The Rays opted to go with the “we have McDonalds at home” approach during the trade deadline by not acquiring any external talent to upgrade at second base. Luis Arraez was a popular name, but ultimately the team decided to roll with a platoon pairing of Richie Palacios and Ben Williamson.
Overall, this was a fairly obvious opportunity for an upgrade, as the Rays second basemen had accumulated the 5th lowest fWAR in the league heading into the trade deadline. The duo combined for an uninspiring 85 wRC+ across 525 PA from the beginning of the season through August 2nd, the day before the trade deadline. The defense at the position has been a mixed bag too with middle of the pack DRS numbers but bottom of the league OAA.
The Rays decided to lean into what they’ve been doing all season by putting their faith in Palacios and Williamson. But then, a wrench was thrown into their plans when Williamson went down with a hamstring strain after playing parts of just two games following the trade deadline. The team has stated Williamson will miss some time, and those words typically mean a player will miss multiple weeks whenever Kevin Cash says that, and may well put Williamson out of commission until the playoffs.
Palacios was thus been given the keys to the car and will be playing most days at the position. He has rewarded the Rays for their trust in him by elevating his game and leaning into his strengths.
The Rays didn’t necessarily “find” something in Palacios after the deadline, but they gave him an opportunity to do more of what he was already good at, and it’s working:
The data here tells a story: Palacios is comfortable and not trying to do too much at the plate, so he’s expanding the zone less when he doesn’t have to. Because he’s chasing less, he’s getting into more favorable counts. Then when Palacios is in those favorable counts, he’s attacking pitches he can do damage on, and he’s hitting them hard with lift.
This isn’t a complicated thing, but it is easier said than done.
Letting Palacios play most days has given him the security and comfort to play his game and stick to what he does well: grind out at-bats. He’s already a tough out given his plate discipline and bat-to-ball ability, but Palacios has found a new gear. He was seeing 3.85 pitches per PA before the deadline and is seeing 4.67 pitches per PA since then. While this is a small sample and things will vary as the season continues, the exact numbers here for Palacios are less important than the trends they’re revealing. The underlying data shows us he’s confident and locked-in with his approach.
It will be interesting to see if the Rays return Palacios to his strict platoon role now that they’ve added right handed hitting veteran infielder Jorge Mateo, the Braves backup short stop that was cut due to the return of Ha-Seong Kim from the injured list. It seems likely they will, with Kevin Cash starting Mateo for the first time on Sunday against a southpaw, but regardless Palacios should expect to still pick up 75% of the at bats for second base through the rest of 2026, and deservedly so.
Palacios’s team-leading 204 wRC+ since the deadline is likely unsustainable, but he doesn’t need to maintain anything close to that level to make the Rays’ decision look smart. If he settles in around 10-15% above league average against righties, Palacios will still provide meaningful value and help lengthen the lineup.
The Rays continue to make the right moves, and in this case the right move was making no move at all.
