ST. PETERSBURG — Trade acquisition Christopher Morel homered in his Tampa Bay debut, helping the new-look Rays come from behind to beat the Miami Marlins 9-3 on Tuesday night.
Ben Rortvedt and Yandy Diaz each contributed two-run singles off reliever Declan Cronin (2-3) during a five-run sixth inning that propelled the Rays to a 6-3 lead. Jose Caballero added an RBI double, then scored on a balk while attempting to steal home to extend the lead in the seventh.
Morel, acquired Sunday in a trade that sent All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes to Chicago, homered to left center field off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera leading off the fourth inning. The deal was one of several the Rays made the past week with an eye on positioning themselves for success in coming years.
“We know he’s got a lot of power,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He was fun to be around today. The hitting was great, but also his presence in the dugout — vocal, smiling, kind of what we had heard” about him.
The homer was Morel’s 19th of the season.
The Marlins (39-68) were also sellers before the trade deadline, moving third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the New York Yankees last week and making trades with six more teams on Tuesday.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs returned from Tommy John surgery, making his first start since April 2023 for the Rays. He allowed a two-run homer to Emmanuel Rivera in the first inning and yielded six hits while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings.
Jake Burger had a solo homer off Tyler Alexander (4-3) for a 3-1 Marlins lead in the fifth. Cabrera left the game with a knee injury after allowing two runs and three hits in five-plus innings.
Marlins’ trades
The Marlins were big sellers at the MLB trade deadline ahead of their Tuesday night game against the Rays:
— The San Diego Padres acquired All-Star closer Tanner Scott and right-handed reliever Bryan Hoeing from the Marlins, and Miami picked pitching prospects LHP Robby Snelling and RHP Adam Mazur and top infield prospects Graham Pauley and Jay Beshears.
— The Pittsburgh Pirates, in the middle of the NL wild-card race, added outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Miami in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jun-Seok Shim and infielder Garret Forrester. De La Cruz led the Marlins with 18 homers.
— The Baltimore Orioles acquired left-handed starter Trevor Rogers from Miami, sending prospect Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers to the Marlins. The 26-year-old Rogers was a dependable option for Miami most of the season and has a 4.53 ERA over 21 starts.
— The Arizona Diamondbacks plugged a hole in their lineup by adding first baseman Josh Bell, who was hitting .239 with 14 homers for the Marlins. Miami will receive cash in return.
— The Mets picked up Marlins right-handed reliever Huascar Brazobán in exchange for minor league infielder Wilfredo Lara.
— The Seattle Mariners, in a tight race with Houston for the AL West lead, re-acquired right-hander JT Chargois from Miami for minor league right-hander Will Schomberg. Chargois pitched for Seattle during the first half of the 2021 season.
Trainers room
Marlins: Cabrera departed two pitches into the sixth inning. He motioned with his glove for catcher Nick Fortes to approach the mound and was replaced by Cronin after a brief discussion with manager Skip Schumaker.
Schumaker said the right-hander tweaked his knee covering first base on an infield single the previous inning.
“We’ll figure it out after testing (Wednesday),” the manager added.
Rays: Springs made his first start since April 13, 2023, against the Boston Red Sox, a span of 474 days. He threw 76 pitches, 46 for strikes.
Up next
Right-hander Taj Bradley (6-4, 2.43 ERA) starts the finale of a two-game series for Tampa Bay. The Marlins will counter with right-hander Roddery Munoz (1-5, 5.61).
