Team Previews 2021: Tampa Bay Rays
All projections courtesy of Fangraphs.
Projected Record: 83-79 (4th in AL East)
The Rays, obviously, made it to the World Series last year, losing to the Dodgers in six games. Most teams in that situation would elect to supplement that team in the offseason with key acquisitions to try to get over the hump and win it all the next year (see: 2015 Royals). However, because this is the Rays, of course they went against the mold. They elected to not extend a qualifying offer to Charlie Morton, and traded Blake Snell to the Padres for prospects (most notably pitcher Luis Patiño.) This pretty much follows the standard Rays formula, however, of trying to avoid spending money and instead be perpetually in a position of having a strong farm system that is constantly resupplying the talent of the big-league club. In addition to prospects, they also signed Michael Wacha to a one-year deal. Given the Rays propensity for developing and fixing pitchers, they clearly hope to take a flyer on Wacha and see how effective they can make him.
Projected Opening Day Starting Lineup
| Order | Player | Position | Bats |
| 1 | Austin Meadows | DH | L |
| 2 | Brandon Lowe | 2B | L |
| 3 | Randy Arozarena | LF | R |
| 4 | Ji-Man Choi | 1B | L |
| 5 | Manuel Margot | RF | R |
| 6 | Joey Wendle | 3B | L |
| 7 | Willy Adames | SS | R |
| 8 | Kevin Kiermaier | CF | L |
| 9 | Mike Zunino | C | R |
In terms of lineup, Tampa Bay is continuing with the “no stars/lots of solid guys/greater than the sum of its parts” approach. The most interesting to watch will likely be Lowe, Adames, and Arozarena. Lowe and Adames are former highly rated prospects who have been fairly solid the last two years, and with continued development could break out in a big way fairly soon. Arozarena is a whole separate enigma. After getting only 76 plate appearances during the regular season last year, Randy turned into Barry Bonds in the playoffs, setting postseason records for homeruns (10), hits (29), and total bases (64). While it’s unlikely that he really is a 5’11” Bonds, how much he comes back to earth will be something to certainly keep an eye on.
Projected Opening Day Rotation
| Role | Player | Throw |
| SP1 | Tyler Glasnow | R |
| SP2 | Rich Hill | L |
| SP3 | Chris Archer | R |
| SP4 | Ryan Yarbrough | L |
| SP5 | Michael Wacha | R |
Projected Opening Day Bullpen
| Role | Player | Throws |
| LR | Collin McHugh | R |
| MR | Cody Reed | L |
| MR | Ryan Sherriff | L |
| MR | Chaz Roe | R |
| MR | Ryan Thompson | R |
| CL | Diego Castillo | R |
| CL | Nick Anderson | R |
| CL | Pete Fairbanks | R |
As discussed, the Rays are now without both 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Charlie Morton, who has been one the most effective starting pitchers in baseball since 2018 (with some regression last year.) Instead, they will look to Tyler Glasnow to lead the rotation. Glasnow was the Rays best pitcher last season and projects to be about the 20th best pitcher in baseball this year. Beyond that has a few more question marks, though Ryan Yarbrough and the currently injured McKay could round out the top of the rotation fairly well. The bullpen should continue to be a strength for Tampa, headlined by Nick Anderson, who allowed exactly *checks notes* one earned run over 19 appearances last year.
Though there are a few extra question marks this year, the depth and extreme analytic ability should have the Rays contending for either the division or a Wild Card spot.
Top Prospects:
1. Wander Franco
2. Randy Arozarena
3. Luis Patiño
4. Vidal Brujan
5. Josh Lowe
6. Xavier Edwards
7. Shane Baz
8. Taylor Walls
9. Shane McClanahan