The Tampa Bay Rays have entered the offseason and have already started to shake things up for the 2026 campaign.
Following a disappointing year by their standards in 2025, the Rays are focused on improving this winter and getting back into playoff contention next season. This is a team that has a good amount of talent and will be hoping to sustain a strong first half of the season in 2025 throughout the entire campaign.
In order to accomplish that in what is going to be a challenging American League East, Tampa Bay is going to have to add some more quality depth and improve in a few areas. After the recent decision to let Pete Fairbanks go into free agency, the team will have some extra money to allocate to other places, and that has already begun.
Recently, the Rays claimed outfielder Jake Fraley off waivers from the Atlanta Braves to provide some help for the outfield. This was a unit that struggled offensively in 2025, and adding Fraley could help that in an affordable way.
Fraley Can Help Offense
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Tampa Bay currently has a lot of options in the outfield, and it appears that the plan for them is going to be utilizing depth and platoon matchups to try to improve production. Against right-handed pitching, Fraley is going to be able to help with that.
The 30-year-old outfielder played for both the Braves and the Cincinnati Reds in 2025 and was able to put up some decent numbers. Overall, he slashed .241/.332/382 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 76 games played.
While those numbers might not jump off the page, he would be an upgrade in the slugging department compared to most of the other projected outfielders for Tampa Bay. Hitting for power is a big concern for this unit, and while Fraley might not be the final answer for the problem, he, at the very least, should help a bit.
An underrated move today from the Rays: OF Jake Fraley was claimed off waivers
Fraley played in 76 games in 2025 between Cincinnati & Atlanta. He’s a career .250 hitter w/ a .735 OPS & 100 OPS+
…and he can do thispic.twitter.com/Ijp0FFzHtL
— SleeperRays (@SleeperRays) November 6, 2025
Keeping him facing right-handed pitchers will be key to his success. In his career, he has slashed .261/.344/.432 against righties, and those numbers are really solid with an OPS approaching .800.
This is a little bit of a reunion of sorts with Fraley coming back to the team that drafted him in the second round. The opportunity for him to have a significant role should certainly be there based on the current roster for the Rays, and they will be hoping he can continue to thrive against right-handed pitching.
More Tampa Bay Rays News: