A Tampa Bay Rays Blog: Ball on a Budget
Let me be the 47th person to wish you a Happy New Year and welcome you to 2026. Like many of you, I spent some time reflecting on 2025 in the waning days of the year, and part of that reflection came to baseball. I found myself dissatisfied with how the 2025 season played out […]
Welcome back to the 16th annual DRaysBay Community Prospect List vote. Here’s how you vote: There will be a selection of players listed in the article and then below in the comments. To vote, reply to the name you’d like to vote for with a +1 in the comment. Polls will be posted three times […]
At the start of every year, we like to take a look backward at the year gone by to see which moments resonated the most for Rays fans and our broader readership. Here are the top-ten read articles at DRaysBay in 2025: Honorable Mention — Rays Stadium Site Candidate: WestShore Plaza This article went live […]
When it comes to the Rays search for a stadium site in Tampa we assume everything is still on the table, but the rumors often seem to center on the area between the Courtney Campbell Causeway and Raymond James Stadium. The heart of this area is the business/residential district known as Westshore. We have been […]
Another holiday season is here, and with it more familial conversations about the Rays trading away their most important players and stars. Now that some dust has settled from the recent transactions, here’s a round up of evaluations of the Rays two recent trades of Brandon Lowe and Shane Baz from around the baseball blogging […]
This Rays off-season has included a search for veteran starting pitching* for 2026, with three veterans with former experience with the Rays tabbed early in the off-season in former Opening Day starter Zach Eflin, the recently traded Zack Littell, or the team’s only departing free agent Adrian Houser. Read More: Rays Rumors: A Starting Pitcher […]
The Tampa Bay Rays have hired Corey Dickerson as their first base coach, replacing Michael Johns, who joined the Washington Nationals as bench coach. “I am thrilled to congratulate and welcome Corey to serve as our first base coach,” said Rays Manager Kevin Cash. “I look forward to him bringing his experience and expertise to […]
Brandon Lowe, Shane Baz, Mason Montgomery, and Jake Mangum were all traded away this past Friday, bringing back a total of six players and a 2026 draft pick in two separate deals. The two trades significantly altered the Rays current roster projection. Most notably there is now a massive opening at second base and in […]
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 […]
In a flurry of moves involving the Pirates, Astros, and Orioles, the Rays acquired six prospects and a comp pick. While B-Lowe will be missed, the Rays got an impressive return that will positively impact the big league roster in 2026. And following the Baz trade, the Rays found a plethora of promising prospects piled […]
After years of speculation, the Tampa Bay Rays have finally parted with 2B Brandon Lowe, sending him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three team deal that returns the Rays a top flight defensive outfielder and a premium pitching prospects. In a mildly surprising turn of events, the cost was more than just Lowe; here’s […]
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles have made a significant trade, swapping right-hander Shane Baz for five pieces, including three first round picks In return, the Rays receive outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn, and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick, according to Jeff Passan […]
The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly deep into talks with the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates regarding a three-team deal that would send long time second baseman Brandon Lowe to the Pirates, while also considering a deal that would send Shane Baz to the Orioles. Brandon Lowe Rumor The deal has not been finalized but […]
The Tampa Bay Rays pursued infielder Jorge Polanco in free agency before the veteran slugger signed a two year, $40M deal with the New York Mets. The details of the Rays pursuit of the switch-hitting Polanco are unknown, but according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Rays were “outbid” by the New York Mets […]
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 […]
An easy to overlook moment in the Rays offseason thus far might be the early acquisition of utility player Ryan Vilade from Cincinnati for cash considerations. Vilade has an interesting set of tools that could make him a valuable role player on a Rays team with playoff aspirations. Should the team decide to roster him, […]
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 […]
Weatherford Capital, an investment firm that is part of the new Tampa Bay Rays ownership group, is partnering with Red Bird Capital — which is invested in several sports enterprises, including the Boston Red Sox — are prepared to make a $2 billion investment in collegiate athletic departments. According to reporting by Sportico, the two […]
The Winter Meetings are over as teams have made their long treks back home, or in the Rays case, a brief drive down I-4 back to Tampa Bay. It was a busy few days for the Rays, even if they only added one player to their projected Opening Day roster. Let’s break down what happened: […]
The Winter Meetings have wrapped up, and the Rays are one of the busiest teams in baseball, having already signed three free agents to big league deals, and now they find themselves in trade talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks over star second baseman Ketel Marte. This doesn’t feel like a normal Rays offseason! In the […]
The Rays have found a suitor for RHP Yoniel Curet after designating him for assignment on Saturday. The Phillies sent over relief prospect RHP Tommy McCollum following the completion of the Rule 5 Draft. McCollum does not need a 40-man roster spot and will likely report to AAA following Spring Training. Curet was added to […]
The most significant and boisterous agent in baseball, Scott Boras, held his annual Winter Meetings press conference yesterday, and was quick to draw various witty connections between star free agent slugger Pete Alonso (nicknamed the Polar Bear by former Mets third baseman Todd Frazier) and his hometown team, the Tampa Bay Rays: The two-time Home […]
In a (finally?) fortuitous turn of events, the Tampa Bay Rays have been awarded the second overall pick in the 2026 draft. They entered the lottery with a 3.03% chance of being awarded the top draft choice, which went to the Chicago White Sox. The Rays had not drafted in the top-10 of the draft […]
It’s been a relatively quiet Winter Meetings thus far for the league as a whole. However, there has been plenty of eventful things happening in the Rays tiny corner of the map as Wander Franco’s conviction was overturned and he’ll be receiving a new trial. In the draft lottery, the Rays were awarded the #2 […]
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 […]