It pains me to say it because I like picking on the Rays as much as the next guy, but Tampa Bay came up with a pretty good idea recently. Well, it wasn’t their idea, people have been talking and writing about it for a while, but the Rays actually did it. Last weekend they started a reliever for matchup purposes. Specifically, they started Sergio Romo against the Angels.
The thinking behind the move is pretty straightforward. The Angels stack righties at the top of their lineup — specifically Zack Cozart, Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Albert Pujols, and Andrelton Simmons in whatever order (usually that one) — so they sent out a righty specialist to navigate that difficult part of the lineup.