For the first time since the franchise came into existence in 1998, there is reason to be optimistic about the prospects of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But for reasons that are both in and out of their control, that optimism still must be tempered.
Few teams in baseball have as many good young prospects in their everyday lineup as the Devil Rays, from B.J. Upton to Delmon Young to Elijah Dukes. Add promising pitchers James Shields and Scott Kazmir, and for the first time the Devil Rays appear to have a solid base on which to build.
“I’d like to believe we’re doing it the right way, and when the time is right we’ll go out and get some free agents to pop in among the guys we have here,” Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I kind of like that.”
But while their fortunes appear brighter, the Devil Rays still wake up every day playing in baseball’s high-rent district.
They began the season with a payroll of a little more than $24 million — dead last in the major leagues — but play 18 games against a New York Yankees team that has three individuals making nearly that amount on a $189 million-plus payroll. Tampa Bay also plays another 18 times against a Boston Red Sox team that will spend more than $143 million this season.
“It doesn’t matter what the payroll is, you still have to go on the field and compete, and we can win on any given day,” said the Devil Rays’ Greg Norton, a former White Sox infielder.
While it would seem daunting to try to improve while facing the Yankees — even in their current state — and the Red Sox, Maddon said he’d have it no other way.
“I like to think it does help because we’re playing among the best in baseball in a high-finance division against veteran players who push us,” he said. “It’s difficult, but we do rise to the occasion and play hard.”
Tampa Bay has won three of its first four games against the Yankees this season and won’t face Boston until July. But lifetime against the two teams, the Devil Rays are 103-200.
“I think it’s a positive because we’re going to run up against good teams on a consistent basis,” Norton said. “In the long run I don’t think it’s going to hurt us.”
Maddon said he doesn’t think his phenoms, particularly Young and Dukes, are intimidated by anyone.
“On the field, they’ve handled it very well,” he said.
Off the field, however, the young Devil Rays have had issues that could derail their quest to join the ranks of the high rollers. Those issues call into question whether their core has cracks that could make the foundation crumble.
Young was suspended for 50 games last season for flinging his bat toward an umpire in the minors. That seems pedestrian compared with what the franchise is experiencing with Dukes, whose wife accused him last week of threatening to kill her, according to published reports.
Maddon said Young has been able to put the incident behind him.
“He has been great,” Maddon said of Young, who declined to comment Saturday. “He plays the game with dignity. He has not been involved with the umpires at all, and he pays attention to detail. He’s a very different young man, and he’s going to be good here for many years.”
Maddon is trying to determine the right course of action in dealing with Dukes’ situation. He didn’t play Dukes in the two games after the story broke but put him in the lineup Friday night against the White Sox.
“I’m still getting to know the man,” Maddon said. “That’s his personal life, but it does impact the organization in a negative manner.”
Negativity has been the one constant in the history of the Devil Rays. While that could be on the verge of changing, the obstacles — on and off the field — are still formidable.
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rfoltman@tribune.com
