Rays Predicted To Have Disappointing Finish in American League East

Where will the Tampa Bay Rays finish in the AL East this coming season?

Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

As spring training starts to come to a close, the Tampa Bay Rays are getting prepared for what they hope will be a successful campaign in 2026. 

The 2025 season was a challenging one for the Rays right from the jump, with the team knowing that they were going to be displaced from their home stadium for the entire year. While they were able to navigate a tough situation well, they did ultimately finish eight games under the .500 mark despite having a positive run differential. 

As the team heads into the 2026 campaign, there is certainly a hope that they will be able to have a better record than they did in 2025. However, that is going to be no easy task. The American League East is one of the best divisions in baseball, and the Rays are going to be playing a lot of games against some of the best opponents that the league has to offer. Fortunately, Tampa Bay is a team that has some talent and could make a run if some things go right for the franchise. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently predicted what the AL East would look like in 2026, and for the Rays, they were unfortunately predicted to come in last despite an 81-81 record. 

AL East Could Be Daunting 

Dominican Republic designated hitter Junior Caminero | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With the Rays predicted to finish last in the division with a .500 record, that indicates that everyone above them will be over that mark. While that will be hard to accomplish, it is certainly possible. 

In the predictions, while the Rays were last with an 81-81 record, no team in the division had 90 wins, and it was the New York Yankees coming in with an 87-75 record. With three teams in between them from first to last place in the division, that means there could be a lot of parity in the division. 

While it could very well be a close division, the Rays being predicted to come in last is far from ideal. However, that can also be taken with a grain of salt, with 81 wins being a solid season. Due to the large number of games played, a good stretch could easily result in that number being higher for Tampa Bay. 

Even though it might not be an ideal prediction for the Rays, this is clearly going to be a division that is going to come down to the wire. As long as Tampa Bay can hang around, anything could happen.