Former Pirates Help Lift Rays to World Series
Entering game seven of the American League Championship Series, it was win or go home for the Tampa Bay Rays. After jumping out to a 3-0 series lead over the Houston Astros, the Rays were not able to close out the series and the Astros battled back to force a game seven. With a trip to the 2020 World Series at stake, the Rays turned to a former Pirates player who had had big game experience before. Charlie Morton closed out the 2017 World Series win for the Houston Astros and was now being tabbed to start against his former team in an all-important game seven match-up that could send the Rays to the World Series for the first time since the 2008 season when they took on the Philadelphia Phillies, and only the second time in franchise history.
There were some familiar faces behind the push to the playoffs including Morton, Tyler Glasnow, and Austin Meadows among others. Even though all three had some rough times with the Pirates, it is good to see them developing and having success with the Rays. Glasnow got some big wins for the Rays early in the series and, after an injury spurt at the end of the 2020 season, Meadows is slowly working his way back into the everyday lineup. Even Aaron Slegers, who spent a small amount of time in the Pirates organization last season, has made an impact in getting the Rays to the World Series. Today, we look at all four players and see how their contributions helped lift the Rays to the World Series and a chance at the organization's first World Championship.
Charlie Morton
Charlie Morton's career in Pittsburgh came with its share of ups and downs. He came to the Pirates in the trade that sent Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves and did not make a good first impression in a Pirates uniform. Over his first two seasons with Pittsburgh, Morton went a dismal 7-21 with a 5.91 ERA in 176.2 innings of work. He walked 8.2% of the batters he faced that season and struck out 15.1%. He had short-lived success with the Pirates in 2011 when he went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and missed out on being a National League All-Star. He was a consistent member of the Pirates during their playoff years of 2013 to 2015 but was overshadowed by guys like Francisco Liriano, AJ Burnett, and Edison Volquez. Morton went 22-25 with a 3.98 ERA in 69 starts over those three years and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies following the 2015 season for pitcher David Whitehead.
After missing most of the 2016 season with an injury, Morton would hit the free-agent market and signed with the Houston Astros. This is where he would hit his stride going 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA in his first season with the Astros. He went away from pitching to contact and trusted his fastball to the tune of 163 strikeouts in 142.1 innings of work. He continued his success in 2017 and earned his first all-star game appearance with a 15-3 record and a 3.13 ERA. The Astros would call on Morton for one of the biggest situations in franchise history when he came on to close out game seven of the World Series. He got the final three outs and helped Houston to the World Series Championships, one that would become tainted.
Morton is now on his third playoff team and once again came through in a big situation. With the Rays facing game seven of the ALCS, they called on Morton, who was a perfect 3-0 in prior Game seven appearances. Morton was dominant allowing just two hits over 5.2 innings of work. He was lifted in the bottom of the sixth as the Rays decided to go to the bullpen, and it would work out as the team was able to close out the win. It helped Morton improve to a perfect 4-0 in Game seven appearances and 2-0 in the playoffs. In a season that Morton mostly missed due to injury, the win was a big confidence boost for the Rays ace as the team heads to the World Series.
Tyler Glasnow:
Tyler Glasnow was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft and was supposed to be part of the Pirates rotation of the future. However, the Pirates could never figure out Glasnow as he had three sub-par seasons with the Pirates. He made his MLB debut during the 2016 season and appeared in seven games, four starts, going 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA. Things didn't get much better for the right-hander in his first full season with the Bucs. He appeared in 15 games, starting 13 of them, and went 2-7 and his ERA skyrocketed to the mid-sevens. With not much going right, the Pirates decided to try Glasnow as a long-reliever and in 34 games he went just 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA. The Pirates would end up giving up on Glasnow and sent him to Tampa Bay in the Chris Archer deal.
He immediately entered the Rays starting rotation and continued to struggle going 1-5 with a 4.20 ERA in 11 starts. However, something clicked in the off-season and Glasnow would come back in 2019 and earn the top spot in the Rays rotation behind Morton. In 12 starts, Glasnow went 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA while striking out 76 in 60.2 innings of work. He used that season to propel him to the top of the Rays rotation and earned starts in game one of both the ALDS and ALCS. So far this postseason, Glasnow has gone 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA and has already been tabbed as the game one starter for the World Series and will look to get the Rays out to a 1-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Austin Meadows:
Austin Meadows made his Major League debut with the Pirates on May 18th, 2018, and many thought he would be the Pirates centerfielder of the future. Over his first 13 games with the Pirates, Meadows hit .409 with four home runs and seven RBI and was shaping into a nice young outfielder. He continued his success in June but slipped in the month of July with his average at just .212 for the month. That is when the Pirates shocked the baseball world and went all in for Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer sending Glasnow, Meadows, and prospect Shane Baz for the right-hander. The dream of having Meadows be the Pirates centerfielder of the future went away and the Pirates would eventually fall out of playoff contention that season.
Meadows went on to become a fixture in the Rays outfield during the 2019 season, hitting .291 with 33 home runs and 89 RBI in 138 games with the Rays. For his efforts, he was named an American League All-Star for the first time in his young career and showed that he has the potential to be a five-tool player. He nearly matched his six Minor League season total of 46 home runs in one season and showed that he can hit for average while still providing some pop from the outfield. 2020 was supposed to be the year that Meadows went from breakout star to household name, but two separate Injured List stints allowed him to play in just 36 games this season, hitting .205 with four home runs and 13 RBI. He missed most of the month of September and only recently returned for the playoff run. It will be the outfielder's first World Series appearance as he looks to help the Rays raise the banner for the first time in franchise history.
Aaron Slegers:
When you look at this list of former Pirates, one of the names you may not recognize is Aaron Slegers. Slegers never appeared in a Pirates uniform but was a member of the team for about three months and into Spring Training during the 2019 season. Slegers was claimed off waivers by the Pirates from the Minnesota Twins on January 11th, 2019, and came into Big League camp with the Pirates. The then 27-year-old had limited Big League experience and appeared in four games for the Pirates during Spring Training. He pitched to a 4.50 ERA over 8.0 innings of work while walking three and striking out three. However, he allowed an opponent batting average of .294 and the Pirates ended up designating him for assignment after Spring Training.
Sleger was shortly traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash and headed to Triple-A Durham. After a rough spell in the Minor Leagues that saw him go 6-7 with a 5.05 ERA, Slegers made one appearance for the Rays and allowed one run in three innings of work. He was designated for assignment at the end of the season, but cleared waivers and returned to the Rays. It was the third time in his career he was DFA'd and he was determined to come back stronger in 2020. He ended up earning an Opening Day roster spot with the Rays and took the opportunity in stride. He pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 26 innings of work as a long-reliever and showed great control walking just five batters. It was Slegers highest workload in the Major Leagues and he showed he could compete against Big League hitters. Now, he is making an impact in the bullpen pitching five innings this postseason and giving up just one earned run.
The World Series kicks off tonight as the Rays face the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8:11 pm. The four former Pirates will surely be a part of this World Series run and will go a long way in determining the Rays fate. Tyler Glasnow gets the call for game one of the series against Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The former Buccos have shown success so far with the Rays and will be looking to help the team raise their first World Series banner in organizational history.
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