Former MLB Executive Labels This Position as Biggest Need for Rays

With the offseason underway, the Tampa Bay Rays have been very busy starting to plan what the roster is going to look like for the upcoming season.

As expected, coming into the winter, the Rays have been very active, making a lot of moves to free up some payroll and try to improve the team at the same time. The decision not to pick up the team option on Pete Fairbanks was a reasonably clear indication that the payroll for Tampa Bay is still going to be low this coming campaign, and the front office will be operating like they have in the past. 

Fortunately, this is a team that has been able to operate well with a low payroll, and they will likely have to continue to do so in 2026. With that being said, they still are going to want to compete, and in a challenging division, some improvements will have to be made. 

The money that the team saved by letting Fairbanks go to free agency should be allocated to some of these areas. On offense, while the team ranked respectably in the middle of the pack, they did have an area of weakness with one position group. 

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about improving the outfield being one of the most significant needs for the Rays this winter. 

Improving Slugging in the Outfield is Needed

Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Despite having a lot of options and seeing some promising things out of the outfield in 2025, it makes sense that there is a need for the franchise. While they have some young talent like Chandler Simpson and Jake Magnum, neither brings much to the plate in terms of slugging, which affects the lineup a bit. 

Even though the Rays have a ton of speed in the unit, they really need to add some power, and they have recently started to change things. Tampa Bay made the decision to cut ties with outfielder Christopher Morel, who was a significant part of the Isaac Paredes trade at the trade deadline in 2024. 

While the team might not have a bad outfield, they do need to upgrade it in order to really contend in the American League East. Not having a proven power hitter in the outfield is undoubtedly a concern and something that the Rays should be trying to improve before the start of the season. 

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