The Rays made what they called difficult decisions Friday in reinstating outfielder Jake Mangum from the injured list and optioning speedy Chandler Simpson to Triple-A Durham to make room.
Mangum had been sidelined since late April with a left groin strain following a solid first month in the majors. Simpson, who made his big-league debut a week before Mangum got hurt, also made an impressive showing, using his elite speed to impact games in numerous ways.
“It was a really, really difficult decision for all the reasons that you desire when you’re fielding a competitive team,” Rays baseball operations president Erik Neander said.
In making the call, the Rays seemed to lean toward the defensive benefits. That led to Kameron Misner, the first of the three rookies they called up due to injuries to front-line outfielders, getting to stay given his outstanding play in centerfield.
With Josh Lowe set in rightfield and Christopher Morel out of options, that left the Rays to choose between Mangum and Simpson for the final outfield spot.
Mangum is the better defensive player, showed more consistency on offense and is a switch hitter. Simpson is a left-handed hitter, as are Misner and Lowe. Simpson has the ability to single-handedly change an inning (or a game) directly with his speed, and indirectly as pitchers and defenders tried to deal with it.
“Kam is playing Gold Glove-caliber defense,” Neander said. “Before going down, Jake contributed in all facets of the game and was hitting .340 and getting on base, switch-hitting, doing everything, providing energy and was a fan favorite. And Chandler is as electric a player as you’ll see.
“Could have gone a few different ways with it. We felt like Kam’s defense in center, playing at a Gold Glove-caliber level was going to be important for us. And we felt like Jake deserved the first crack on the roster for playing time given what he had shown and what he had done before going down. It’s hard to knock any of these three players, and we’re not two games over .500 right now without all of them.”
In 21 games, Mangum hit .338 with a .384 on-base and .397 slugging percentage for a .781 OPS. He drove in seven runs, stole eight bases without being caught and had a 0.7 WAR rating, per baseball-reference.com.
In 35 games, Simpson hit .285 with a .315 on-base and .317 slugging percentage for a .632 OPS. He drove in 11 runs, stole 19 bases in 22 tries and had a -0.1 WAR rating.
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