Rays Will Have Early Focus on Upgrading One Key Position This Offseason

The Tampa Bay Rays are putting a plan in place to put some of their focus early in the offseason on one key position.

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Despite winning only 77 games, the Tampa Bay Rays have a great foundation emerging to build around on their roster. The front office has to be excited about the direction things are moving in, with some great building blocks.

The corner infield spots look set for years to come with Junior Caminero at third base and Jonathan Aranda at first base. Second base is currently manned by Brendon Lowe, but he could be a trade candidate this winter. The same goes for veteran designated hitter Yandy Diaz.

In the outfield, Chandler Simpson and Jake Mangum both contributed in 2025 as rookies. The lineup was very productive, but there are still a few positions that needs to be addressed this offseason.

One of those positions is shortstop. The Rays entered the year with a ton of depth at shortstop, but that changed as the season wore on.

Rays will put emphasis on evaluating shortstop this winter

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Ha-Seong Kim was placed on waivers and the Atlanta Braves claimed him. Jose Caballero was traded to the New York Yankees. Trevor Walls was injured. That forced star prospect Carson Williams into a sizable role despite probably not being ready for one after a shaky campaign with Triple-A Durham.

That will be a position of emphasis early this winter, according to president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “Need to spend some time on here early in the winter,” he said, via Adam Berry of MLB.com.

There are a few in-house options to choose from already. Walls provides elite value with his defense, a finalist for the American League Gold Glove Award despite his injuries. His base running can also be an asset, but he offers very little right now with the bat.

Williams needs more development. But, he isn’t a top ranked prospect by accident. The skill is there, it is just a matter of when he will put it all together and a breakout occurs.

Rays have options for shortstop to pick from

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A stopgap option could be sought, similar to what they did with Kim this past winter. That didn’t pan out as hoped, but it shouldn’t deter the team from bringing in a more experienced option, especially one that could make more an impact at the plate.

If the team leans on Walls as the primary option at shortstop, at least the floor is high. They know, at a minimum, they would be receiving elite defense at a premium position and someone who can make an impact with their legs. If he got close to being a league-average hitter, his value would sky rocket.

Along with shortstop, the team will also be exploring the catcher’s market again. That has been a weak spot in the lineup for years.

Right now, Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia are the only backstops on the 40-man roster. That is very likely to change in the coming weeks, one way or another.