Would Michael King Go Have a Beer With Brian Cashman? That’s What Tyler Glasnow Did After Getting Shipped to LA

The We-Are-a-Family culture often drives organizations to success—be it a small enterprise, a multi-national corporation, or even a sports team. The Tampa Bay Rays are the perfect example of it. The financially prudent franchise has managed to create an atmosphere that promotes comfort and openness within the organization. Their former ace Tyler Glasnow revealed just how deep that openness goes.

Glasnow spent five years with the Rays, and during that time, he found out what the team stood for. Now that he’s with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Glasnow took a walk through memory lane and shared a “sick” experience he had with the Rays president after his trade. An incident that made people wonder—why can’t other teams conduct themselves like this?

Tampa Bay Rays’ president shares a close bond with Tyler Glasnow

Rarely do executives get close to players in baseball due to the inherent nature of their job, which involves trading and letting go of the players. However, the D-Rays think differently. Their structure calls for an open-door policy between executives and players. Glasnow alluded to this during his appearance in “The Chris Rose Rotation,” where the ace revealed that he shared a drink with Rays’ President of Baseball Operations, Erik Neander, just hours after his trade to the Dodgers.

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When asked about his toughest farewell calls, Glasnow named the coaches and then revealed his relationship with Neander. “Erik, too, Neander, because I was so close with him. Went over to Erik’s house after I got traded for, like, two hours and just drank a beer with him and kicked it in his backyard and stuff. So that was cool and I’ll always be able to talk to him.”  

Rose was visibly surprised after hearing this. Such cordial atmosphere isn’t very common in baseball. Imagine Michael King having a drink with Brian Cashman after being traded to the San Diego Padres—seems implausible, doesn’t it? But if Glasnow is to be believed, this is a norm in Tampa Bay. “That’s why the Rays are so sick,” the former ace exclaimed.

With the trade getting finalized in December last year, Glasnow got to return to his home state while the Devil Rays got powerful players in Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca. This trade called for a toast and that’s exactly what they did. Also, this shows how different the Rays are from the rest of the league.

The D-Rays’ exceptional structure

Despite being one of the lowest payrolled teams in MLB, the Rays have remained competitive. This is even more impressive when one sees that they’re a part of the AL East—the toughest division in the league. All of this is possible because the franchise has built a sustainable infrastructure that generates talent in spades. 

The team manages to find stars in the most unexpected of places. Then their team atmosphere, as described by Glasnow, ensures that the players do not feel stifled in the roster. With the entire organization working hard to create a “family,” it’s no wonder they are at par with the best.

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