Rays Might Regret Not Adding More to Unit That Needed Upgrades This Winter

Did the Tampa Bay add enough to improve a unit that needed help?

Oct 7, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander before game one of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

With pitchers and catchers reporting for the Tampa Bay Rays, spring training is right around the corner for them. 

It was a very busy offseason for the Rays this winter. Following two straight years of missing the postseason, Tampa Bay figured to be a team that was going to make some changes. That ended up being the case with the team declining a team option on closer Pete Fairbanks and also trading slugger Brandon Lowe after picking up his option. 

Even though they moved on from some veterans, they did restock their farm system. That was something that the franchise has needed to do with the unit taking a bit of a step back in recent years in terms of high-end talent. 

While the team made a lot of moves this winter, one of their priorities was to improve an outfield that didn’t provide them with a lot of offensive production in 2025. Even though they added a lot of new players and reshaped the unit, the question remains if it will be enough to change things positively for the franchise. 

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN recently wrote about a regret for the Rays not upgrading their outfield enough this winter. 

Did Tampa Bay Add Enough?

New York Mets center fielder Cedric Mullins | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The outfield for the Rays is going to be completely different looking in 2026, but there is no guarantee that it will be better. In free agency, the team most notably added Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley to the unit. 

Of the two, Mullins is a former All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles, but he is coming off a dreadful second half of the season with the New York Mets after being traded. Fraley is a really strong platoon option from the left side of the plate, but he needs to face only right-handed pitchers. 

In addition to adding those two sluggers in free agency, the team did acquire Jacob Melton in the Lowe trade, and he could factor into the equation as well. The talented prospect got some time in the majors with the Houston Astros last year, and while it didn’t go well, he should have a chance to make the team. 

Even though they have a lot of new faces for the outfield with some potential, Tampa Bay didn’t add a sure thing for the unit. In the hardest division in baseball, the Rays will be running a risk by not improving a unit with someone that they could really count on in the outfield.