Austin Shenton’s Emergence Informs Rays’ Deadline Plans
As badly as the Rays needed a starting pitcher, their decision to trade sweet-swinging Triple-A first baseman Kyle Manzardo to the Guardians for Aaron Civale was still surprising given how much they value high-end controllable young players.
But the Rays had their reasons, and one of them included the emergence of 25-year-old third baseman Austin Shenton.
The lefthanded hitter bounced back from an injury-shortened and disappointing 2022 season at Double-A Montgomery and hit his way to Triple-A Durham by mid July.
“Tremendous,’’ Rays general manager Peter Bendix said of Shenton. “He’s another one to where the ingredients to hit were there when we acquired him—younger player, more development time.
“He had some injury issues last year. I think we’re seeing the healthy version of him again this year. He’s a really good hitter. He does a lot of things well.”
Through 94 games this season Shenton hit .296/.403/.558 with 19 home runs and 70 RBIs.
“He’s somebody that I don’t know exactly where he factors in,” Bendix said, “but guys who can hit, you make room for.’’
The Rays have been waiting to see something from Shenton since acquiring him along with JT Chargois from the Mariners in July 2021 for reliever Diego Castillo.
That Shenton can play both first base and third is a bonus, and something the Rays plan to exploit.
“He’s capable at both,’’ Bendix said, “and I think we’ll probably continue to develop both—just adding that versatility is important.’’
Identifying Shenton as a trade candidate was a team effort.
“It’s a combination of our scouting and our analytics. It really is,’’ Bendix said. “You’re looking for guys who have ingredients in place. You’re looking for growth opportunities. You’re looking for things that they might not do well now but you think they will.
“And it’s taking in all the information from the numbers, from your eyes, from learning about the player, and then it’s making a guess.”
COOL RAYS
— The Rays added some needed minor league depth at the trade deadline, acquiring catcher Alex Jackson from the Brewers and reliever Manuel Rodriguez from the Cubs.
— The Rays also used the deadline to offload one of their most disappointing acquisitions to the White Sox. Tampa Bay traded righthander Luis Patiño, the centerpiece of the return in the December 2020 trade of pitcher Blake Snell to the Padres. The Rays acquired cash in the exchange with Chicago.
