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Simpson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a double and a stolen base in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Guardians.
The speedster did his best to set the table from the leadoff spot in a tight pitchers' duel, but Simpson didn't get cashed in either time he got into scoring position. The 10 steals have him tied for third in the American League with Bobby Witt, behind Jose Caballero's 12 and Jose Ramirez's 11, and Simpson's added a .307/.344/.351 slash line with six RBI and 14 runs in 29 games.
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Rays' Chandler Simpson: Collects ninth steal of 2026
Rotowire
Simpson went 3-for-4 with a steal and a run scored during the Rays' 4-2 win over the Twins on Sunday.
Simpson collected his ninth steal of the season in the third before coming home two batters later on a two-run double from Jonathan Aranda. Simpson is now tied for the third-most steals in the majors behind Jose Caballero and Jose Ramirez (11 each). Simpson has reached base safely in nine consecutive games, and over that span he has gone 10-for-37 (.270) with three walks and two RBI, though all 10 of those hits were singles.
Simpson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Yankees.
It's early, but Simpson has been excellent at the top of the lineup for the Rays. On the season, the 25-year-old brought his slash line up to .411/.441./.482 after recording three more hits Sunday. It also extended his current hit streak out to eight games and keeps the amount of games he's been held without a hit to one contest so far.
Simpson is not in the Rays' starting lineup against the Yankees on Saturday.
The Yankees are deploying southpaw Max Fried to the mound for Saturday's contest, so the lefty-hitting Simpson will take a seat while Ryan Vilade starts in left field and bats second. Simpson has reached base safely in each of his 13 outings this season and has a .373/.407/.412 slash line with five steals (in seven attempts), five runs, one triple and three RBI across 54 plate appearances.
Simpson went 1-for-5 with two RBI during the Rays' 5-3 win over the Yankees on Friday.
Although he wasn't credited with the error, Simpson's fielding gaff in the first inning resulted in an RBI triple for Amed Rosario to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Simpson made up for his mistake with RBI in the second and sixth inning on a fielder's choice and a single, respectively. He has recorded a hit in 12 of the first 13 games of the regular season and is slashing .373/.407/.412 with five steals (in seven attempts), one triple and three RBI over 54 plate appearances.
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Rays' Chandler Simpson: Ascends to leadoff spot
Rotowire
Simpson will start in left field and bat leadoff in Friday's game versus the Yankees.
Simpson spent some time in the leadoff spot for the Rays last season, but this is the first time this year that he's sitting atop the batting order. The speedster earned a move up by slashing .391/.429/.435 with five stolen bases over his first 49 plate appearances this season. Yandy Diaz -- who had hit leadoff in the Rays' first 12 games -- is in the cleanup spot.
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Rays' Chandler Simpson: Records fifth steal
Rotowire
Simpson went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Cubs.
Simpson has hit safely in 11 of 12 games so far this season, and he's been in the starting lineup for every game after being on the bench Opening Day. He's bounced around the lineup but has seemingly settled into the No. 5 hole over the last three games, though he could hit lower in the lineup if he gets consistent time against southpaws. So far, he's earned the starting job in left field, batting .391 with five stolen bases, one triple, one RBI and five runs scored over 49 plate appearances. He hasn't hit a home run in his career, so he's purely a speed option in fantasy. Simpson stole 44 bases on 56 attempts as a rookie in 2025.
Simpson is out of the lineup for Thursday's season opener versus the Cardinals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Simpson closed out spring training with a six-game hitting streak and went 3-for-3 on steal attempts during that stretch, quelling most of the concerns about the left hamstring injury that had slowed him earlier in camp. He should be a fixture in the lineup against righties, but the Rays may be more selective in exposing the left-handed-hitting Simpson to same-handed pitching in 2026 after he produced a .299/.330/.299 slash line (79 wRC+) in 113 plate appearances versus lefties as a rookie. Simpson will cede left field to the right-handed-hitting Ryan Vilade while southpaw Matthew Liberatore takes the bump for St. Louis in the opener.
