3 Rays players Phillies still wish they had on their roster

Three Rays players the Phillies likely still wish they had on their roster

The Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series for the first time since their 2008 appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Three notable players on the 2020 Rays postseason roster — who all significantly contributed in their American League pennant victory over the Houston Astros — once donned a uniform in the Phillies organization. You have to assume the Phillies wish they never parted ways with them.

1. RHP Charlie Morton

After pitching eight seasons in the majors, Charlie Morton joined the 2016 Phillies rotation; in four starts, he went 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 19-to-8 strikeouts-to-walks ratio, and 1.327 WHIP. However, in his fourth start, Morton suffered a season-ending hamstring injury suffered while running to first base.

Morton has not pitched for a National League team since the injury, as in 97 combined regular season starts with the Houston Astros (2017-18) and Tampa Bay Rays (2019-20), he has posted a 47-18 record, 3.34 ERA, and 1.159 WHIP. In comparison, Roy Halladay — who Morton has often been compared to for his pitching style — made 103 starts in a Phillies uniform and went 55-29 with a 3.25 ERA and 1.119 WHIP.

Morton shined for the Astros in their 2017 World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing only two runs, while striking out 11 batters and walking just one, in 10 1/3 innings. Now, he will get the chance to help lead the Rays to its first franchise World Series championship. During his ALCS Game 7 appearance against his former team on Saturday, Morton earned the win after tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out six spanning 66 pitches.

Morton is now 4-0 with a 0.46 ERA and 0.86 in winner-take-all postseason games in his career spanning 19 2/3 innings. His four wins are the most in such games all-time, according to MLB Network.

One of former Phillies general manager Matt Klentak’s first moves was acquiring Morton from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a team-friendly deal, as the Phillies only had to send back a Clearwater Threshers minor-league pitcher. Coincidentally, the Phillies not bringing back Morton in 2017 is now looked back on as one of Klentak’s worst “non-moves” during his five-season tenure.

2. LHP Aaron Loup

Left-handed reliever Aaron Loup began the first seven seasons of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, where in 369 appearances from 2012-18, he posted a 3.47 ERA and 1.271 WHIP.

Then came the July 31, 2018, trade deadline, when the Blue Jays dealt their long-time bullpen arm to the Phillies in exchange for then-minor league RHP Jacob Waguespack — who has since appeared in 27 games for the American League East club. Among the other pieces the Phillies acquired around the same time included catcher Wilson Ramos, infielders Asdrubal Cabrera and Justin Bour, outfielder Jose Bautista, and left-handed pitcher Luis Avilan.

Loup made nine appearances with the Phillies to finish out their 2018 season, the first of two non-postseason finishes under then-manager Gabe Kapler. Across four innings in those outings, he yielded four hits, a pair of runs, and one walk, while punching out two of his 17 batters faced.

Similar to Morton’s brief, yet seemingly average stint while donning red pinstripes, the Phillies also chose to not bring back Loup — a decision they likely now regret.

Loup has played in 28 regular season games since, some with the San Diego Padres in 2019, but most coming this season with the Rays. Of those outings, he went 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 0.847 WHIP. And, so far this postseason, Loup has been a tremendously valuable asset for the Kevin Cash-led Rays — throwing a combined three scoreless innings in five games (four coming in the American League Championship Series opposite the Astros).