TAMPA -- The fastest man in baseball had to hurry to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday night.
With Richie Palacios going on the injured list due to a right knee sprain, the Rays promoted outfielder Chandler Simpson, their No. 7 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, from Triple-A Durham before Friday night¡¯s 1-0 loss to the Yankees, their fourth straight defeat and their second in the past three games by that score.
Simpson didn¡¯t get into the game on his first day in the big leagues, but he made his way to the dugout in the early innings after taking a flight from Durham to Atlanta and another to Tampa.
¡°Extremely grateful,¡± Simpson said after the game. ¡°The whole way, I was just thinking about everything that it took to get here, and just trying to stay in the moment.¡±
Whenever he makes his Major League debut in a No. 14 Rays uniform, Simpson should be a sight to see. Dubbed ¡°Little Tony Gwynn¡± by longtime big league outfielder Marquis Grissom, he possesses a unique skill-set featuring game-changing speed and elite contact-hitting ability.
¡°There's some real hitting ability that pairs with the foot speed. That's where the uniqueness, I think, really comes into play,¡± president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. ¡°The over-the-fence power isn't there; that's not his game. But you don't see many people that are that fast, that control the zone as well as he does and can make contact the way he does.¡±
His track record backs that up.
Simpson, 24, stole 104 bases while leading the Minor Leagues with a .355 batting average in 110 games last season. After spending Spring Training with the Rays, Simpson broke camp with Triple-A Durham and hit .301/.325/.329 with eight stolen bases in 17 games.
Earlier this month, he turned a routine one-hopper to first base into an infield single. It¡¯s an old-school skill-set based on speed and putting the ball in play, with extremely limited power, but the Rays have let Simpson be himself throughout his rise to the Majors.
Maybe his dynamic style will jumpstart a Rays lineup that hasn¡¯t scored in 15 innings.
¡°I want to prove to everybody that my game plays,¡± Simpson said. ¡°I know there¡¯s some doubts, but I mean, I¡¯ve proved it at every level. What¡¯s one more?¡±
Simpson¡¯s call-up came out of necessity, as the Rays are beat up in the outfield. They lost right fielder Josh Lowe (right oblique strain) on Opening Day. Center fielder Jonny DeLuca (right shoulder strain) went down last week. And now Palacios, who came off the IL on Thursday and made an instant impact in his season debut, is back on the shelf with a right PCL injury.
It¡¯s tough news for Palacios, who missed the start of the season due to a fractured right ring finger. Manager Kevin Cash said he wasn¡¯t sure how Palacios sustained the injury, noting that he left Steinbrenner Field on Thursday night ¡°feeling fine¡± but woke up Friday morning ¡°not feeling too good.¡± The injury is believed to be similar to the one that sidelined Palacios from Aug. 1-Sept. 23 last year.
The late-breaking nature of Palacios¡¯ injury made it quite a rush to get Simpson to Steinbrenner Field. He was getting ready to head to Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday when Triple-A manager Morgan Ensberg called him. Simpson worried he was late for a meeting.
¡°Then he was like, ¡®No, you¡¯re good. But you do have to come to the field because you¡¯re going to the big leagues,¡¯¡± Simpson recalled. ¡°And I¡¯m like, ¡®Oh, my God.¡¯¡±
Next thing he knew, he was packing a bag, calling his parents and friends, hustling to the airport, buying a phone charger during his 30-minute layover in Atlanta and getting whisked away to the Rays¡¯ clubhouse.
A second-round pick in the 2022 Draft, Simpson was a college infielder who moved to the outfield in the Minors. He is expected to get most of his work in center field, the only position he has played for Durham so far this season.
Jake Mangum got the start in center field on Friday night. He and Kameron Misner can play all three outfield spots, while Christopher Morel has spent all his time in left this year. Jos¨¦ Caballero is also an option in right field, and he showed his athleticism by robbing Ben Rice of a two-run homer Friday night.
It¡¯s unclear how long Simpson¡¯s first stint in the Majors will last. Lowe is expected to resume swinging a bat on Saturday, while DeLuca¡¯s initial recovery timetable offered an estimated return between late April and early May.
¡°Is he ready? Is he not? Look, there's a need right now,¡± Neander said. ¡°And I think Chandler's game is unique enough where we're never really going to know, but we're in a spot where there's opportunity. Feel like he's the best option, and it's worth getting that feedback here in the big leagues.¡±