Rays Notebook: Former Teammate Brooks Raley Excited About Jose Siri's Arrival

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The biggest trade-deadline move for the Tampa Bay Rays was acquiring center fielder Jose Siri from the Houston Astros. He's got a lot of promise, and the Rays' have a huge need at that position, especially with Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips and Josh Lowe all gone in the past few weeks.

Rays reliever Brooks Raley played with Siri last season in Houston, and he was impressed. Siri hit .304 with four home runs and nine RBIs in just 46 at-bats, and was a demon both defensively and on the basepaths. 

"Siri, I really enjoyed playing with him,'' Raley said. "The bat at times is really impressive, the speed, the defense. He's a very electric player. I'm obviously excited to him here and he'll fit in and find a way to make an impact.''

Houston had hoped that he would be their every-day center fielder this season, but he's struggled in 2022 and bounced back and forth with the Astros this year, struggling at the big-league level, hitting just .178. He's shown plenty of power throughout his minor-league career though, and even had nine home runs in just 71 at-bats at Triple-A Sugar Land this summer..

His defensive numbers are off the charts, too. Raley already saw a lot of greatness in a very small window. He can see Siri blossoming in the Rays' clubhouse environment.

"It's always the goal in the big leagues, if you don't get a ton of consistent ABs, you try to catch lightning in the bottle,'' Raley said. "You can't deny the tools and what he can do on the field, and hopefully he can really take off. 

"He scored on a ball from first base once and I remember watching him run and thinking, not many guys can do that. He made some great plays in the outfield and one time he stole second and third on back-to-back pitches. There were times last year where we saw him do some big-moment deals. You're going to see lots of energy from him, and I'm excited for that. We need a spark from him. This is a very unique place, this room. I know that's not everywhere. It's a very comfortable atmosphere here, and he'll have an opportunity to take advantage to the situation here and make the most of it.''

Siri was 0-for 3 in his debut, but made a great catch early in the game to squash a Blue Jays rally. He just missed making a diving catch in the ninth inning.