*Photo from SB Nation*
Moving to Sunny Florida, the offseason of the Tampa Bay Rays is profiled.
2019 recap
The Rays broke out in 2019, nearly winning 100 games and surging into the postseason. After a wild card game win, they took the Houston Astros all the way to the win or go home game 5 of the ALDS, which Tampa Bay ultimately lost.
What you need to know
It seems like the Rays made moves for the sake of a low payroll this winter. They started the big moves in December when they shipped Tommy Pham and prospect Jake Cronenworth to San Diego for Hunter Renfroe, prospect Xavier Edwards, and a player to be named later. 10 days later they went to Japan and signed slugger Yoshitomo Tstusugo, who will likely play as DH often due to the crowded outfield in Tampa Bay. In January, they further crowded the outfield by trading for St.Louis outfielders Randy Arozarena and Jose Martinez, with top prospect Matthew Liberatore and and C Edgardo Rodriguez heading to Missouri. After a lot of minor signings, the Rays struck another trade with the Padres, sending Emilio Pagan to San Diego for OF Manuel Margot and catching prospect Logan Driscoll. Now, here we are
Moves I like
Renfroe is someone who could benefit from a change of scenery, as the roster was crowded and he was a cut candidate there. Tsutsugo offers incredible value hitting wise, but even at his worst, is serviceable defensively. Arozarena is a good prospect who has the talent necessary to stick at the major league level, although they optioned him to Triple A for some more development to round out his game. Losing Pagan hurts, but Margot is a solid outfielder.
Moves I don't like
Martinez is bad defensively, and with a lot of good candidates for DH and playing time in general, he could be seen as excess goods in almost no time at all. Plus, while all the OF's they brought in are good players with talent, it creates a very, very crowded outfield, giving Kevin Cash a problem in terms of how to balance the playing time between all of them.
2020 outlook
The Rays had significant turnover this winter, and it may take them a month or two to figure out how to mesh and gel everyone together. Despite that, they'll find their game eventually, and another playoff berth is in the cards for the Rays.
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