ST. PETERSBURG -- If not for a left oblique strain sustained in his last scheduled Spring Training outing, Ryan Pepiot might have established himself as a key part of the Dodgers' rotation out of the gate this past season.

Now, he’ll get that opportunity with the Rays.

Tampa Bay picked up a pair of intriguing young big leaguers from the Dodgers in the trade that sent Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot to Los Angeles. The Rays don’t want to saddle either new acquisition with outsized expectations, but they could be plug-and-play replacements for the players they gave up -- Jonny DeLuca as a versatile right-handed hitter in Tampa Bay’s outfield mix and Pepiot as part of the Rays’ post-Glasnow rotation.

The 26-year-old Pepiot, listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, doesn’t have Glasnow’s raw stuff or freakish athleticism. Few pitchers, if any, do. But Pepiot has shown plenty of promise in his limited time with the Dodgers, and he’ll get a chance to take off with the Rays.

“He’s big. He’s strong. He’s athletic. Exceptional changeup. Fastball that plays above the velocities. A developing breaking ball that gives him three pitches that give him a very good chance to be a good Major League starter,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “I think he’s very close to that.”

Pepiot debuted for the Dodgers in 2022 and put up some strong surface-level numbers -- including a 3.47 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings -- but there were two red flags. The right-hander didn’t have a reliable third pitch, and he walked nearly 17 percent of the batters he faced, which led to him pitching into the sixth inning just once in seven starts that season.

Pepiot acknowledged his command issues last spring, telling MLB.com's Juan Toribio, “I think it was a combination of trying to throw too hard, trying to do a little too much.” He might have quickly put that behind him last season, but he wound up on the shelf until Aug. 19 due to an oblique injury. When he came back, though, he was a different pitcher in two key ways.

The improvement in his command was noticeable. Pepiot attacked hitters, throwing 49.1 percent of his pitches in the strike zone compared to 43.6 percent in 2022. That commitment to the zone presented other problems for hitters, as Pepiot's chase rate also improved from 26.4 percent to 32.1 percent.

Additionally, Pepiot’s breaking ball took on a new shape. He threw it harder, at an average of 88.8 mph compared to 86.7 mph in 2022, with less vertical movement. The revamped slider generated a .239 wOBA and 32.6 percent whiff rate, making it a solid third offering alongside a mid-90s fastball with good carry and an excellent changeup that’s been his calling card to this point.

Put it all together, and Pepiot only walked five of the 159 hitters he faced, while recording a 2.14 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in eight outings down the stretch in 2023.

“The stuff is in a pretty good place, but I think the strike-throwing -- be it mentality, be it mechanical adjustments, what have you -- is something that we saw take a meaningful step forward,” Neander said. “When you have three pitches, some depth to the menu, with good stuff, and the strike-throwing really starts to come on, that gives you a lot of room for impacting a rotation. … We’ll get him in, but feel like that’s very much right in front of him.”

So is a new opportunity, with a new team.

• Last week was the Rays’ annual “Week of Giving,” which ended with a heartwarming event at The Trop. Read more >>

• The All-MLB Team was announced Saturday night, with nobody from the 99-win Rays on the First or Second team. Read more >>

• Sam Dykstra breaks down the best Spring Breakout prospect matchups. Read more >>

• Brian Murphy and Thomas Harrigan break down the best remaining free agents. Read more >>

Neander said the Rays’ trade talks with the Dodgers started to “intensify” the week after Thanksgiving. Then, those talks ramped up at the Winter Meetings.

“The week before the Meetings and into the Meetings, it was a lot of time,” Neander said Saturday.

Including a little time away from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center with country music star Brad Paisley. Yes, really.

Paisley is a big Dodgers fan, and he hosted the team’s contingent the night of Dec. 5 at his farm near Nashville, Tenn. Neander got to join the party as well.

There are plenty of reasons the Glasnow trade made sense for both sides, but might Paisley have played a part?

“Brad made it clear he was a Tyler fan. Made sure to use that as much as we could,” Neander said. “Got to pull out all the stops to get something like this done.”

Glasnow posted a message on Instagram thanking the Rays and their fans and looking ahead to fulfilling his childhood dream of playing “championship baseball” with his hometown Dodgers.

“I’m forever grateful to everyone in the Rays organization,” Glasnow wrote. “The past 6 years have been the greatest years of my life. The staff and players I’ve been around during my time as a Ray have made me a better pitcher and person. To the fans of Tampa Bay, thank you so much for your unwavering support and kindness through all of the ups and downs. Tampa has become my home and the memories I’ve made here will last forever.”

After dealing with the pressures of being a top prospect and struggling badly during his early years in Pittsburgh, Glasnow really came into his own with the Rays, on and off the field. Injuries held him back, especially when he appeared to be on the verge of truly special seasons in 2019 and '21, but this was the perfect place for his incredible ability and his goofy, fun-loving personality to flourish.

Glasnow, who bought a home in Tampa, noted in his Instagram post that this isn’t goodbye -- “just see you later … probably at Gasparilla or something.”

To subscribe to Rays Beat, visit this page and mark "Rays Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Rays or that they're checked as your favorite team. 

View Online