OAA in his 22 games in the outfield. Left field defense has been a major issue for the Rays this year (as I wrote about in a recent edition of the roundtable), and inserting Mangum in the OF group in place of Simpson gives the defense out there a large boost.

Baserunning

Chandler Simpson is a phenomenal baserunner. Mangum isn’t too far behind him. Simpson led the league in stolen bases in his time on the Rays, going 19/22 in SB in his stint. Mangum is 8/8 on stolen bases in 2025. Simpson put up a phenomenal 2.9 base runs in his 35 games. Mangum put up 1.8 in 22. Jake Mangum will not cause as much chaos on the basepaths, and will not create as many runs through speed and baserunning as Simpson can, but he can certainly hold his own (and then some) while running the bases.

These two players are more similar than you think, especially when looking at their 2025 numbers. However, a Rays team who clearly values defense (as they rank top 3 in team DRS in 2025), gave the fourth outfielder spot to the one who they can trust in the outfield at all times. Simpson will be back, and hopefully have a phenomenal career with the Rays, but allowing him to get more experience in the outfield and become a more polished baseball player helps the Rays win baseball games today, and gives them an opportunity to give a guy they value daily reps in a spot he needs to improve in to be an everyday player.

Jacob Macauley (@raysfarmreport) : Ha-Seong Kim on the mend

Ha-Seong Kim has begun his long-awaited rehab assignment this week, so it feels appropriate to dive into how he can positively impact this Rays club.

Let’s start with the current Rays SS group. The Rays have only played two at the position this season (Taylor Walls and Jose Caballero), and they have offensively produced within the bottom third with a 77 wRC+. Kim should provide a pretty hearty boost to that number. Kim’s bat will be under a large microscope once he returns. Since 2022, he has produced a 106 wRC+ and has flashed plus plate skills in that time frame: 88.6% Z-Contact% (~70th percentile), and a 24.1% O-Swing% (~85th percentile). Additionally, Rays fans will be happy to hear that a large portion of his career offensive production has come against LHP (career 122 wRC+ vs LHP).

The calling card of the current SS group (especially Taylor Walls) has been their elite defense. The Rays have a very substantial lead for first place in SS defensive runs saved – producing a whopping 17. If Kim can play a regular shortstop once he is lifted off his rehab assignment, it may be difficult to ask him to completely go back to his plus defensive ways. However, since Kim debuted, he has produced 25 defensive runs saved in his 3,358 innings of work. The Rays have a challenging task on their hands once Kim is ready; not only from a sense of who goes down, but managing his workload will be interesting to see moving forward.

The RBLR Rays Roundtable is a weekly collection of analysis, insight, and perspectives from a cast of writers assembled because of their unique backgrounds and experience. Check this space weekly for new updates and features covering the Tampa Bay Rays, the Rays’ minor league prospects, and more!