With the general manager meetings ongoing, the plan for the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason is starting to become clear.
After a disappointing year in 2025, the Rays are going to be an aggressive team this winter in trying to make some moves to help the team win not only now, but long-term as well. Tampa Bay never makes moves without the big picture in mind, and they will be seeking a strong winter to make some improvements.
So far, the team has been active as expected. With a few minor moves and some roster reconstruction, it is clear that the team is going to be looking to shake things up a bit. There was speculation about what the plan would be for the Rays this winter, but that is starting to become clearer.
President of baseball operations Erik Neander recently spoke with Mark Feinsand of MLB about the shortstop position and whether or not they will add someone this winter.
“I could see us kind of looking around this offseason to see if that’s a position we can just have a little bit stronger competition than we do now as well.”
Adding Competition Is Surprising
Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
It is a little bit surprising to see attention being put on the shortstop position with both Taylor Walls and Carson Williams on the roster. When looking at that combination, it isn’t perfect, but there is reason to be optimistic about it.
In terms of Walls, the Rays likely know what they are going to be getting from him at this point. The talented infielder is one of the best defenders at the position in baseball and was a Gold Glove nominee this year. Unfortunately, while he is a fantastic defender, he doesn’t bring much to the plate. Having Walls in the lineup leaves a bit of a void, but he still holds value.
For Williams, while he is still very young and inexperienced, he is one of the Top 100 prospects in baseball and one of the best in the organization. He got a chance to get his feet wet in the Majors last year, but the results weren’t great. There is still a lot of work to do and improvements to be made, but there is a lot of talent and upside there.
While it might not be a perfect situation, Tampa Bay certainly doesn’t need to make a significant upgrade at the position just yet. Letting Williams develop and seeing if he can reach his potential should be the goal for 2026.
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