Predicting the Rays’ Next Young Extension Candidates
Around the league, extensions are flying off the shelves, and the Tampa Bay Rays could be next.
Cooper Pratt of the Milwaukee Brewers and Colt Emerson of the Seattle Mariners both reportedly received contracts that will create generational wealth despite neither player having yet to debut in the majors. With Emerson receiving the larger dollar figure at $95 million, this extension makes him officially the highest-paid player yet to debut.
To understand just how unprecedented these extensions are, Pratt and Emerson have combined for just 12 games played at Triple-A. Extensions are being given to players with less experience each passing year.
Ever since the concept of “future value” became more mainstream, baseball has been shifting younger in almost every facet of the game. International talent is bound to verbal contracts at a younger age; young hitters are more prized over older ones due to natural athleticism; and now, younger players are locked into contracts before they’ve had a chance to play in the majors.
Major League front offices are playing the game of risk with these prospects. Buying out the prime money-making years of a player’s career gives a team a chance to employ a superstar for a fraction of the cost they would have to pay them in arbitration and beyond.
This is where baseball is heading, and the Rays have a lot to learn from what the keen-eyed front offices are doing in Milwaukee and Seattle. What star young talent could find themselves inking a deal in Tampa Bay?
Honorable Mention: Junior Caminero
The most obvious player the Rays need to figure out a deal with is Junior Caminero. As the firmly cemented face of the organization after a transcendent 21-year-old season that saw him mash 45 home runs, his talent profile is sky high.
Unfortunately, so is his asking price. To lock him down will take a serious financial commitment, and with each passing highlight reel performance, he plays himself further out of Tampa Bay’s small-market money aspirations.
SS, Carson Williams; Projected Deal: 7 years, $70 million
As a point of reference for how much money Carson Williams should receive, we should look at what players of similar skill sets are paid. One of the best examples is the Colorado Rockies' prized shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who received seven years and $63.5 million.
Both players are valuable fielding and power-wise, but are then limited in terms of ceiling due to massive holes in their swings.
The defense and game power, though, are enough to highlight as being key reasons to make Williams the future keystone at shortstop. It’s rare to see such proficient defensive acumen at perhaps the most valuable defensive position in the game, combined with 30 home run season potential.
Those tools are so strong that the Rays’ front office would take gold glove defense and huge power at the cost of a 30% or higher K rate.
This is the type of move that would also be a massive step towards defining a team identity. All too often lately, Tampa Bay has been straddling the line between clinging to remnants of championship cores and trading with an eye for the future.
Giving Williams the keys to shortstop and the freedom to know he’s secure there would be a step towards solidifying a new generation of talent.
CF, Theo Gillen; Projected Deal: 8 years, $50 million
Here’s the type of player that fits closer to Pratt and the archetype of a less proven track record receiving big-time money. At just 20 years old, Theo Gillen possesses all the hallmarks of a star talent.
The Rays' scouting department was keen to nab him in the first round of the 2024 draft because of a mature approach and strike zone awareness not seen in many young players.
It’s what jettisoned him to an astronomical walk rate in his first full pro season, as well as an aptitude to hit for extra bases over singles. That hitting ability, paired with instinctive and speedy center field play, truly gives him the marks of a future star.
There are shades of Jackson Merrill in his game as a converted infielder to center fielder who uses a sweet lefty swing to get on base at a high clip. Merrill can make up to $135 million on his 2025 extension, showing what the fully idealized version of Gillen would make with developments in the same direction.
Shoring up the center field position with a prime defender showcasing a strike zone awareness that few others his age have could be the next addition to a core slowly coming together.
SP, Michael Forret; Projected Deal: 7 years, $30 million
Trey Yesavage, Payton Tolle, and Ryan Sloan. Three pitchers that vaulted themselves from high upside organizational depth arms to top 50 phenoms in one season.
It’s not always easy to see who can take a massive leap in performance, but there’s reason to believe Michael Forret is a top candidate. While Slater de Brun and Caden Bodine were focal points of the Shane Baz trade, Forret felt like the type of arm that was the most Rays-type acquisition from the deal.
It’s hard to nail down how expansive Forret’s arsenal is because every pitch he throws comes along with a variation of another. Kick changeups, sweepers, and death balls round out a more classic mix of fastballs, sliders, and changeups, giving him a dizzying array of options.
Tread Athletics pushed the boundaries on how he could get the most out of his stuff by teaching him those wacky secondary offerings as well as fine-tuning a delivery that contains the same crossfire movement Michael King uses to sink and spin his way to success.
He’s also like King in the vein that he has one final step to take by going from a bulk pitcher’s workload to a full-time starter. Back issues have plagued him here and there, and 2026 is a real test to see if he can handle a rotation turn every five days.
If so, Forret can make the jump from fringe top 100 to a possible top 50 prospect, making that pay of $30 million a bargain for pitching prospects of that caliber.
Sam Hougham is an alumnus of UC Santa Barbara, who earned his degree in Communication. He is a passionate baseball writer and researcher who began his career at Diamond Digest, a platform for up-and-coming voices in baseball writing. Since then, he has launched his own website, The Daily Lineup Card, where he publishes long-form analytical pieces focused on scouting, drafting, and team analysis. A lifelong Tampa Bay Rays fan, Sam’s other sports interests include Aston Villa FC and the English Premier League, the NHL, and the NFL. You can follow him on X, @samuelhougham, or reach him via email at samhougham791@gmail.com.