The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off their third consecutive losing season in which they finished at the bottom of the American League East division. While they have assembled a quality mix of veterans and young players, the Rays are expected to once again face an uphill climb as they attempt to rise out of the AL East basement in 2017.
Key Additions: Wilson Ramos, Colby Rasmus, Jose De Leon, Maliex Smith, Shawn Tolleson
Key Losses: Logan Forsythe, Drew Smyly, Alexei Ramirez
Strengths
Despite rumors that they would trade Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi, the Rays moved Drew Smyly and held on to their top two arms. Now Tampa Bay will team up Archer, Odorizzi, Alex Cobb and Blake Snell with the hope that they can carry a strong rotation in 2017. Meanwhile, the offense will likely continue to rely on home runs with the additions of Wilson Ramos and Colby Rasmus. Third basemen Evan Longoria and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier are solid on both sides of the ball and the additions of Ramos and Rasmus could spark a minor improvement on offense. The Rays definitely have some impressive power but they also need to do a better job when it comes to generating runs without the long ball.
Weaknesses
The bullpen was borderline disastrous in 2016 and Tampa Bay didn’t do much at all to improve their core group. Closer Alex Colome is solid, but beyond him the Rays could really use some upgrades across the board. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay infield features an awkward cast of characters in terms of defensive alignment with Logan Morrison the best option at first base while Matt Duffy is expected to move to shortstop despite playing primarily at third base throughout his career. The Rays could also choose to move veteran Brad Miller around but regardless of what they do the expectations for their infield defense must be tempered. While the Tampa Bay rotation remains the strength of this team they still need to be better when it comes to the home run balls. The Rays starters allowed the eighth-most home runs in the majors last season including a combined 59 bombs given up by Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi.
Tampa Bay Rays Depth Chart
| Catcher | Luke Maile | Curt Casali | Wilson Ramos | ||
| First Base | Logan Morrison | Brad Miller | Nick Franklin | ||
| Second Base | Nick Franklin | Brad Miller | Tim Beckham | ||
| Third Base | Evan Longoria | Brad Miller | Tim Beckham | ||
| Shortstop | Matt Duffy | Brad Miller | Tim Beckham | ||
| Left Field | Colby Rasmus | Mallex Smith | Corey Dickerson | ||
| Center Field | Kevin Kiermaier | Colby Rasmus | Mallex Smith | ||
| Right Field | Steven Souza Jr. | Nick Franklin | |||
| Designated Hitter | Corey Dickerson | Brad Miller | |||
| Starting Pitcher | Chris Archer | Jake Odorizzi | Blake Snell | Alex Cobb | Matt Andriese |
| Relief Pitcher | Brad Boxberger | Xavier Cedeno | Danny Farquhar | Erasmo Ramirez | Ryan Garton |
| Closer | Alex Colome | ||||
Projected Win Total: 75.5
World Series Odds: +10000
Outlook
While a moderate improvement is definitely conceivable, Tampa Bay has far too many holes to expect this group to contend with the top teams in the AL East this season. The Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays and Yankees all have the potential to be better than they were last year and that should leave the Rays on the outside looking in. This is arguably the toughest division in baseball and while many of the other teams in the American League East have reloaded, the Rays have continued their frugal ways. It’s tough to expect them to be competitive when they’re a few cards short of a deck while the other teams in the division are fully loaded.
It will also be very interesting to see how Tampa Bay fares down the stretch depending on whether they move some veteran players like Archer, Odorizzi or Longoria. A strong enough first half could convince management to stay the course but if things go south early on then the Rays could decide to shake things up with some of the team’s bigger names likely dealt. Expect it to be more of the latter as the Rays are a team that won’t be much of a factor in the World Series race…unless we’re talking about them as sellers at the trade deadline.
Prediction: 73-90
The MLB season is still a couple of months away, but if you’re looking at some early lines and futures, click here to bet on MLB (or any other sports) at BetDSI!
