The Tampa Bay Rays, fresh off their fifth straight playoff appearance, will be looking for a solid start to the season when they open against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon.
Once again, this is a team with loads of talent, but much of that talent is on the DL.
Outfielder Johnny DeLuca, who was acquired in the Tyler Glasnow trade, and infielder Jonathan Aranda will open the season on the DL. Aranda is out with a fractured ring finger and DeLuca has a broken bone in his hand. Both were expected to make the opening-day roster.
Outfielder Josh Lowe will also open the season on the DL with an oblique injury.
Starting pitchers Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane McClanahan will all start the season on the DL, too.
Taj Bradley is the only pitcher who could be back in late April, but the other pitchers will not be back until the second half of the season. McClanahan will miss the entire season.
The Rays are looking to get back to the postseason for the sixth consecutive season, but that will be a tall order with the improvements that the teams in the division have made.
It Was Another Busy Off-Season For The Rays
It was a busy off-season for the Rays that started in November with the trade of pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Johnny DeLuca and pitcher Ryan Pepiot.
Pepiot will be the number four starter in the rotation, while DeLuca opens the season on the DL, recovering from a broken bone.
With Taylor Walls recovering from hip surgery, the team acquired infielder Jose Cabellero from Seattle in exchange for outfielder Luke Raley. Raley will be missed in the Rays lineup, as you could count on him for 20-plus home runs.
The Rays signed pitcher Phil Maton to a one-year, 6.5 million dollar deal with an option for 2025. Maton went 4-3 with Houston with a 3.00 ERA with 74 strikeouts.
Another surprise signing was Amed Rosario to a one-year, 1.5 million dollar deal. Rosario turned down $4 million from the Yankees because he feels he has a chance for more playing time in Tampa. Rosario will fill a variety of roles to start the season. He can play SS, 2B, and RF.
The team parted ways with pitcher Andrew Kittredge, trading the reliever to St. Louis in exchange for outfielder Richie Palacios.
Tampa also lost pitchers Jalen Beeks, Jake Diekman, Josh Fleming, and Calvin Faucher to waivers, along with catcher Christian Bethancourt (who is now on the Miami Marlins).
Ninety wins have been the benchmark for this club the last few seasons, and the expectations will be high again this season.
The Rays play in the toughest division in baseball, with apologies to the NL West, and every team in the division improved their roster this off-season.
Tampa will begin the season with a rotation of Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zach Littell, Ryan Pepiot, and Tyler Alexander, a free-agent signing from Detroit.
The Rays Need Big Seasons From Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale
The team will be counting on a big performance from Zach Eflin this season. Eflin should make at least 30 starts and notch 15 wins.
The Rays also need much better from Civale in 2024. Civale was just a shell of the pitcher we saw in Cleveland after coming to Tampa. If the Rays are to make the postseason, Civale needs to have a big season.
The bullpen remains solid, and the Rays will once again have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Pete Fairbanks will once again anchor the back end of the bullpen. He had 25 saves last season and would have had more, but the injury bug reared its ugly head and held that save number down for Fairbanks.
Jason Adam, Colin Poche, Phil Maton, Garrett Cleavinger, Shawn Armstrong, Chris Devinski, and Jacob Waguespack will round out the bullpen.
Rene Pinto will be back as the starting catcher. Francisco Meija, who the Rays resigned this spring, will back up Pinto. You will not get a lot of offensive production from this duo, but the pitchers are comfortable working with Pinto and Meija, so both are back in 2024.
Brandon Lowe Must Stay Healthy
Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, Curtis Mead, Amed Rosario, and Jose Cabellero will make up the Rays infield. Diaz led the AL in hitting last season and should be good for at least 20 homers. Lowe could hit 30-plus home runs this season if he stays healthy.
With Raley gone and Wander Franco off the roster, the Rays have lost at least 40 home runs off the roster. That production must come from the rest of the guys on the roster, and Lowe staying healthy will certainly help in that area.
Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri, and Harold Ramirez will be the starters in the outfield. Richie Palacios, Amed Rosario, and Curtis Mead will provide the backup depth in the outfield.
The AL East Is The Best Division In Baseball
The Yankees, Orioles, and Red Sox all improved their rosters, so it will be more of a challenge to make the postseason. It’s not out of the question that half the playoff teams in the American League could come from the AL East. This division is that good.
Author Prediction: The Rays will finish 92-70 and earn a wildcard spot in the 2024 postseason.
The Achilles heel for this Rays team has been their lack of offensive production in the postseason. Despite how good their regular season has been, that has not translated to the postseason, as they have been swept in the wildcard round the last two seasons. They have just one World Series appearance during this run of postseason success, that was in 2020 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It will be another exciting season in Tampa, but the Rays will again fall short of their ultimate goal: to bring a championship to Tampa.
The Rays will get past the wildcard round this postseason but fail to get out of the division round.