A Tampa Bay Rays Blog: Ball on a Budget
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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! […]
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 […]
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 […]
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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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
For many Rays fans, one hope for the new ownership group was that the indignities of the Stuart Sternberg era would be a thing of the past. That the team would no decline pay player contracts at or near market rates, particularly for fan favorites. Well, if that was you, today’s 40-man roster deadline is […]
An obvious decision has been as the Tampa Bay Rays have picked up Brandon Lowe’s $11.5M option for the 2026 season. Lowe, 31, has proven that when healthy, he is among the top offensive second basemen in all of baseball and he supported that assertion in 2025 as he hit .256/.307/.477 with 31 HR over […]