The smell of fresh-cut grass. The sound of a baseball hitting leather. The crack of the bat. It must mean one thing.
The 2025 baseball season is right around the corner, and preparation for the season starts this week for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday, and the first full-squad workout is set for February 17th.
The Rays are focused on making the playoffs, and once again, their farm system is loaded. A survey done of MLB executives by Jonathan Mayo of mlb.com ranks the Boston Red Sox as the number one farm system in baseball, while the Rays came in second.
The Rays signed catcher Danny Jansen and infielder Ha-Seong Kim for contracts in the off-season. The signing of Kim may delay the arrival of guys like Brayden Taylor and the Rays’ number one prospect, Carson Williams, to the big league club, although both players will get a long look in spring training.
Prospect Junior Caminero is already locked in at third base and, barring an injury, will be the everyday third baseman.
The Rays potentially have six starters, so Kevin Cash will need to determine who stays in the rotation and who goes to the bullpen.
Shane McClanahan is coming off Tommy John Surgery and did not pitch in 2024, so his pitch count will be limited for the first part of the season. The Rays also boast Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell. One of these six will start the season in the bullpen. The Rays are hoping the bullpen’s performance last season was not a fluke, as they used many young pitchers who performed very well.
Pete Fairbanks will be back as the closer, with Edwin Uceta, Kevin Kelly, Manuel Rodriguez, Garrett Cleavinger, and the hard-throwing Mason Montgomery rounding out the bullpen.
The Rays also acquired Alex Faedo, a former number-one pick, and will allow him to show what he can do. Hunter Bigge, Joe Boyle, and Mike Vasil will also get a look this spring.
Around the infield, first to third, it will be Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, Ha-Seong Kim, and Junior Caminero. With Diaz firmly entrenched at first, the arrival of prospect Xavier Isaac may be delayed. Kim is recovering from surgery and is not expected to return until mid-May. Until then, shortstop duties will be split between Taylor Walls and Jose Caballero.
Curtis Mead has been up and down with the Rays for the last two years without much success. Spring training may be his last chance to impress the Rays front office. Jonathan Aranda will also get a long look from the Rays.
Christopher Morel, Johnny DeLuca, and Josh Lowe will be the primary starting outfielders this season. The versatile Richie Palacios will play the outfield and spell the middle infielders.
It will be an interesting six weeks for the Rays in Port Charlotte this spring, with questions to be answered.
Will any of the Rays prospects be able to unseat a veteran or two to make the team? Who will make the Rays starting rotation and who will start the season in the bullpen? Will the Rays break the injury curse this season and stay healthy? These questions and more will be answered over the next six weeks.
Rays top prospects and rankings, according to ESPN
SS Carson Williams #5.
INF Brayden Taylor. #63.
1B Xavier Isaac. #71.
1B/OF Tre’ Morgan. #94.
OF Theo Gillen. #99
RHP Trevor Harrison
RHP Brody Hopkins
RHP Jackson Baumeister
C Dominic Keegan
OF Aidan Smith
OF Chandler Simpson