RBLR Rays Weekly Roundtable – 8/17/26
A quiet vote of confidence and a weekend that seemed worse than it actually was: two narratives, same conclusion: lean not on appearance but on the facts. One player is rewarding patience nobody expected to pay off; the other is getting dragged for a season that, on paper, hasn’t slipped at all. Here’s the case for both.
Jacob Macauley (@raysfarmreport) : Palacios Answering The Call?
A lot of Rays fans seemed discontent over the fact that the Rays did not decide to add another option at 2B at the trading deadline; instead, they expressed confidence in Richie Palacios, which seemed surprising at the time. Before the trading deadline, Palacios had a 92 wRC+ and below-average defensive metrics across the board, but ever since it has passed, he has been an extremely integral part of the Rays’ recent hot stretch.
It all started when the calendar hit July; in his 102 plate appearances since then, Richie is slashing a robust .264/.366/.460, good for a 134 wRC+ in that time frame. What has been going right for Richie? Palacios has made some improvement to uncharacteristically bad swing choices during his hot stretch, improving his Z-Swing by 3.5% and O-Swing by 1%.
Richie is also making a substantial effort to get the baseball in the air more often, a batted ball outcome that he has had plenty of success on (402 wRC+ on liners/ -19 on ground balls), increasing his air% by 8%, which has led to an ISO improvement of +.120.
This version of Palacios is perhaps the best version we have seen in his time with the Rays. It has been a joy to watch him be able to consistently play this season, and to see the impact he has made after the vote of confidence is incredible to watch.
Carter Brantley (@ctbrantley12) : Garrett Cleavinger, Poor Fella.
He had a pretty rough weekend this past series against the Orioles. Friday he gave up a couple of laser base hits (one of them for 2 bases) before intentionally walking Jeremiah Jackson and being lifted for Kevin Kelly. Kelly proceeded to allow 2 of those inherited runs to score.
Sunday afternoon he inherited a couple of baserunners from starter Freddy Peralta, gave up a single on a missed sinker down and in to lefty Jackson Holiday in an 0-2 count, and then gave up a couple of barrels to Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson.
Luckily, Jonny DeLuca managed to make an impressive catch on that 108+ MPH liner in the gap, but the cracks in the flood gates were forming, and the Rays ended up getting thumped Sunday.
Fortunately for Cleav, much to the dismay of overreactions of many fans, he’s actually been pretty good overall in 2026.
His ERA and FIP are both around 3.75. His average exit velocity and the rates (chase and whiff) are both very good, not far enough off his previous exemplary seasons to be concerning.
And yet…
It feels like he’s been bad. Right? Maybe it’s just that he’s been outstanding, so even an above-average season from him feels like a step down.
His sinker has also been getting knocked around; the whiff rate on the pitch has dropped by 10% points. He’s giving up a lower average exit velocity (good) but the actual and expected production are both still up.
His BABIP has jumped super high, which might explain why it feels like he’s been bad.
But even if you look at context dependent stats such as win probability added, he’s actually been BETTER this year than previous seasons.
So all of that to say, I don’t really know what it is about Cleav. He’s actually been pretty darn good this season. And yet… I can’t help but feel like he’s been a bit of a letdown on an otherwise exemplary team.
Ah well. I’m not making decisions for the Rays, and this is one of the many reasons why; I’m irrational and prone to emotion.
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!
