Rays' Pursuit of Star Slugger in Free Agency is Very Encouraging

The Tampa Bay Rays' pursuit of a star free agent is a very encouraging sign for things to come.

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 the holidays right around the corner, the Tampa Bay Rays might slow down a bit soon, but they have been active so far this winter. 

While there is still work to be done this winter, the Rays have been trying to improve their roster for the 2026 campaign. After missing the playoffs, this is a franchise that has the desire to get back into contention and try to make some noise in the American League. 

Even though their division is shaping up to be one of the best in baseball, there is reason to believe that Tampa Bay can contend with some improvements. So far, they have been able to address a couple of areas of need in free agency. For the pitching staff, they added left-handed veteran Steven Matz to compete for a spot in the rotation, with the ability also to pitch out of the bullpen. 

Furthermore, the additions of Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley will create some more competition in the outfield and hopefully help improve offensive production for the unit. However, they were recently engaged in trying to add another impact bat in free agency. 

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rays were in pursuit of signing free agent Jorge Polanco before he ultimately went to the New York Mets. Even though they didn’t land him, it’s encouraging to see them looking to spend for a player of that caliber. 

Rays’ Pursuit of Polanco is Encouraging 

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Even though Tampa Bay might have ultimately lost out to the Mets in the bidding war for Polanco, it is very encouraging to see them willing to spend to get that caliber of player. With a desire to improve offensively, signing the slugger would have certainly helped accomplish that, and they could have used him in a rotation around the infield to get at-bats. 

While their pursuit of Polanco might have come up short, there are still several other free agents that they could use that money on to improve the team. Coming into the offseason, payroll wasn’t expected to increase all that much, but with Polanco receiving a two-year, $40 million deal from the Mets, that means the Rays were likely willing to spend a decent chunk of change to try and get him. 

So far this winter, the team has been aggressive in free agency for their standards, and that is an encouraging thing to see. While landing Polanco would have been ideal, the willingness to spend on a player like that is the main takeaway.