The 2025 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

A big, big win...



The Rays put on their hitting shoes in today's pivotal ALDS Game 3, erasing a 5-2 Yankee lead with a 7-run 5th inning and going on to beat New York 10-6 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5. It was a team effort with everyone in the lineup getting a hit, and everyone except Ha-Seong Kim driving in at least one run. They needed the bats as Shane McClanahan had a poor start including a nightmarish first inning in which he allowed three runs. But Shane Baz was excellent in relief of him, going 4 1/3 innings and not allowing a run until the 9th when the game was in hand. Drew Rasmussen will get the ball tomorrow with a chance for the Rays to advance to the ALCS.

Meanwhile runs are at a premium in the other ALDS as the Tigers won the second 1-0 game of the series to take a 2-1 series lead when Riley Greene hit a walk-off double off Cleveland's Cade Smith in the bottom of the 10th. Tarik Skubal was 7 4 0 0 2 7 in another scoreless postseason start:



And yesterday's Atlanta and Chicago wins only delayed the inevitable as the arch-rival Dodgers and Giants will meet in the NLCS:

[Art Deco]

Another comeback...



The Rays pulled off another comeback at Steinbrenner Field and advanced to the ALCS after winning an extra-inning thriller. Jonathan Aranda doubled home pinch-runner Jake Mangum with the walk-off winner, sending the 10,000+ (ignore the 33K in the box, forgot to change that with the last game update) into a frenzy (except for the many Yankee fans always in attendance). It was a back-and-forth affair but New York took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 9th when Brandon Lowe led off with a triple and then Devin Williams walked two more to load the bases with nobody out. Tampa Bay should have won it there, but all they could get was a bases-loaded walk to tie it. This only delayed the celebration, however. Who will the Rays play?

Let's just say it's a team that advanced in historic fashion:



That's right - a combined no-hitter. This was the third 1-0 game in four the teams played in this series and the no-hitter was only the fourth in postseason history and the second combined after Houston's in 2022 with Roy Halladay in 2010 and Don Larsen in 1956 the others to do it. Also it was the first time in MLB history a team clinched a playoff series on a no-hitter. So it will be the wild-card Tigers and Rays in the ALCS and Tampa Bay will have homefield advantage as they were WC1.

[Art Deco]

The magic continues...



The Rays' Cinderella run through the playoffs continued with more Steinbrenner magic as Danny Jansen's 3-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th, his 3rd this postseason, gave the Rays a 5-2 win in the ALCS opener. Tarik Skubal and Shane McClanahan pitched to a 2-2 draw through 6 and then it was a battle of the bullpens with 5 shutout innings from Tampa Bay's making the difference. Rays had a chance to win in the 10th but they had a man thrown out at the plate, but that only delayed things for an inning. Drew Rasmussen will try to send them to Motown up 2-0 tomorrow.

And the Giants have the upper hand in the NLCS thanks in large part to their former Ray outdueling the Dodgers' former Ray:

[Art Deco]

Rolling along...



The Rays are now up 2-0 in the ALCS thanks a 5-run rally in the 5th which they pulled off without the benefit of an extra-base hit, just singles, walks and steals. And once again the bullpen was stellar as they added 4 1/3 more scoreless innings to their ledger after Drew Rasmussen couldn't finish the 5th despite pitching well overall. Bailey Ober will get the ball at Comerica Park in a couple of days to try to effectively end this one.

[Art Deco]

It's almost over...



While the real-life version of this team struggles to play .500 ball, in this alternate universe they're one game away from their third AL championship in club history (2008 & 2020) after taking advantage of a very sloppy Tiger team to rout Detroit 12-3 and take a 3-0 ALCS lead. The home team's pitchers issued 7 walks, hit a man, and made two errors. Junior Caminero's 2-run single opened it up a 4-0, and after Detroit got within 5-2 Jonathan Aranda belted a grand slam for his first career postseason homer to remove any doubt. Shane Baz will get the first chance to close out the series tomorrow.

Things are a bit different in the NLCS as the Dodgers got off the mat to even things up with a pair of home wins:

[Art Deco]

The picture will do the talking:





They did it - the Rays swept the Tigers out of the ALCS to advance to their third World Series in club history. This one was a bit tougher especially with the bullpen struggling some, but Garrett Cleavinger came on in relief with the tying runs in scoring position and surprisingly-named Series MVP Riley Greene at the plate (he had killed the Rays all series even if he didn't cause them to lose), and struck him out to start the celebration you see at the top of this post. Christopher Morel was another unlikely hero as the LF slugged a pair of solo homers while Junior Caminero went yard as well. So it's off to the Series against either the Dodgers or Giants with Shane McClanahan ready to roll in Game 1 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

And after looking like the Giants were Series-bound a few days ago the Dodgers are now the favorites after a Game 5 win, although they'll have to find a way to win on the road:

[Art Deco]

And it will be the Dodgers vs the Rays in a rematch of the 2020 World Series, and once again the Rays will not be playing it at their normal home field:



And the Rays will also be playing it without starting SS Ha-Seong Kim, who tore a hamstring late in Game 4. So it will be time for top prospect Carson Williams to make his MLB debut on the biggest stage of all, and the news comes on the same day Williams receives this honor:

[Art Deco]

Let's roll...



The Rays' Cinderella post-season run continued with a Game 1 win at George M. Steinbrenner Field over the Dodgers, and like so many times in these playoffs they fell behind early then had a big inning to turn the game around. Down 2-0 and with Blake Snell dealing for the opponent in a Series game this time, they got things going in a big 4th inning which saw them score all six of their runs as Snell completely lost the plate. That's something he's wont to do at times as Rays fans will attest, and his four straight walks including a pair with the sacks full were bookended by 2-run singles from Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero. Shane McClanahan wasn't his best but the bullpen most certainly was, holding LA off the board with a 2-run lead over the final 4 innings while collectively fanning 8. Now Drew Rasmussen will try to get us to LA up 2-0 tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Just wow...



Drew Rasmussen was about as untouchable as you can get without being completely untouched, the "B" bullpen went the final three to complete the shutout, and the Rays got 2-run homers from Jonathan Aranda and Christopher Morel to beat the Dodgers 5-0 and get halfway to the club's first world championship, all while playing in a minor league ballpark. Bailey Ober will pitching in LA in a couple of days to try and put Tampa Bay on the verge.

[Art Deco]

An epic loss...



Thanks to the heroics of Christopher Morel and rookie Carson Williams the Rays had a change to take a stranglehold on the series with a 3-0 lead, but instead the bullpen let them down, putting them down 3 runs in the 7th and then after a miracle comeback in the 8th saw them blow saves in both the 9th and 10th innings before finally succumbing 10-9 to LA in 16, letting the Dodgers crawl back into the series. Morel, who hasn't hit much for average but has flashed the power, hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd off former Ray Tyler Glasnow to put them up 3-1 early. They couldn't hold that lead and in the 7th Garrett Cleavinger gave up a 3-run homer to James Outman to put LA up 6-3. But Morel came through again in the top of the 8th, clearing the bases with a double to tie the game and give him 6 RBI on the night, and then Williams followed with his first major-league homer, a 2-run shot to put Tampa Bay up 8-6. But unfortunately Pete Fairbanks lost that lead in the 9th thanks to a 2-run Shohei Ohtani homer, and after Williams thought he had won the game again for them with an RBI single in the 10th Manny Rodriguez, by then the 8th Rays pitcher of the night, lost that lead as well. So on and on we went after that with the Dodgers more threatening, and then finally in the 16th they put two men on who Mason Montgomery wild pitched to 2nd and 3rd, and Chris Taylor followed with a sac fly to win it. Now Shane Baz will go tomorrow to try and keep the Rays up in the series with a frazzled bullpen behind him.

[Art Deco]

A new series now...



In less than 24 hours the Rays have gone from being three outs away from taking a 3-0 lead in the World Series to being tied at 2 games apiece after tonight's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers. Tampa Bay had to deal with the dual threat of Shohei Ohtani, who homered off Shane Baz and held the Rays to 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings, but thanks to Carson Williams' 2nd homer in as many nights (of his MLB career) they were tied, and evened things up again in the 8th against future HOFer Clayton Kershaw on a Yandy Diaz double. But with bullpen options limited after last night's 16-inning marathon they went with Edwin Uceta in the bottom of the inning and it was a disaster as he allowed 3 runs without retiring a batter, enabling LA to win. So we're back to even with Shane McClanahan getting the ball tomorrow in Game 5.

[Art Deco]

One win away...



The Rays are on the verge of their first-ever World championship after a taut, tense 2-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 to go up 3-2 in the series. While Game 1's hyped duel between Shane McClanahan and Blake Snell didn't live up to the billing, tonight's rematch was everything expected and then some as both pitchers dominated the opposition through 6 innings. So it became a battle of the bullpens and the Dodgers' pen blinked when Brandon Lowe took brief one-time Ray Evan Phillips deep for a 2-run homer in the 8th. Although the Dodgers clawed back a run in the 8th off Brock Stewart, Gabe Speier put out the fire by striking out Shohei Ohtani to end the inning making it a whopping 17 strikeouts in only 6 2/3 innings this postseason for the lefty acquired midseason. Pete Fairbanks then pitched around a 2-out single in the 9th to close it out, leaving Tampa Bay on the precipice of history. It'll be Drew Rasmussen trying to make that history in a couple of days at GMS Field in Game 6.

UPDATE: The Dodgers are going to have to go the rest of the way without star OF/SS Mookie Betts, who was diagnosed with a concussion after a collision at second base back in Game 3.

[Art Deco]

CHAMPS!...



They did it! Series MVP Jonathan Aranda hit two of the Rays' four solo homers in the game (their only four hits until Carson Williams doubled in the 8th) and Drew Rasmussen and the pen were excellent in a 4-1 championship-clinching win as the Rays got to celebrate their first-ever World Series title before their usual intimate (once again ignore the 34K listed in the box score, this place holds 10) home crowd. LA only threatened in the 6th when they scored their only run but a baserunning error short-circuited their rally and when Pete Fairbanks got Josh Outman swinging to end the game, it was pandemonium:



OK that doesn't quite look like pandemonium but screengrabs in OOTP are a bit wonky and that one came a little after the jumping around had died down. Also this may have been the first Series-clinching win in which the winning team struck out 15 times, but nobody cared. All in all quite an accomplishment for a Tampa Bay team few fancied coming into the season and which had missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2018. It certainly was a David and Goliath matchup in terms of payrolls:



The Rays ranked 24th in MLB at season's end in payroll with an $85M tally where as the Dodgers of course were first at $336M, a few million short of four times what Tampa Bay spends on players. And the good news is that most of this team can come back with no free agents of note. There will be the usual cost-cutting maybe not so much this time around.

[Art Deco]

Well owner Stu Sternberg went out on a winning note with the World Series title he longed for in his 20 years in charge of the Rays as his sale to Jacksonville businessman Patrick Zalupski. And Zalupski has decided to make a bit of a splash by giving us a payroll of $150M next year, some 75% more than what we spent ($85M) in our championship season as we look to defend that title. But first a look at the trophy:



And while we have very few free agents, there will be still be some turnover. First off, we exercised our club options on Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks, while declining them for Danny Jansen ($12M is a bit too much) and Taylor Walls and Jacob Waguespack, who both finished the year in the minors. Also last winter's big free agent signing Ha-Seong Kim opted out of his deal, although we still control his rights through arbitration. We're also non-tendering A.J. Puk (out for 2026 with a torn labrum), Matt Thaiss (who did a decent job as the backup C but we have other options in mind), and Richie Palacios.

A position-by-position look at things:

C-An overhaul at this position is coming since Jansen and Thaiss are not returning. We signed Jonah Heim to a minor league deal and offered him a modest MLB contract which he seems interested in signing, and we have a possible deal in the works to bring in another backstop which I'll detail in the next post.

1B-Aranda returns, as does Yandy who will DH.

2B-B.Lowe is back.

SS-We still control Kim as mentioned, but given his relatively poor showing last year and the fact he's due 8 figures in arbitration, combined with top prospect Carson Williams being ready to take over the position, and he'll be likely moved elsewhere.

3B-Future franchise cornerstone Caminero is entrenched here.

IF-Caballero is the incumbent utility man, and likely returns. Mead is still around too.

LF-Morel had an up-and-down season and only earned 1.2 WAR so he's no lock to start next year.

CF-DeLuca had a nice season overall but he was a bit overmatched defensively in center to the point where we brought in Trent Grisham in September. Grisham's a free agent and maybe we re-sign him but I'd like to do better here.

RF-J.Lowe had a disappointing season at the plate (211/292/370) but his glove and speed earned him 2.3 WAR so we'll give him another shot.

OF-Mangum is probably the best defensive CF still under contract and makes a decent backup, although he needs to hit more. Caballero can play some out here as well.

DH-Yandy returns and Mead can DH some against lefties when Yandy plays 1B with Aranda sitting.

Prospects: Xavier Isaac is blocked at 1B right now but can play a 45 LF so if we decide we want his power bat at the sacrifice of some defense that could be arranged. Brayden Taylor probably needs another year of seasoning but can play across the infield. Chandler Simpson is the game's ultimate one-trick pony given his ludicrous speed and could grab a backup OF job.

SP: A very strong rotation returns with McClanahan, Rasmussen, Ober, Baz and Bradley all coming back, as well as Pepiot who lost his job when Mac came back. Joe Boyle is the most intriguing option while Alex Faedo also filled in nicely for a bit last year and is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option and Joe Rock is another option.

RP: And the bullpen is fairly intact as well with Fairbanks closing and being set up by Stewart, Cleavinger, Speier, Uceta and M.Rodriguez.

Prospects: We're light on pitching prospects but have vets like Mason Englert and Kevin Kelly to bring up if needed.

Goals for the offseason:

1. Improve at catcher (this may be done)
2. Improve the outfield (preferably CF)

Do we make a run at a free agent like Kyle Tucker - a hometown Tampa boy - with the extra money our new owner gave us? Stay tuned.

[Art Deco]

Retirements:

Notables: Justin Verlander (Detroit retired #35), Yuli Gurriel, Adam Ottavino.

Former Rays: Drew Smyly, Charlie Morton, Ryan Jensen, Joey Wendle.

November 2: Interesting deal between Toronto and Milwaukee in which the Jays sent 2024 #1 pick and pitching prospect Trey Yesavage along with a couple of other minor leaguers to the Brewers for veteran lefty Nestor Cortes.

And then we made an interesting deal as well:



This was the deal I hinted at in the previous post. Despite being surplus to our requirements with Carson Williams ready to take over SS, Kim still had good trade value and we cashed him for a top-notch young C in Atlanta's Drake Baldwin (and got a useful reliever in Lee throw in as well). Atlanta already had Sean Murphy at C and their glut will be our benefit as we finally get a catcher to build around, a position that's been a black hole throughout the history of the franchise.

November 5: A decent-sized deal with St. Louis sending Nolan Gorman to Seattle for Victor Robles.

November 7: The Guardians must have liked what they saw of Cedric Mullins after getting him at the trade deadline since they gave the potential free agent a 6/133 extension.

November 8: AJ Preller continues to work in mysterious ways as the Padres traded Dylan Cease to Cleveland three months after giving him a 5/133 extension. The return was prospect Jaison Chourio (brother of Jackson) so it appears to be a salary dump.

Awards season:

Gold Glove: We have a Rays winner! Kind of surprise since you don't really think about them in that way much but Shane Baz won the pitcher award.

Reliever of the Year: Cleveland's Cade Smith took the AL nod, nosing out our Pete Fairbanks, 19-9 and 116-101. Smith made a league-high 77 appearances, pitching to a 1.74 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 84 Ks in 67 IP and 5 saves. The NL winner was Philly's (and former Ray) Jose Alvarado thanks to a 7-win, 27-save, 1.54 ERA and 2.6 WAR season.

Silver Slugger: And we have a winner here as well as Jonathan Aranda took the 1B trophy thanks to his breakout 303/401/510 season.

Rookie of the Year: It was a photo finish in the AL as Baltimore's Coby Mayo nosed out Texas' Kumar Rocker. Both had 13 first-place votes but Mayo outpointed Rocker 101-89. Mayo hit .227-18-55 while Rocker was 12-11, 3.34. Given Rocker out WAR-ed Mayo 3.0 to 1.3 he probably should have won. In the NL Miami's C/DH Agustin Ramirez was a unanimous winner thanks to a .252-19-56 year that was good for 2.7 WAR.

Cy Young: Boston's Garrett Crochet was the unanimous pick after a brilliant 20-6, 1.88 season with 268 whiffs in 220 IP and 7.8 WAR (even if we did get the better of him in the playoffs). The Giants' Logan Webb was also unanimous in the NL, coming off a 13-8, 2.82 with 200 whiffs in a MLB-best 233 IP and an NL-leading 5.9 WAR.

MVP: Aaron Judge somewhat controversially repeated as AL MVP, beating out KC's Bobby Witt Jr. The final tally was 17-11, 353-321, but Witt was seen as the favorite going in thanks to a 9.9 WAR season that saw him hit .323-24-96-21 and play Gold Glove D. Judge earned 6.8 WAR and hit .289-47-113 so the big HR/RBI numbers carried the day. Our Jonathan Aranda finished fourth. And of course who else is the NL MVP other than Shohei Ohtani? He was unanimous after a .296-39-93-46 year at the plate (good for 6.7 WAR) and was back on the mound this year going 8-7, 4.15 with 160 whiffs in 141 IP and adding another 1.9 WAR.

November 11: We were offered SP Cristopher Sanchez for our 2024 #1 pick and quality prospect Theo Gillen, and said no, even though we lost the trade when we sent Sanchez to Philly for Curtis Mead.

November 21: We lost both our arbitration cases as McClanahan and Baz will each receive about an extra $500-600K than we offered.

November 22: Well we did it - made a 6/198 (33M/yr) offer to Kyle Tucker. He seemed to like it, but we'll see how it goes.

November 23: Some wheeling and dealing: Yankees traded C Austin Wells to the Rangers for IF Ezequiel Duran, Baltimore sent OF Dylan Beavers to the Giants for SP Robbie Ray, and Cincinnati sent IF/OF Gavin Lux to Detroit for a prospect.

November 24: Former Ray Jeffrey Springs is back in the AL East as the A's dealt him to the Yankees for a prospect.

November 25: The White Sox finally dealt CF Luis Robert Jr., sending him to St. Louis (who just acquired a CF in Victor Robles) for prospects Cooper Hjerpe and Chase Davis and another minor leaguer.

November 30: First big free agent signing of the winter as Boston inks DH Marcell Ozuna to a 3/89 pact. Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker tells us he still likes our offer and "is looking forward to signing with (us) if things stay the same".

December 1: The Orioles sent closer Felix Bautista to the Giants for a couple of prospects.

December 4: Another free agent decided to stick with the team which traded for him at the deadline as Kevin Gausman extended his second tour of duty in San Francisco for 4/78.

December 5: More interesting dealing as former Rays star OF Randy Arozarena is on his way from Seattle to San Diego for a couple of minor leaguers and the Blue Jays sent 3B prospect Orelvis Martinez to Milwaukee for SP Freddy Peralta.

December 6: The Blue Jays sent their closer Jeff Hoffman to the Mets for prospect Collin Houck. Edwin Diaz is a free agent so New York needed a replacement. Toronto had offered us Hoffman and it was an acceptable deal but Hoffman makes $12.3M and with our outstanding offer to Tucker I couldn't take on that much salary.

December 7: Big day for free agent signings: Brandon Woodruff (DET, 5/76), Michael King (CWS, 6/124), Tyler Mahle (SF, 4/39).

December 8: Two more FA deals: Devin Williams (DET, 3/54), Luis Rengifo (MIL, 4/52).

December 9: Welp, the Kyle Tucker negotiations have taken an ominous turn as he wants $38.4M/year (for now) with news that Cincinnati is making a run at him. In deals that were done, Toronto signed veteran closer Aroldis Chapman to a 2/23 deal and Edwin Diaz went crosstown to the Yankees for 3/76.

December 10: I bit the bullet and offered Tucker $38M/year but that's as high as I'm going as I need to look for OF elsewhere if he's going to want more.

December 11: Alright, Tucker is now demanding $44M a year claiming Baltimore has stepped up. To quote Kramer from Seinfeld: "I'm out!". Meanwhile former Ray Zach Eflin has joined Texas for 5/92.

December 12: We have turned our attention to Japanese free agent import Norimoto Aoki, and offered him 5/100. He's a 60 CF with 60 contact/50 power/70 gap ratings and would probably fill even more of a need than Tucker since Tucker isn't really a CF.

December 13: We made a minor trade:



Jimenez was the kind of guy who would be plucked from us in tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft so I shopped him to see what I could get, and the Rockies were willing to give us former Gator Thompson, who is very similar to Curtis Mead in that he'll hit for average/doubles with moderate power but is questionable defensively with 1B probably his best position although he can play elsewhere.

We also placed 1B Xavier Isaac, OF Chandler Simpson and RP Nate Lavender on the 40-man roster. There are some other guys whom I would have liked to protect but we're just going to have the roll the dice on them. Most are younger guys normally not taken anyway.

December 14: We did not lose anyone in the Rule 5 Draft.

December 15: Aoki has now jacked us up to $22.8M/year and I went along since I have this money burning a hole in my pocket. I'm sure I'm being strung along.

December 21: The Mets sent Luisangel Acuna to the Rockies for 3B Ryan McMahon.

December 22: Longtime Mariners SS JP Crawford is off to Cleveland for a prospect.

December 23: As predicted Aoki has come looking for more $, this time $25.6M/season. Since the new owner wants to make a big splash, I'll bite one last time.

December 24: A couple of Xmas Eve signings. Bo Bichette is no longer in our division as the former Jays SS heads west to San Diego for 6/70 and SP Chris Paddack goes to Kansas City for 3/30. That's such a Royals signing.

December 25: The Dodgers are open for business on Christmas as they signed former Ray Jose Alvarado to a 2/26 deal.

December 26: Well there goes Kyle Tucker, and worse yet to a division rival as Baltimore signs him for 6/252 or $42M/year. Also 1B Josh Naylor signed with Miami of all places for 6/100.

December 27: With the Tucker signing, Heston Kjerstad became expendable for the Orioles so they dealt him to Arizona for veteran SP Eduardo Rodriguez. Also a couple of good-glove, mediocre-hit CFs signed: Harrison Bader to the Phillies for 2/14 and Trent Grisham (who played for us in September) back to the Yankees (who released him then, go figure) for 4/35.

December 31: More free-agent signings at year's end: Eugenio Suarez (BOS, 3/44), Walker Buehler (MIL, 2/31), Jonathan Loaisiga (LAD, 3/11). Our Aoki pursuit will now go into the new year and the next post.

[Art Deco]

January 2: Aoki wants $28M/year. I asked for a scouting report and am leaning toward no.

January 3: Max Kepler signed a 3/31 deal with Cleveland.

January 5: Longtime Dodger Max Muncy headed over to Orange County to play for the Angels on a 1-year, $9.5M deal.

January 7: Cody Bellinger signed a modest 3/19.5 deal with Seattle. Maybe I should have gotten in on that.

January 8: No Kyle Tucker or no Aoki, but we did acquire an OF of some reputation:



The new owner wanted a splash acquisition and Duran is going to have to do. He had a brilliant 5.9 WAR season in 2024 and tailed off to 2.5 last year, but that's still pretty decent and an improvement over Christopher Morel in LF. The cost wasn't too steep either - Suarez is a good starting pitching prospect but is a command guy rather than a stuff guy, and Duran is only making $8M this year and is still arb-eligible next year so if the downward trend continues we're not committed, and we still have $44M to play with should someone with a salary become available in trade. The Red Sox meanwhile needed to make room for star prospect Roman Anthony, and the Marcell Ozuna signing closed off DH for them.Ian Seymour was DFA'd to make room on the 40-man for Duran.

January 11: A couple of veteran SPs signed free agent deals: Zac Gallen (HOU, 4/28) and Max Scherzer (MIA, 1/27).

January 17: Norimoto Aoki finally found a home and it's in Chicago with the White Sox who signed him for 5/143. He'll take over for the departed Luis Robert Jr in CF.

January 21: The Hall of Fame voting is in and Ichiro Suzuki was the only one enshrined. Coming close were C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, the latter at 70.5% and only one more year on the ballot.

January 22: Joc Pederson is back in LA, but this time with the Angels on a 5/37 deal.

January 23: We made a splashy international amateur signing:



Meanwhile a couple of free agents returned to teams they had played for in the past with St. Louis bringing back SP Jack Flaherty (2/47) and the Jays reuniting with our free agent C Danny Jansen (1/7.5).

January 25: More FA signings: Lane Thomas (SF, 4/52), JT Realmuto (TEX, 4/92), and Mike Yastrzemski (COL, 3/43).

January 26: A big FA deal as Alex Bregman gets 5/160 from the Cubs while a couple of smaller ones were signed as well: Josh Bell (MIL, 3/30), Jesse Winker (CWS, 4/33).

January 30: A massive SP deal as Ranger Suarez takes his talents to Detroit for 5/208.

January 31: The Polar Bear is going to be trading in his fur for a swimsuit as Mets all-time HR leader Pete Alonso joins the Padres for 4/166

February 2: Everything thought that Clayton Kershaw would either re-sign with the Dodgers or retire but he threw another curveball, signing with the Phillies for $21.8M for one year.

February 3: The last of the really big FAs (literally and figuratively) signed as Kyle Schwarber took his prodigious power a little ways down I-95, joining the Nationals for 5/211.

February 25: As the exhibition season begins, we signed CF Michael A. Taylor a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. He will battle Jake Mangum for an OF spot.

We'll be checking back in for Opening Day.

[Art Deco]

First off, it was not a great March for the Rays. Aside from going a poor 7-13 in our preseason games we suffered a serious injury: Taj Bradley is out for the year with a torn flexor tendon and underwent Tommy John surgery. His injury means that Ryan Pepiot regains the rotation spot he lost late last year.

The Rays weren't the only team to lose a starter and it was a much more expensive proposition in Detroit as their big ($40M+) free agent signing Ranger Suarez has a bad case of shoulder inflammation and is projected to be out until September at best. One other thing I missed in doing the offseason updates is that the Tigers acquired Sandy Alcantara from Miami for a couple of prospects back in December.

Finally, MLB has expanded rosters to 27, so we're going to carry an extra pitcher. Owner Jeffrey Zalupski expects us to win it all, since we won it last year. Also we're back in Tropicana Field as the repairs from Hurricane Milton were completed.

So here's the Opening Day Roster:

C-Baldwin, Heim
1B-Aranda
2B-B.Lowe
SS-C.Williams
3B-Caminero
IF-Caballero
LF-J.Duran
CF-DeLuca
RF-J.Lowe
OF-M.Taylor, Morel
DH-Y.Diaz

SP-McClanahan, Rasmussen, Ober, Baz, Pepiot
LR-Faedo
MR-Bender, D.Lee, M.Rodriguez, Speier, Uceta
SU-Cleavinger, Stewart
CL-Fairbanks

We had to waive Curtis Mead since he was options and nobody wanted to offer anything in trade for him (which I hope means he'll go unclaimed) as well as Matt Thaiss and Ian Seymour.

With Bradley on the shelf and for other reasons I guess the OOTP preseason picks are bearish on us:



I forgot to switch to the Trop before these ran so B.Lowe's 38 predicted homers are undoubtedly on the high side.

We open the season at home against Pittsburgh so we get to go against Paul Skenes to start 2026.

[Art Deco]

Opening Day:



Things couldn't have gone much better for the Rays in their return to Tropicana Field after a year's absence as they got a great outing from McClanahan and opened defense of their World Series title with a 4-1 win over Paul Skenes and the Pirates.

Game 2:



Game 3:



And the Rays are off to a great start, sweeping the Pirates in the opening series of the season. They're tied with Baltimore in first but the O's are 4-1 so Tampa Bay is up on percentage points. Next up: A day off and then the Giants visit for 3 games.

Players of the Week:

AL: JJ Bleday (ATH), 7-15, 2 HR, 4 RBI
NL: Ty France (ARI), 7-12, 3 HR, 4 RBI

I'll have standings up next Monday.

[Art Deco]

Game 1:



Game 2:



A heartbreaker as McClanahan took a no-hitter into the 7th and the Rays took a 2-0 lead into the 9th before Fairbanks gave up a 2-run homer to Willy Adames to lose the lead and Cleavinger gave up a 2-run homer in the 10th to lose the game.

Game 3:



Rays turned the tables on the Giants to salvage the finale, scoring 3 times in the bottom of the 11th after falling behind 2-0 in the top of the inning. Carson Williams had his biggest hit* as a Ray, singling in the winning run after Jonah Heim tied it with his first Rays RBI.

*Biggest regular season hit, Williams did have two homers in last year's World Series in which he made his debut.

Next up: We're off to Cincinnati for 3 to start first road trip of the season

MLB News: The Cubs lost 2B Nico Hoerner for pretty much the rest of the season with a broken bone in his elbow.

[Art Deco]

Game 1:



Game 2:



Game 3:



Not a bad weekend in Cincinnati, taking 2 of 3 while they ran wild on the basepaths, stealing 13 bases in the 3 games including 6 from Duran who had back-to-back 3-steal games. As a result, here's how the standings look in the early going:



Players of the Week:

AL: Tyler O'Neill (BAL), 10-23, 2 HR, 7 RBI
NL: Jackson Merrill (SD), 12-23, 3 HR, 10 RBI

MLB News: A couple of veteran relievers, the Cubs' Craig Kimbrel and Atlanta's Will Smith, are hanging up the cleats at year's end while the Red Sox have lost OF Wilyer Abreu for 3-4 weeks with a concussion.