Prior to the promotion of outfielder Chandler Simpson to the major leagues, he was already known as the “fastest man in baseball” after his performance in the minor leagues.
Simpson stole over 100 bases in the minors last season, and most knew it was only a matter of time before he made his presence felt in MLB.
Simpson was given that chance when he was promoted in the middle of April, and he has been an offensive spark for the Rays. He has a .285 average with four extra base hits, 11 RBIs and is 19-for-22 in stolen base attempts.
Those seem like fairly decent numbers and there was no indication Tampa Bay would be making any kind of roster move with Simpson in the near future. That is why the news of Simpson’s demotion back to Triple-A Durham on Friday came as an absolute shock and is such a head-scratching move by an organization and team that is on a roll right now.
The Rays have climbed back above .500 at 29-27 and were 20-15 since Simpson’s arrival to the majors. The club decided to proceed with Jake Mangrum, a switch-hitting outfielder, rather than keep the left-handed hitting bat of Simpson.
The worry with sending a player down that is having success is their confidence. Simpson may not have any problem with going back to Triple-A and continuing to produce, but he also may not take the news well and it could completely ruin the confidence he built up while playing at the highest level.
Hopefully for Rays fans, Simpson’s demotion won’t be a long-term thing, and the speedster will be back up in no time and helping Tampa Bay try to get back to the postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons.
More MLB: Former MVP’s Return Could Signal Final Push Toward Hall of Fame Certainty
The post Rays Send Outfielder to Triple-A In Head-Scratching Roster Decision appeared first on Newsweek.
