By It has been quite the off-season for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Not only are the team owners still looking to secure land to build a new stadium, but the team has also traded fan favorites, second baseman Brandon Lowe to the Pittsburgh, and pitcher Shane Baz, to the Baltimore Orioles to cut expenses, and add Minor league depth to be in a position to field a competitive team when the Rays begin play in the new stadium in 2029.
The Rays have signed a few players that they hope will help them be more competitive in 2026 after missing the playoffs the last two seasons.
Outfielder Cedric Mullins signed a one-year deal, and left-hander pitcher Steven Matz signed a two-year contract.
The Rays also brought back outfielder Jack Fraley on a one-year contract.
With spring training a couple of weeks away, the Rays still have some huge holes to fill on the roster.
CATCHER
The Rays have really struggled the last few seasons with quality catchers. Last year, the Rays used the platoon of Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia in the second half of the season.
Both players are adequate defensively, but don’t expect much offensively. Collectively, this group hit .187 with 14 homers and 56 runs batted in. Those numbers include Danny Jansen and Matt Thaiss, who spent time with the Rays last season.
With the loss of Brandon Lowe’s bat, the Rays need all the help they can get offensively.
The Rays did pick up prospect Caden Bodine from the Baltimore Orioles in the Shane Baz trade; however, he is still a year or two away from making an impact at the MLB level.
The LA Dodgers have a prospect, Dalton Rushing, who could be acquired via a trade, but right now it looks as if the platoon of Fortes and Feduccia will return for the upcoming season.
Dominic Keegan is a top catching prospect in the Rays system, but may not be quite ready for the big leagues yet.
PITCHING DEPTH
Now that Baz has been traded, and Adrian Houser has signed with San Francisco, some rotation depth is needed.
The Rays did sign Matz to a two-year deal, and Shane McClanahan is returning, but, having not pitched for two years, no one knows what or how much we can expect from McClanahan this season.
The rotation right now consists of Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane McClanahan, and Ryan Pepiot. So depth is definitely needed.
But the Rays will look to Ian Seymour or Joe Boyle to round out the rotation like they did last season.
SECOND BASE
With the trade of Brandon Lowe, a massive void was created in the lineup.
The Rays were offensively challenged in many areas last season, and the offense will be a lot weaker this season with Lowe’s bat in Pittsburgh.
The Rays did pick up outfielder prospects Jacob Melton and pitcher Anderson Brito, but that doesn’t help the team at second base.
The Rays filled the second base void by acquiring Gavin Lux from the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team deal that also involved the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lux, who was once a top prospect in the Dodgers organization, comes to the Rays along with pitcher Chris Clark in exchange for outfielder Josh Lowe.
Lux spent last season as a utility player for the Reds, but has spent most of his career at second base.
Lux hit .269 with five home runs and 53 RBI in 140 games last season.
This move is purely a financial deal: it saves the Rays money, but they are a worse offensive team today.
CLOSER
With Pete Fairbanks now in Miami, once again the Rays will look internally to fill the closer role, and it could be a closer by committee.
Griffin Jax seems to be the odds-on favorite right now, but don’t discount the hard-throwing Edwin Uceta.
Uceta was 10-3 with a 3.79 ERA and had 103 strikeouts and struggled in the first half of last season, but turned it around in the second half to become one of the Rays’ most reliable closers.
Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Barker are also closer candidates, along with Manny Rodriguez, but Rodriguez will not be available until mid-season following an injury last season.
We are still a couple of months out from the season opener, and the Rays have time to fill in the roster holes.
But with the budget constraints the Rays operate under, I wouldn’t expect any big acquisitions in the short term.
