Rays Seen as a Team That Desperately Needs to Upgrade Key Position

Which position do the Tampa Bay Rays need to upgrade?

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 offseason underway, there haven’t been too many splashes just yet in free agency, and the Tampa Bay Rays are seeking ways to improve as the dust starts to settle. 

Since the Rays won’t be going after the top free agents of the class, they are playing a bit of a waiting game to see how things start to shake out once some of the top players available sign. Furthermore, with a couple of potential trade candidates, Tampa Bay could shake things up through that route as well. 

While the team might both add and subtract this winter, they are going to seek to contend in 2026. In order to accomplish that in the American League East, the team will have to make some upgrades to a couple of spots. However, there is one spot in particular that needs to be addressed after years of struggles. 

Brian Stokes of MLB recently wrote about the Rays being the team in baseball most in need of upgrading the catcher position after years of struggles behind the plate offensively. 

Catcher Should Be Considered Top Need

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While there are a couple of areas that the team should be looking to add some help, catcher is undoubtedly the top spot. Last winter, the team signed veteran Danny Jansen to a one-year deal. He performed well for the team before being dealt, but it resulted in production really declining after he left. 

Currently, the two options for the team are Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia behind the plate. Both saw a good amount of action in the Majors in 2025, and the results weren’t great. For Feduccia, he flashed some offensive potential in the minors, but that has yet to translate to the Majors. 

With the position once again being a weakness and the struggles that they have had getting consistent offensive production from behind the plate, the team needs to upgrade this winter. Adding someone who can be a solid producer with an OPS over the .700 mark and get them to just league average would be a significant upgrade. 

Unfortunately, options to improve the position are somewhat limited. In free agency, J.T. Realmuto is arguably the best player available, but his numbers have started to decline with age. Furthermore, there could be a couple of buy-low options that the team would have to hope they turn it around. Overall, it won’t be easy to make upgrades behind the plate, but it is a key need for the franchise.