Regardless of important accidents on the pitching entrance, the Rays spent a lot of the season’s first half in or on the periphery of the Wild Card chase. The entrance workplace took benefit of a vendor’s market on the deadline although the membership was hovering round .500, bolstering the farm, lowering payroll and setting the stage for what may very well be a fast turnaround.
Assured Contracts
- Jeffrey Springs, LHP: $21.75MM by 2026 (contains $750K buyout of $15MM membership choice for 2027)
- Yandy Diaz, 1B: $10MM by 2025 (contract accommodates $12MM membership choice for 2026, with no buyout)
- Pete Fairbanks, RHP: $4.667MM by 2025 (contains $1MM buyout of $7MM membership choice for 2026)
- Shane McClanahan, LHP: $3.6MM by 2026 (McClanahan is arb-eligible for 2 extra years thereafter)
2025 monetary dedication: $27.766MM
Complete long-term monetary commitments: $40MM
Different Monetary Obligations
- Wander Franco owed $172MM by 2032; Rays unlikely to pay the rest of contract because of abhorrent allegations in opposition to Franco and subsequent authorized proceedings in Dominican Republic
- $2MM to Twins for buyout of Manuel Margot‘s 2025 membership choice
Choice Choices
- Brandon Lowe, 2B/OF: $10.5MM membership choice with $1MM buyout (contract additionally accommodates $11.5MM membership choice for 2026 with $500K buyout)
Arbitration-Eligible Gamers (service time in parentheses; projected salaries by way of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
Free Brokers
As we started this 12 months’s Offseason Outlook collection, the highest focus for the Rays was understandably on the workforce’s roster and reshaping an offense that lacked steadiness, struggled in opposition to righties and was far too whiff-prone. Whereas the collection was being written, nonetheless, a far broader-reaching difficulty arose. The terrible harm stemming from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene has wrought incalculable, heartbreaking ranges of injury on the nation’s southeast area. The massive-picture focus, after all, is on serving to these impacted and rebuilding these ravaged communities. Within the grand scheme of issues, the logistical challenges a pure catastrophe of this magnitude presents to a baseball workforce are trivial, at finest.
Nonetheless, for the Rays themselves, Hurricane Milton created an surprising and plain problem the workforce must tackle. The roof of Tropicana Subject was shredded, exposing a stadium inside that doesn’t have a drainage system. It is not but clear when the ability might return to a serviceable state, however the Rays aren’t more likely to have their dwelling subject obtainable to them to start the 2025 season. They’re going to spend as a lot time and power this offseason figuring out the place they will play their dwelling video games as they are going to augmenting their roster. We at MLBTR lengthen our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to all affected by the tragedy within the southeast.
Turning to the baseball operations facet of the offseason, the Rays have a transparent image of what went fallacious. Tampa Bay entered the 2024 marketing campaign with an injury-ravaged rotation. Starters Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgical procedure), Drew Rasmussen (flexor tendon surgical procedure) and Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgical procedure) had been set to overlook some or the entire 2024 season whereas recovering from surgical procedure. Former prime pitching prospect Shane Baz was ending off restoration from his personal Tommy John process, carried out late within the 2022 season.
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