The Tampa Bay Rays’ season was a disaster before it even started. In October of 2024, Hurricane Milton swept through St. Petersburg and destroyed Tampa’s stadium, Tropicana Field. The hurricane forced Tampa to relocate to George Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. Lacking the key pieces for a playoff run, the Rays began to invest in their youth and set themselves up for the future. The result was a quiet but encouraging 77-85.
The good: The key bats
The Rays had three All-Star hitters this year: steady veteran Brandon Lowe, who finished with 31 home runs in 134 games, surprise first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who pieced together a .316 average over 106 games despite an injury-ridden second half, and breakout star Junior Caminero, who also earned a Home Run Derby invite during his 45-homer season. Other notables included the ever-steady Yandy Diaz, who hit .300 with a career-high 25 homers, and divisive rookie speedster Chandler Simpson, who stole 44 bags in 109 games with absolutely no power. It’s rare for the Rays’ offense to be the driving force, but Tampa’s bats were surprisingly successful this year. The young Caminero looked like the face of the franchise he was made out to be; he was a force in the middle of the Tampa order for the entire year. A notable arm was righty starter Drew Rasmussen, who had been a steadily under-the-radar above-average pitcher since being acquired from the Brewers during the 2021 season. Rasmussen made his first All-Star appearance in 2025, starting 31 games with a 2.76 ERA, which provided some much-needed stability in Tampa’s rotation.
The bad: The supporting cast and bullpem
In a surprise, the Rays ‘pen was bad in 2025. Tampa’s relievers are typically a sure bet to lock things down and keep them in the game, but the majority of their relievers struggled this season. Two relievers had earned run averages north of 5 in over 40 appearances, and there only seemed to be two consistently quality arms, righty closer Pete Fairbanks and lefty swingman Garrett Cleavinger. The Rays lacked one of the things they could most count on: Consistency. Additionally, every hitter outside of the ones I named performed under a league-average level, including several MLB veterans like Josh Lowe, Danny Jansen, and Christopher Morel. Every single player outside of Caminero, Aranda, Brandon Lowe, and Diaz posted OPS numbers below league-average. As good as the Rays’ key pieces were, the rest of them weren’t good enough to provide the Rays’ lineup with any type of stability.
MVP: Caminero
Caminero somehow flew under the radar as a 22-year-old who hit 45 homers. He provided Tampa’s lineup with surprising power and was an impressive run producer, given his limited track record in the bigs. He should be a mainstay in Tampa’s lineup, but given their history with young international phenoms, nothing should be set in stone just yet.
One word: Positive
Nobody expected Tampa to contend this year, but as the Rays do, they just kept hanging around. They should be in a position to make a run at the postseason in 2026
