September 11, 2026 • 9 mins
Friday on The Dan Mathews Show, Tampa Sports Radio’s Nick Wize shared his thoughts on the Rays’ upcoming matchup with the Astros and detailed some of the key factors that could swing the series. The Astros will have their hands full Friday with Drew Rasmussen taking the hill for Tampa Bay and will also have to contend with a potent Rays offense featuring Junior Caminero, Chandler Simpson, and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And to talk much more about the Rays side of things,
you hear him every single weekday afternoon from 12 to
2 there in Tampa on 95.7 WDAE. He is Nick Wise.
Find him on Twitter. I am Nick Wise. W-I-Z-E is
how you can find him there. Nick, great to catch
up with you, buddy. I guess we'll just get the
(00:21):
conversation started with what's the belief in this Rays team there?
Are people believing that this is a team that can win?
not only get into the postseason, but can do some
damage in the American League postseason.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, thanks for having me, Dan. Appreciate it. And to
answer your question, yes, people are definitely high on this team.
I'll say this about the Tampa Bay Rays, though. People
here in Tampa Bay, I feel like they do hold
them to... a lower standard than, let's say, the Buccaneers
or the Lightning. If the Bucs were running away and
at the top of their conference or division, there would
(00:56):
be a lot of hype around it. Same with the
Tampa Bay Lightning. The expectation would be to win the
championship here. My expectation is you've played this well all
year long. I think it is a championship or bus
season for the Tampa Bay race. I don't think a
lot of race fans would say that, but I think
at the very least, they have to make an ALCS
appearance for me for this to be a good season.
(01:19):
And that's because my expectations have changed going into the year.
That obviously wasn't the expectation of the Tampa Bay Rays.
I think their over-under was somewhere around 74, 75 wins.
And I remember doing record predictions at the beginning of
the year. The amount of text I got and calls
I got at the radio station, That they would be
(01:39):
a 100 loss team was it was astounding. I mean,
everybody was so low on this team. Now, all of
a sudden, they're at the top of the American League.
They're in the toughest division in baseball, and they're leading
that division over the New York Yankees right now. I
think they have to win a championship, and I know
they have a low payroll, and I think that's why.
People like to not hold them to the same bars,
(02:00):
the Buccaneers and the bolts here in Tampa Bay. But
anything less for me would be a disappointment because I
believe this roster is good enough to win a championship.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
What's been the driving force for them this year? I mean,
they seemingly always have really good pitching with Kyle Snyder,
but is it the pitching driving the bus or is
the offense actually getting things going for them?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So they can kind of do a little bit of everything.
They're decked by singles. They're not going to kill you
with power, really, outside of Junior Caminero. But they're always
going to be a pitching team. And that's been the
biggest difference between last year and this year is they
play in a pitcher's park at Tropicana Field. Last year, obviously,
(02:40):
with Hurricane Milton that damaged the trop at the end
of 2025, they played... or the end of 24, they
played all last year at Steinbrenner field over in Tampa
minor league park outside, which those came. I mean, you
guys know the heat is like in Houston. Imagine playing
outside in the heat all summer. And it's also, you know,
(03:01):
minor league park, it was a hitter's park and they just,
they were not built for that stadium. So they had
a down year last year. This year, they are a
team that is built for where they play. Uh, and
it is, it is shown because their home record, they're
47 and 25 at the trop. Uh, they're, they're now
good on the road. They weren't, that wasn't always the story,
but they've been good on the road as of lately,
but I would say it's, it's led by pitching. I mean,
(03:22):
the rotation right now, uh, drew Rasmussen, who you guys
are going to see tonight is, yeah, you know, he's,
he's a top five pitcher and, in baseball. I mean,
he's really good. And maybe outside of Tampa Bay, nobody
would consider him a top five pitcher because he's not
well known, I think, because he is on the little
old race. But Drew Rasmussen is a dog. And whenever
(03:43):
he's on the mound, I feel pretty confident in the race.
And then, you know, they made the move for Freddie Peralta. And,
you know, you mentioned Kyle Snyder a minute ago. I
don't know what he does to these pitchers, but he
has the ability to just fix them. You know, he
goes over to the Mets and the Mets, they have
the ability to do the opposite and destroy you. And they,
they did that with Freddie Peralta. He comes there from
(04:05):
Milwaukee with, you know, Cy Young numbers and they kind
of destroy him. He has a down year. They trade
them away. And he had a first, his first couple
starts here and you guys will see Freddie Peralta on Sunday.
His first couple starts here. they weren't great um you
can say oh well the Rockies Colorado's hitters park he's
been dominant there his whole career so I didn't really
(04:25):
give him a pass there but his last three outings
I think he's given up one run against the Tigers
the Mets and then you know for me I wanted
to see him do well against the Braves and he
did he shut them down giving up only uh one
run so he's giving up two runs his last three
starts he gave one run against the Braves so they've
kind of turned him around and all of a sudden
then Nick Martinez they've A guy who's been like a
(04:46):
career 500 guy, they bring him in, he's become a
team leader and he's having just an insane year. And
Shane McClanahan just went down. And so that one kind
of hurts a little bit, but man, they have so
much pitching. it, their, their bullpen has been good. Their
starting pitching has been good. They're just, they're a really
well-rounded team and, and really one of the best run organizations. It's,
(05:08):
it's interesting how they do it because they don't, they
don't spend a lot yet. They do everything well, but
I would say they're definitely led by pitching.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
No question about it. Plus he was a college teammate
of my brother's at UNC too. So it's always awesome
to see Kyle Snyder out there. I'm like, Hey, I
remember that guy when he pitched. Nick Wise, again, WDAE
95-7 there in Tampa, talking the Rays side of this
weekend's matchup. Going to be a fun series, no question
about it. In terms of the offense, I mean, you
(05:37):
mentioned Junior Caminero. I think most of us here obviously
know Yandy Diaz. And then talk about Chandler Simpson, what
he means to that lineup.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I was hoping you were going to bring him up
because he is like the secret weapon. My favorite thing
about watching Chandler Simpson play baseball is he is so fast.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And when he.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Hits the ball to the infield, there is no room
for error. And it's almost like every infield there on
the opponent knows this. And the second the ball comes
to them, you can't mess up. And it's almost like
they kind of... They're thinking a lot when he's running
the bases. And you'll see a lot of guys fumble
the baseball and routine ground balls because they know you
(06:20):
got to get it over to him quick. And then
once he gets on base, he's going to attempt to
steal a second. They'll get aggressive on the base paths.
And he's just an overall exciting player. I mean, he
can lay down a bunt. He's going to get base hits. Uh,
you know, he's one of the top, uh, I know
a lot of guys don't go off of batting average anymore,
but he he's up there in the American league in
(06:40):
terms of batting average. And, you know, I think he's
in the, I'd have to go back and look. I
know he's, he's, he's up there. I'd say he's a
top five guy. I know he's in over 300, but
just an overall exciting player, you know, as far as
his defense goes, not a huge arm, uh, You know,
you hit one out to left field, you're going to
have no problem tagging out. But he is a threat
once he gets out of base and just an overall really,
(07:02):
really fun player to watch.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Again, Nick Wise, WDAE in Tampa, joining us here on
the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790. So, Nick, I mean,
now that the Rays got their stadium situation all figured
out and I know there's new ownership there, I mean,
is there belief that maybe with the new group and
the new stadium coming on, that guys like Caminero and
some of the other guys, Aranda, that they're going to
(07:24):
get locked up and that they're going to try to
really make this thing a solid core and make this
into a perennial winner?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I want to see them lock out Junior Caminero, one
of those 10-year deals. I think it has to be done.
I mean, go into that new stadium in 2029 with
a superstar on your roster. It just makes total sense.
The ownership group said that They want to get into
the 10 to 15 range. They could see that the payroll,
I don't know if I ever see that. I think
(07:54):
that was a, I'm not saying they're lying, but I
think that's a way to get people excited, even more
excited about this team. I just can't imagine them in
the top 10 and payroll, even with the new stadium. uh,
top 15, maybe, uh, I'm going to have to see
that to believe at first, but that is the, uh,
that is the hope. And I, and I think that's
(08:14):
also going to depend on the fans. Are they going to,
are they going to be willing to spend more on tickets?
Cause you know, that's, what's going to happen when you
have a new stadium. And if you're going to spend
on payroll, uh, ticket prices are going to go up.
And right now I would say to get into the trop,
it's one of the better ticket prices. So if fans
are willing to pay it, then maybe the, maybe the
new ownership group, great bunch of guys, um, Maybe they
(08:35):
will be willing to invest more back into the roster.
We hope so. But, you know, the way they operate
right now, I mean, over the last 10 years, I
think they've won the fourth, third or fourth most games
in all of baseball. I think only actually I think
it's third. I think only the Dodgers and the Yankees
have won more than them over the last 10 years,
which is it's kind of crazy when you think about it,
because it's the Yankees and Dodgers are the way they
(08:57):
operate is completely different than the way the Tampa Bay
Rays operate. They just haven't been able to get that
that championship to solidify at all.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yep, scouting and development. That's what the Rays do incredibly well.
It's going to be a fun series. I know you're
going to have your eyes on it. We definitely will here, too,
as well. Again, he's Nick Wise, WDAE 95.7 out there
in Tampa, the flagship station for the Rays. Nick, have
a great show today, man. It's always great to catch
up with you, and we'll definitely do so again soon.
Probably even the postseason, too. Might even be seeing these
(09:26):
two match up in the ALCS.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I can see that. That would be a good matchup.
I'm rooting for it. I got some family in Houston.
So shout out to Kathy and Sherwin. I know they're
listening to you right now. And I would love for
that to be a matchup. And thanks for having me on, Dan.
I appreciate it.
And to talk much more about the Rays side of things,
you hear him every single weekday afternoon from 12 to
2 there in Tampa on 95.7 WDAE. He is Nick Wise.
Find him on Twitter. I am Nick Wise. W-I-Z-E is
how you can find him there. Nick, great to catch
up with you, buddy. I guess we'll just get the
(00:21):
conversation started with what's the belief in this Rays team there?
Are people believing that this is a team that can win?
not only get into the postseason, but can do some
damage in the American League postseason.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, thanks for having me, Dan. Appreciate it. And to
answer your question, yes, people are definitely high on this team.
I'll say this about the Tampa Bay Rays, though. People
here in Tampa Bay, I feel like they do hold
them to... a lower standard than, let's say, the Buccaneers
or the Lightning. If the Bucs were running away and
at the top of their conference or division, there would
(00:56):
be a lot of hype around it. Same with the
Tampa Bay Lightning. The expectation would be to win the
championship here. My expectation is you've played this well all
year long. I think it is a championship or bus
season for the Tampa Bay race. I don't think a
lot of race fans would say that, but I think
at the very least, they have to make an ALCS
appearance for me for this to be a good season.
(01:19):
And that's because my expectations have changed going into the year.
That obviously wasn't the expectation of the Tampa Bay Rays.
I think their over-under was somewhere around 74, 75 wins.
And I remember doing record predictions at the beginning of
the year. The amount of text I got and calls
I got at the radio station, That they would be
(01:39):
a 100 loss team was it was astounding. I mean,
everybody was so low on this team. Now, all of
a sudden, they're at the top of the American League.
They're in the toughest division in baseball, and they're leading
that division over the New York Yankees right now. I
think they have to win a championship, and I know
they have a low payroll, and I think that's why.
People like to not hold them to the same bars,
(02:00):
the Buccaneers and the bolts here in Tampa Bay. But
anything less for me would be a disappointment because I
believe this roster is good enough to win a championship.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
What's been the driving force for them this year? I mean,
they seemingly always have really good pitching with Kyle Snyder,
but is it the pitching driving the bus or is
the offense actually getting things going for them?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So they can kind of do a little bit of everything.
They're decked by singles. They're not going to kill you
with power, really, outside of Junior Caminero. But they're always
going to be a pitching team. And that's been the
biggest difference between last year and this year is they
play in a pitcher's park at Tropicana Field. Last year, obviously,
(02:40):
with Hurricane Milton that damaged the trop at the end
of 2025, they played... or the end of 24, they
played all last year at Steinbrenner field over in Tampa
minor league park outside, which those came. I mean, you
guys know the heat is like in Houston. Imagine playing
outside in the heat all summer. And it's also, you know,
(03:01):
minor league park, it was a hitter's park and they just,
they were not built for that stadium. So they had
a down year last year. This year, they are a
team that is built for where they play. Uh, and
it is, it is shown because their home record, they're
47 and 25 at the trop. Uh, they're, they're now
good on the road. They weren't, that wasn't always the story,
but they've been good on the road as of lately,
but I would say it's, it's led by pitching. I mean,
(03:22):
the rotation right now, uh, drew Rasmussen, who you guys
are going to see tonight is, yeah, you know, he's,
he's a top five pitcher and, in baseball. I mean,
he's really good. And maybe outside of Tampa Bay, nobody
would consider him a top five pitcher because he's not
well known, I think, because he is on the little
old race. But Drew Rasmussen is a dog. And whenever
(03:43):
he's on the mound, I feel pretty confident in the race.
And then, you know, they made the move for Freddie Peralta. And,
you know, you mentioned Kyle Snyder a minute ago. I
don't know what he does to these pitchers, but he
has the ability to just fix them. You know, he
goes over to the Mets and the Mets, they have
the ability to do the opposite and destroy you. And they,
they did that with Freddie Peralta. He comes there from
(04:05):
Milwaukee with, you know, Cy Young numbers and they kind
of destroy him. He has a down year. They trade
them away. And he had a first, his first couple
starts here and you guys will see Freddie Peralta on Sunday.
His first couple starts here. they weren't great um you
can say oh well the Rockies Colorado's hitters park he's
been dominant there his whole career so I didn't really
(04:25):
give him a pass there but his last three outings
I think he's given up one run against the Tigers
the Mets and then you know for me I wanted
to see him do well against the Braves and he
did he shut them down giving up only uh one
run so he's giving up two runs his last three
starts he gave one run against the Braves so they've
kind of turned him around and all of a sudden
then Nick Martinez they've A guy who's been like a
(04:46):
career 500 guy, they bring him in, he's become a
team leader and he's having just an insane year. And
Shane McClanahan just went down. And so that one kind
of hurts a little bit, but man, they have so
much pitching. it, their, their bullpen has been good. Their
starting pitching has been good. They're just, they're a really
well-rounded team and, and really one of the best run organizations. It's,
(05:08):
it's interesting how they do it because they don't, they
don't spend a lot yet. They do everything well, but
I would say they're definitely led by pitching.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
No question about it. Plus he was a college teammate
of my brother's at UNC too. So it's always awesome
to see Kyle Snyder out there. I'm like, Hey, I
remember that guy when he pitched. Nick Wise, again, WDAE
95-7 there in Tampa, talking the Rays side of this
weekend's matchup. Going to be a fun series, no question
about it. In terms of the offense, I mean, you
(05:37):
mentioned Junior Caminero. I think most of us here obviously
know Yandy Diaz. And then talk about Chandler Simpson, what
he means to that lineup.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I was hoping you were going to bring him up
because he is like the secret weapon. My favorite thing
about watching Chandler Simpson play baseball is he is so fast.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And when he.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Hits the ball to the infield, there is no room
for error. And it's almost like every infield there on
the opponent knows this. And the second the ball comes
to them, you can't mess up. And it's almost like
they kind of... They're thinking a lot when he's running
the bases. And you'll see a lot of guys fumble
the baseball and routine ground balls because they know you
(06:20):
got to get it over to him quick. And then
once he gets on base, he's going to attempt to
steal a second. They'll get aggressive on the base paths.
And he's just an overall exciting player. I mean, he
can lay down a bunt. He's going to get base hits. Uh,
you know, he's one of the top, uh, I know
a lot of guys don't go off of batting average anymore,
but he he's up there in the American league in
(06:40):
terms of batting average. And, you know, I think he's
in the, I'd have to go back and look. I
know he's, he's, he's up there. I'd say he's a
top five guy. I know he's in over 300, but
just an overall exciting player, you know, as far as
his defense goes, not a huge arm, uh, You know,
you hit one out to left field, you're going to
have no problem tagging out. But he is a threat
once he gets out of base and just an overall really,
(07:02):
really fun player to watch.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Again, Nick Wise, WDAE in Tampa, joining us here on
the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790. So, Nick, I mean,
now that the Rays got their stadium situation all figured
out and I know there's new ownership there, I mean,
is there belief that maybe with the new group and
the new stadium coming on, that guys like Caminero and
some of the other guys, Aranda, that they're going to
(07:24):
get locked up and that they're going to try to
really make this thing a solid core and make this
into a perennial winner?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I want to see them lock out Junior Caminero, one
of those 10-year deals. I think it has to be done.
I mean, go into that new stadium in 2029 with
a superstar on your roster. It just makes total sense.
The ownership group said that They want to get into
the 10 to 15 range. They could see that the payroll,
I don't know if I ever see that. I think
(07:54):
that was a, I'm not saying they're lying, but I
think that's a way to get people excited, even more
excited about this team. I just can't imagine them in
the top 10 and payroll, even with the new stadium. uh,
top 15, maybe, uh, I'm going to have to see
that to believe at first, but that is the, uh,
that is the hope. And I, and I think that's
(08:14):
also going to depend on the fans. Are they going to,
are they going to be willing to spend more on tickets?
Cause you know, that's, what's going to happen when you
have a new stadium. And if you're going to spend
on payroll, uh, ticket prices are going to go up.
And right now I would say to get into the trop,
it's one of the better ticket prices. So if fans
are willing to pay it, then maybe the, maybe the
new ownership group, great bunch of guys, um, Maybe they
(08:35):
will be willing to invest more back into the roster.
We hope so. But, you know, the way they operate
right now, I mean, over the last 10 years, I
think they've won the fourth, third or fourth most games
in all of baseball. I think only actually I think
it's third. I think only the Dodgers and the Yankees
have won more than them over the last 10 years,
which is it's kind of crazy when you think about it,
because it's the Yankees and Dodgers are the way they
(08:57):
operate is completely different than the way the Tampa Bay
Rays operate. They just haven't been able to get that
that championship to solidify at all.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yep, scouting and development. That's what the Rays do incredibly well.
It's going to be a fun series. I know you're
going to have your eyes on it. We definitely will here, too,
as well. Again, he's Nick Wise, WDAE 95.7 out there
in Tampa, the flagship station for the Rays. Nick, have
a great show today, man. It's always great to catch
up with you, and we'll definitely do so again soon.
Probably even the postseason, too. Might even be seeing these
(09:26):
two match up in the ALCS.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
I can see that. That would be a good matchup.
I'm rooting for it. I got some family in Houston.
So shout out to Kathy and Sherwin. I know they're
listening to you right now. And I would love for
that to be a matchup. And thanks for having me on, Dan.
I appreciate it.
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