The Tampa Bay Rays ended their season with their fourth straight postseason coming to an end at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians.
The Rays have found themselves on the cusp of contending for a World Series title repeatedly over the past few seasons. They even competed for one in 2020, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. However, they still haven’t found ways to break through for the franchises’ first World Series title.
So, what can the Rays do to help prep for the 2023 season for a shot at the pennant?
1. Continue to Not be Shy in Sending Current Players Elsewhere
Tampa Bay has already got off to a busy start this offseason with lots of trades. This includes a trade involving Ji-man Choi going to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league arm Jack Hartman. There was also a decline of center fielder Kevin Kiermaier’s club option, which sent him into the free agent market.
Other former Rays that are now free agents include catcher Mike Zunino, starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, and fellow starting pitcher Corey Kluber.
Letting these guys go clears up space for room to go get big time players for money. The Rays have already shown the ability to pay big contracts with the signing of shortstop Wander Franco to an 11-year, $185 million. It is the biggest deal in the franchise’s history surpassing Evan Longoria’s $100 million deal in 2012.
Big names are what the Rays not only need for continued success and an increase in success on the field, they also would love to get it for the benefit of the club financially and to attract more crowds to St. Pete.
The idea of getting big name players leads into the next goal.
2. Get Big Name Batters to Help Beef an Inconsistent Lineup from Last Season
One of the major things holding Tampa Bay back from world champion status is enough batters to keep up with elite teams offensively. And this offseason has no shortage of these guys.
Plenty of big names arise like New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo. He finished with a .273 batting average, 16 home runs, and a 5.4 fWAR. With the exit of Kiermaier, it makes sense for the Rays to find a replacement at that position. Nimmo has vastly improved defensively and he was one of the Mets’ more consistent guys at the plate.
Another big name Erik Neander (Tampa Bay’s president of baseball operations) can look into is Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras. The two-time all star had an exceptional 2022 season. He was one of the best hitting catchers in all of baseball, finishing with a .243 average, 22 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a .815 OPS. Although he has had struggling seasons, it seems that the Venezuelan has some pop in his bat at age 30.
The exit of the former all-star Zunino leaves a catcher spot open alongside fellow catcher Fransisco Mejía. Mejía is a solid option, but the spot left by Zunino leaves room for a big batter like Contreras to keep the lineup hot on offense.
A final spot the Rays still have left to fill is the one Choi left at first base. And a big option available is a recent World Series champion. Trey Mancini is fresh off a title with the Houston Astros following a trade to the Lone Star State from the Baltimore Orioles.
In the first half of the season with Baltimore, Mancini was hitting at a high rate with a .260 average and was one of the top long ball hitters with 31 homers. However, the changes in ballparks from a friendly hitting one (Camden Yards) to a not as friendly one (Minute Maid Park) seemed to mess with his mojo. He finished with a slump-like .176 average with the ‘Stros.
Despite this, his versatility to play on the bases and in the outfield on defense is incredible. He also sits with a consistent career batting average (.265), making him a viable option for the Tampa Bay Rays.
3. Improve Ways to Keep Players Healthy
A big factor holding Tampa Bay back this past year was the extensive amounts of injuries. This happened a lot in the pitching department.
Injuries in the rotation included Tyler Glasnow, who did not play until the wild card round, Shane Baz, Ryan Thompson, Andrew Kittredge, J.P. Feyereisen, and Colin Poche. The bullpen depth is the strength of this team usually, but it was lacking due to the extensive amount of injuries that took place.
On top of that, the Rays had a lot of key offensive players go down with injury. Brandon Lowe suffered back injuries. Wander Franco was in-and-out with injuries in his wrist, too.
The training staff needs to make sure they can keep guys healthy enough to make differences, especially down the stretch. Even with all of these injury setbacks, the Rays were able to sneak into the playoffs as the final seed in the American League.
The sky is the limit for what this team can do when fully healthy.