The Tampa Bay Rays, in their 27th season and 10th under manager Kevin Cash’s leadership, will try to make the postseason for the sixth consecutive year, one year after finishing second in the American League East by two games to the Baltimore Orioles despite winning 99 games.
The Rays appeared to be nowhere to be found among their home supporters, as the team failed to exceed 1.5 million in attendance for the eleventh consecutive year. Snark aside, the Rays’ attendance increased by more over 300,000 people since 2022, propelling them to 13th position in the American League. The team has not drawn more than two million fans since their initial season in 1998, but despite playing in a venue with mostly empty seats, the franchise has survived over the last 15 years while continuously fielding one of the sport’s lowest payrolls.
In 2023, the team repeated their success, winning 99 games in the regular season before being swept by the eventual World Series Champion Texas Rangers in the AL Wild Card Series. The biggest cloud over the organization was not the early exit from the postseason, but the criminal accusations filed against former Rays sensation Wander Franco during the regular season.
The gravity of the accusations against Franco cannot be overstated, but from a baseball standpoint, the Rays lost both their best position player and the one to whom the team had financially committed through at least his age-31 season in 2032, thanks to a monster 11-year, $182 million contract signed after the 2021 season. For an organization whose team payroll has rarely exceeded $100 million in a season (only four times, including 2022-2023, but only if you count the luxury tax-eligible payroll and never the Opening Day, 26-man roster payroll), there are significant implications for the Rays as they look to the future, including the possibility of moving to a new stadium before the end of the decade.
Despite Franco’s struggles, who had 4.6 fWAR in just 112 games in 2023, the Rays performed admirably offensively despite the roster’s relative notoriety outside of first-time All-Star and 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Randy Arozarena. Except for Atlanta Braves top prospect Christian Bethancourt, all ten position players who played 100 or more games had a wRC+ of 106 or higher.
The offense was paced by 31-year-old first baseman Yandy Diaz, who won the AL hitting title with a.330 average, as well as a Silver Slugger award and his first All-Star Game appearance. Diaz slugged.522 in 137 games, with a wRC+ of 164, 22 home runs, and 35 doubles. The Rays’ sixth-place vote-getter for the 2023 AL Most Valuable Player Award had 173 hits and an OBP above.400 for the second straight season.
The pitching staff was led by free agent signee Zach Eflin, who gave the team 31 starts — 10 more than his closest rotation-mate — good for an 86 ERA-, 73 FIP-, and 73 xFIP- in 177.2 innings. The former Phillies starter finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award thanks in part to a sturdy 7.75 SO/W ratio that saw him while striking out a total of 186 batters.
Tyler Glasnow and Shane McClanahan both made 21 starts for the team, however Glasnow has since been traded and McClanahan is slated to miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow last fall. Glasnow was fantastic, accumulating nearly 3 fWAR in 120 innings, whilst McClanahan achieved less than 2 fWAR in 115 frames. As usual, the Rays added a lot of pitching quality through under-the-radar acquisitions, but they also saw a lot of those acquisitions get hurt. Drew Rasmussen was disgustingly good in eight games before suffering an elbow injury. Zack Littell, midseason signing Aaron Civale, and Taj Bradley all performed in the rotation as expected of little-heralded pitchers acquired by the Rays.
Tyler Glasnow and Shane McClanahan both made 21 starts for the team, however Glasnow has since been traded and McClanahan is slated to miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow last fall. Glasnow was fantastic, accumulating nearly 3 fWAR in 120 innings, whilst McClanahan achieved less than 2 fWAR in 115 frames. As usual, the Rays added a lot of pitching quality through under-the-radar acquisitions, but they also saw a lot of those acquisitions get hurt. Drew Rasmussen was disgustingly good in eight games before suffering an elbow injury. Zack Littell, midseason signing Aaron Civale, and Taj Bradley all performed in the rotation as expected of little-heralded pitchers acquired by the Rays.
The Rays were busily reorganizing their roster, including trading numerous active players to replenish the minor league system. The most prominent deal entailed moving Glasnow, a highly skilled but sometimes injured pitcher, to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with outfielder Manuel Margot, in exchange for Jonny DeLuca and Ryan Pepiot, clearing the team’s payroll for 2024.
The organization also dealt infielder Vidal Brujan in a five-player deal with the Marlins and sent outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley to Seattle for infielder Jose Caballero, who may spend a significant amount of time at shortstop for the Rays.
The organization gained some depth with low-cost free agents such as pitcher Chris Devenski, but it also signed former Astros pitcher Phil Maton to a deal worth $14 million over two years if the Rays exercise the second-year option.
Following the start of Spring Training, the team signed Amed Rosario to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, which saw the former starting shortstop bring depth to the team’s infield.
The organization gained some depth with low-cost free agents such as pitcher Chris Devenski, but it also signed former Astros pitcher Phil Maton to a deal worth $14 million over two years if the Rays exercise the second-year option.
Following the start of Spring Training, the team signed Amed Rosario to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, which saw the former starting shortstop bring depth to the team’s infield.
They’ll rely on Diaz, Parades, Arozarena, and Lowes for offense, as well as a lockdown bullpen. The one major concern on the squad could be catcher, where Rene Pinto’s hitting ability is questionable, but he should provide enough defensive value to avert disaster. At this point, it seems pointless to make particular comments about pitching because the Rays will almost surely pull well-above-average performance from some arms they acquire from other clubs, regardless of incipient injury or other problems.
For Cash, he will try to become the winningest manager in team history in April, as the 46-year-old is only 15 wins shy of tying Joe Maddon’s 754 wins for most as Rays manager.
