Long-Time Giants Slugger Deemed ‘Perfect Match’ for Rays in Free Agency

With the winter meetings right around the corner for the Tampa Bay Rays, the franchise is going to be trying to find some affordable ways to improve a couple of key areas. 

So far this offseason, things have been relatively calm. Most of the top free agents are still available, and some of the dominoes in free agency have yet to fall. For the Rays, they aren’t a team that is expecting to make a significant splash this winter, but they should be active, nonetheless. 

Tampa Bay has started to make some improvements, with the most notable addition being the signing of Jake Fraley. The talented slugger is an excellent hitter against right-handed pitching, and the team will be hoping that he can help an outfield that lacked offensive production. 

While Fraley will be an upgrade against right-handed pitching, he is best suited to be used in a platoon role, and this is a team that still needs some more help in addition to him. Mark Feinsand of MLB recently wrote about Mike Yastrzemski as a perfect match for the Rays in free agency. 

Yastrzemski Would Fill a Need

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Due to the Rays not being expected to spend much this winter, the team will have to be looking for valuable veterans to likely add on one-year deals. At 35 years old now, Yastrzemski certainly fits into that category and could be a smart player for the franchise to target. 

The talented slugger has spent most of his career with the San Francisco Giants but was dealt to the Kansas City Royals last summer when his long-time team became sellers. Throughout his career, he has slashed .238/.324/.447, with his OPS well over the .750 mark. 

Being a good power hitter in San Francisco is no easy task, but he has been able to record some substantial slugger numbers throughout his career there. Going to a more favorable hitters’ park could result in some of the already impressive numbers getting even better. 

In 2025, he proved that he could still be a productive player, slashing .233/.333/.403 with 17 home runs and 46 RBI in 146 games played. His consistency since getting to the Majors has been a great strength for him as well. For the last seven years, he has totaled a bWAR of at least 2.0. If the money is right for Yastrzemski, the Rays would be an excellent match for him in free agency. 

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