This Position Could Be Area of Need for Rays This Offseason Despite Options

What position do the Tampa Bay Rays potentially need to upgrade?

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 winter meetings starting on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays have several questions that need to be answered sooner rather than later. 

Coming into the offseason, this was a team that was hoping to improve and get back into contention in what is going to be a really challenging American League East. This is a division that is already getting better this winter, with some of the top teams already adding more talent. 

For the Rays, they have started to try and make upgrades of their own this offseason, but they don’t have the ability to make the same kind of additions as some of their rivals. With the additions of Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins, the team has likely solved one of their needs to improve the offensive production of the outfield. 

While it is good that they were able to address the needs in their outfield, they have a couple of other areas that they would like to improve. The starting rotation and at catcher seem to be the two most likely spots, but shortstop has also been considered a position that has some question marks. 

Recently, Adam Berry of MLB wrote about Taylor Walls potentially being the starter on Opening Day. 

Shortstop Certainly a Question Mark. 

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With Walls being considered as the likely choice to be the starter at the position, that is a bit of a concern for the franchise. While the talented defender was a Gold Glove nominee in 2025, he brings virtually nothing to the team on offense. At such a key defensive position, elite defense is valuable, but contributing nothing to the lineup is a hard pill to swallow. 

Furthermore, while it could be Walls as the starter, the team does have their top prospect Carson Williams at the position. There doesn't appear to be a lot of optimism that he is going to be the starter on Opening Day, but that could all change with a good spring from the young prospect. 

Williams got his feet wet in the Majors at the end of 2025 but didn’t impress. That doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to improve over the winter and prove himself during spring training, but starting in Triple-A could be the plan right now. 

If he isn’t ready to compete with Walls for the starting job, bringing in another veteran who can hit a little bit would be a wise move for the franchise. Overall, while the position isn’t a pressing need, it is an important one to consider.