Rays Urged To Re-Sign Starting Pitcher To Provide Depth This Winter

Will the Tampa Bay Rays re-sign a veteran starter?

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

With the World Series potentially coming to an end on Friday, the offseason could be kicking off very soon for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays will be heading into the winter with a couple of decisions to make regarding team options right off the bat. Fortunately, they appear to be relatively easy calls for the team, with both Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks likely to have their options exercised. 

What Tampa Bay will do with those players afterwards remains to be seen. Trading Fairbanks certainly makes a lot of sense, but without a replacement for Lowe, keeping him would likely be the smart move. 

While they will have some decisions to make regarding either keeping or trading some players, they should also be active in free agency seeking to fill out the roster. One of the areas of need for the team is going to be another veteran starting pitcher, and there should be some options that they look to pursue. 

Even though the rotation appears to be strong on paper, a veteran starter is needed, and one that they should be able to address this winter. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the one player that every team should re-sign this winter, and the choice for the Rays was a rather obvious one. 

Rays Urged to Re-Sign Adrian Houser

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Due to Tampa Bay only having one free agent currently, Houser was an easy choice, but one that does make sense. The Rays brought in the southpaw to help provide some talent and depth for their starting rotation last year. Unfortunately, he didn’t produce up to the same level as he did with the Chicago White Sox. 

With Chicago in 2025, he totaled a 6-2 record and 2.10 ERA in 11 starts. After the trade, he totaled a 2-3 record and 4.79 ERA in 10 starts. It was indeed a tale of two seasons for Houser, and whether or not the Rays will seek to bring him back remains to be seen. 

However, they do need a veteran starter in 2026 to help provide some depth for the rotation, and Houser figures to be a fit. While his half-season with the franchise didn’t go great, the team should certainly consider signing him this winter. The 32-year-old has been a consistently good pitcher and would provide depth in the back-end of the rotation.