The Tampa Bay Rays have been busy shipping talent all over the country. The deals haven’t always made sense, but they just started a full rebuild, so not everything will make immediate sense. They are now playing the long game.
The Rays have a nice run with all the homegrown talent they matured. Even though it was a tough decision, it was time to trade franchise star Evan Longoria. The same could be said for ace Chris Archer. Tampa Bay should receive a nice haul of prospects for the flamethrower.
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Tampa Bay Rays.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 80-82
Key Additions: OF Denard Span, OF Carlos Gomez, RP Daniel Hudson, 1B C.J. Cron, 2B Joey Wendle, C Xorge Carrillo, OF Jason Coats, RP Cody Hall, 2B Micah Johnson, RP Dustin McGowan, C Johnny Monell, RP Vidal Nuno, RP Dan Runzler, RP Evan Scribner & 1B Brandon Snyder
Key Losses: 3B Evan Longoria, OF Corey Dickerson, OF Steven Souza Jr, 1B Logan Morrison, SP Jake Odorizzi, SP Alex Cobb, OF Peter Bourjos, 1B Lucas Duda, OF Colby Rasmus, RP Brad Boxberger, 3B Trevor Plouffe, RP Tommy Hunter, RP Chase Whitley & RP Steve Cishek
Interleague Schedule: NL East
Projected Starters: Wilson Ramos, C.J. Cron, Brad Miller, Matt Duffy, Adeiny Hechavarria, Mallex Smith, Kevin Kiermaier, Carlos Gomez & Denard Span
Projected Starting Rotation: Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Jacob Faria, Nathan Eovaldi & Matt Andriese
Closer: Alex Colome
Fantasy Sleeper: SS Matt Duffy – Duffy was becoming a solid Major Leaguer, but then blew out his Achilles late in the 2016 season. It was an awful time for this to happen due to it being about a year-long rehab. He missed the entire 2017 season (minus a couple minor league rehab starts). He will most likely drop in drafts due to ‘out of site, out of mind’. He has low double-digit power and speed. He would be a very nice backup middle-infielder in mixed leagues.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: 1B/OF Jake Bauers – They Rays have been trying to bolster their farm system the last couple years. They acquired Bauers when they sent Wil Myers to San Diego. He keeps getting better year after year and is ready for a call-up this season. He has double-digit power and speed while hitting anywhere from .250 to .260.
Team Analysis: The Rays made a big move to open the offseason by sending face of the franchise third baseman Evan Longoria to the Giants. They then looked like they were going to go into the season with a lot of assets, but then in about a ten-day span in February, they unloaded outfielder Steven Souza, pitcher Jake Odorizzi and All-Star outfielder Corey Dickerson. Players like pitcher Chris Archer and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier now wonder if they will end the season still in Tampa.
Tampa Bay appears to be going into a full-blown rebuild. They haven’t received many blue chip prospects in their deals, but they did add depth to their somewhat depleted farm system. Their Major League roster is now bare, but still have some young talent to trade that would see a solid return.
The Rays are a long way from being competitive, so this season will see the front office making moves to unload as many assets as possible. They could be in danger of losing 100 games if they pull the trigger on all the possible deals.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 74.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 64-98 (5th in AL East)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.