Rays Must Address This Key Area to Improve During Winter Meetings

What area do the Tampa Bay Rays need to address for the Winter Meetings?

Oct 6, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays president Erik Neander during the ALDS workout day against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

With the winter meetings just days away, the Tampa Bay Rays are going to be very busy trying to find ways to improve their roster. 

Coming into the offseason, there were a number of needs for the Rays to try to address. This was a team that finished the 2025 campaign eight games under the .500 mark, and in the extremely tough American League East, they are starting to fall behind. 

This is a division that has four other teams that are also aggressively trying to improve. So far, the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the division last year, have arguably gotten even better, and they are still trying to make improvements. 

For the Rays, they were recently able to help strengthen one area of need with the signings of Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins. With improving the offensive production in the outfield being a need for the team, the hope is that adding both of these sluggers will help with that. However, there is still more work to be done in other areas. 

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN recently wrote about the top list for the Rays heading into the offseason. He highlighted their need to add some help in the rotation but doesn’t believe it will be a significant splash. 

Rotation Help a Top Need

Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

With the outfield starting to take shape and likely seeing some improvements, the team will now likely focus its attention on its other needs. One of those top needs is in the rotation. The starting pitcher market has yet to really heat up, with Dylan Cease signing with the Blue Jays being the most significant move thus far. 

For Tampa Bay, they aren’t able to swim in the waters of giving out $200 million for a free agent just yet, but the hope will be that ownership does start to spend. Of the two areas that the team can look to improve the rotation, going through free agency for a veteran makes the most sense. 

While the Rays could look toward the trade market, it would be surprising to see them give up assets in a deal at this point. Adding a veteran who has a proven track record and perhaps can be an upper middle of the rotation pitcher would be ideal. 

With the winter meetings starting up soon, the hot stove will certainly be heating up, and it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay addresses its needs in the rotation.