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https://www.draysbay.com/ | 52 entries published

A Tampa Bay Rays Blog: Ball on a Budget

Latest Entries

Wander Franco conviction voided, new trial ordered

Just when everyone thought the Wander Franco situation had largely been concluded, the process has started all over again. On Tuesday the court of appeals of Puerto Plata, D.R. made the decision to void Wander Franco’s trial that was held this past June in which he, and the victim’s mother, were both found guilty of […]

about 3 hours ago | 0 reads

MLB 2025 Winter Meetings Open Thread: Day Two

The first day of the Winter Meetings passed by without much happening. The Tampa Bay Rays may have been the busiest team of the day as they reportedly reached an agreement with veteran LHP Steven Matz on a two year deal and also signed infielder Logan Davidson to a minor league deal. Today figures to […]

MLB

about 9 hours ago | 0 reads

MLB Winter Meetings 2025: Tampa Bay Rays reportedly signing LHP Steven Matz

The Tampa Bay Rays are signing veteran left-handed pitcher Steven Matz to a two year deal per a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Matz, 34, was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft and reached the big leagues with that organization in 2015. […]

MLB

about 10 hours ago | 0 reads

MLB 2025 Winter Meetings Open Thread: Day One

The Winter Meetings have arrived and they’re being held on home turf with decision makers from all 30 teams meeting up in Orlando for several day long baseball fest in which numerous trades and free agents are discussed that can signifcantly impact a franchise. It was at the Winter Meetings in 1999 when the Tampa […]

MLB

1 day ago | 0 reads

Rays 2025 Winter Meetings Primer: Off-season Recap

It’s been just over a month since the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, officially kicking what has thus far been an eventful offseason for the Tampa Bay Rays. Following a second straight sub .500 finish, the Rays have made several alterations to their roster that should have significant […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Give Carson Williams the Keys to the Car

The Rays are weighing their 2026 shortstop options: Taylor Walls, Carson Williams, or an external stopgap to buy Williams more development time. I don’t think an outside addition is necessary. Williams is ready for a full-time MLB role, and his 2025 season showed he has outgrown Triple-A and begun adjusting to major-league pitching. Proved Himself […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Rays Add Veteran Stability With Cedric Mullins on One-Year, $7 Million Deal

The Rays made an aggressive move this week, getting out ahead of the bustle and competition of the winter meetings by signing outfielder Cedric Mullins to a one-year, $7 million contract. The move brings a respected veteran presence to a young and fluid outfield group, and marks a meaningful investment in a player whose recent […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Draysbay Community Prospect Review: Mason Montgomery

Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote. This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy of […]

6 days ago | 1 read

Rays 2026 draft lottery odds, competitive balance pick revealed

The Tampa Bay Rays 2026 draft is starting to take shape with the announcement of the Competitive Balance picks (below) and the upcoming draft lottery to be conducted on Dec 9. Here’s where the Rays odds stand today, per mlb.com: White Sox (.370) — 27.73%Twins (.432) — 22.18%Pirates (.438) — 16.81%Orioles (.463) — 9.24%A’s (.469) […]

7 days ago | 1 read

Rays Trade Target: OF Lars Nootbaar

The Tampa Bay Rays have an outfield problem, both an overabundance of outfielders on the current roster and no clear answer on will take on starting roles once the 2026 season arrives. We know the Rays are trying to address this as they’ve made several moves already this offseason to clear some spots on the […]

8 days ago | 0 reads

Five Rule 5 Pitching Prospects for the Rays bullpen

There are many interesting players who were left unprotected by other organizations following the recent Rule 5 roster deadline, and some of them look like they could fit in the bullpen if the Rays wanted to try their luck again after drafting two such prospects last offseason. Below are my top five Rule 5 pitching […]

12 days ago | 2 reads

Could the Rocky Point Golf Course turn into a baseball stadium?

The final damaged Tropicana Field roof panel has been replaced, which means we are on track to have the stadium ready for the April home opener. With the current lease agreement ending after in 2028, the team is certainly feeling some urgency to, as developers like to say, “turn dirt” on a new stadium. We […]

MLB

13 days ago | 1 read

Baseball America’s 2026 top ten Tampa Bay Rays prospects

It is officially prospect season in the baseball world. Baseball America has released their list of the top ten prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system and it is drastically different than it was a year ago at this point as a number of the Rays top prospects struggled with injuries and poor performance throughout […]

MLB

14 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Draysbay Community Prospect Review: Cooper Kinney

Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote. This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy of […]

MLB

15 days ago | 0 reads

Rays Rumors: A Starting Pitcher Reunion

In last weekend’s column from Marc Topkin, he strongly suggested that the Rays are not only in the market for a veteran starting pitcher than can project to the starting rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, and Shane Baz — he also suggested it might be a familiar name. This makes some sense! […]

18 days ago | 1 read

2025 Draysbay Community Prospect Review: Dylan Lesko

Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote. This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy of […]

18 days ago | 0 reads

The non-tender deadline has arrived

The MLB offseason is creeping along and with it, another important date can be marked off the calendar as today, Friday November 21st at 5pm, the deadline will pass for teams to off contracts to their arbitration eligible player or to non-tender them and thus make them free agents. Entering the offseason, the Rays had […]

19 days ago | 1 read

Rays part with 7 players, add 7 at 2025 Rule 5 deadline

As expected, the Rays had a busy day on Tuesday ahead of the Rule 5 roster deadline. Here’s the full list, which we will get into one at a time. The Tampa Bay Rays have made the following roster moves today: – Designated OF Jake Fraley and OF Christopher Morel for assignment. – Acquired RHP […]

20 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Draysbay Community Prospect Review: Homer Bush Jr.

Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote. This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy of […]

21 days ago | 0 reads

Rays face hard choices for Tuesday’s 2025 Rule 5 Deadline

Tuesday marks the next important day in the off-season calendar, representing an important inflection point for all MLB rosters: Tuesday, Nov. 18: Rule 5 Deadline Eligible minor leaguers must be added to 40-man rosters by 6 PM EST on Nov. 18 or else teams will risk losing some minor league players in the Rule 5 Draft. […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Draysbay Community Prospect Review: Colton Ledbetter

Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote. This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy of […]

25 days ago | 3 reads

Surprise! Rays single-game tickets are now on sale for 2026

The Tampa Bay Rays have announced single-game ticket information for the 2026 season at Tropicana Field that includes additional pricing options for all fans and redesigned spaces to improve fan experience. Tropicana Field will also see various enhancements including an expanded main videoboard, new video displays behind home plate and along both foul poles, a […]

MLB

26 days ago | 2 reads

Rays trade OF Kameron Misner to the Royals

In a move that feels as much like fate as it does front-office maneuvering, the Tampa Bay Rays have traded outfielder Kameron Misner to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The deal, announced on Monday, sends the 27-year-old back to his home state of Missouri. Misner, a […]

29 days ago | 4 reads

Three Rays were finalists for Silver Slugger awards in 2025

Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe have been named American League (AL) finalists for Silver Slugger Awards at third base, designated hitter and second base, respectively. None won the award. Junior Caminero Caminero, 22, was named a finalist alongside Boston’s Alex Bregman and Cleveland’s José Ramírez. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic slashed .264/.311/.535 […]

about 1 month ago | 2 reads