The Tampa Bay Rays aren’t going to have a lot of work to do in free agency when it comes to retaining talent. A majority of their work is going to be via arbitration, where they have an MLB-high 17 players eligible.
Decisions have to be made on a few team options, but all signs point to them exercising the ones that closer Pete Fairbanks and second baseman Brandon Lowe have. Whether they remain on the team is another question, with both being popular names in trade rumors.
The only Major League contributor who is hitting free agency for the Rays this winter is starting pitcher Adrian Houser. He was acquired ahead of the MLB trade deadline this past summer from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Duncan Davitt, Ben Peoples and Curtis Mead.
After a brutal 2024 with the New York Mets, in which he recorded a 5.84 ERA across 69.1 innings, he had a nice bounce back in 2025 with the White Sox and Tampa Bay.
He threw 125 total innings, making 21 starts. Houser recorded an ERA of 3.31 with 91 strikeouts, but his production was much better with Chicago compared to the Rays.
Having to pitch in a hitter’s haven at Steinbrenner Field certainly didn’t help, surrendering seven home runs with Tampa Bay in 56.1 innings compared to only three with the White Sox in 68.2 innings.
Adrian Houser will draw plenty of interest in free agency