Coming off their worst season in a decade, the Rays had an active winter, rolling the dice on buy-low veteran free agent bats and trading a pair of 2016 regulars to cycle in some young talent. But will it be enough to keep up in the hyper-competitive AL East?
As we approach the 2017 season, we’re previewing what’s ahead for each of the 30 MLB teams. The Tampa Bay Rays are next:
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Up-and-coming player to watch
The Rays seem to be perpetually spoiled with good, young starters, and they added another this winter when they traded Logan Forsythe to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jose De Leon. The 24-year-old was ranked among the top 30 prospects in the game by MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus coming into 2016, and for good reason.
He has shown great command of his 92-94 mph fastball, his swing-and-miss slider, and his elite change-up, a repertoire he’s used to put up 12.1 K/9 over his minor league career. He’ll compete for the fifth spot in the Rays deep rotation during spring training, but even if he falls short he’ll likely only be an injury away from pitching in the majors.
What a successful 2017 season would look like
The loss of Forsythe is absorbed by a bounce back year from Corey Dickerson and the further development of Brad Miller, who builds on his 30-homer 2016 breakout. Ramos returns strong from the ACL tear he suffered late last season and is once again a three-win player behind the plate. Playing for his third team in the last four years, the enigmatic Rasmus finds his groove and returns to the more complete hitter he was earlier in his career rather than the power-or-bust strikeout artist he’s been recently.
The exciting youngster Smith—acquired along with two others for Smyly this winter—makes the team and breaks out, while a deep rotation headlined by Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb throws up a steady string of quality starts, ensuring Smyly’s presence isn’t missed. A bullpen that frequently self-destructed in 2016 swings back in the other direction, as Brad Boxberger, Xavier Cedeno, Tolleson and Erasmo Ramirez provide strong set-up innings for shutdown closer Alex Colome. The Rays sneak into the wild card game, get a dominant outing from Archer, and return to the ALDS for the first time since 2013.
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Biggest remaining question
Will the Rays start over? Look, Tampa’s front office says they’re committed to contending this year and with their rotation they should have at least a puncher’s chance. But this is a team that lost 94 games last season, and if this campaign looks anything like that one, they may have to consider a rebuild. Of course, with one of the lowest payrolls in the majors, the Rays are perpetually rebuilding, in a way.
But if things go as poorly this season as they did last, the Rays could consider a more fulsome tear-down. Moving Forsythe and Smyly for young pieces this winter was a tentative first dip in that end of the pool. But if the Rays are looking at another 90-plus loss season, their front office could opt to cannon ball in, trading Archer and Evan Longoria for young, controllable pieces to restock the minor league system and, ideally, build the next Rays core that will try to develop and contend at the same time before they, too, must inevitably be dealt away or lost to free agency. Such is life as one of the most budgetarily challenged teams in baseball.
