The Tampa Bay Rays are trying to navigate the offseason with their eyes set on contending in 2026, while being mindful of their payroll.
Throughout the years, the Rays have been one of the best franchises in baseball at being able to put a good product on the field with a limited payroll. With new ownership coming in, the hope is that spending will start to increase in the near future, but in the meantime, the franchise will likely continue to operate as they have.
So far this winter, the team has not exercised the option on closer Pete Fairbanks, making him a free agent. This was a bit of a surprising move, especially considering he has drawn a lot of interest in free agency.
While he was set to make a lot of money, the team figured to have been able to trade him. Furthermore, Fairbanks wasn’t the only player the team had to make a decision on, but they elected to pick up the option on a star slugger. However, whether or not they keep him is yet to be determined.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the Rays potentially making the decision to trade star slugger Brandon Lowe this winter. Furthermore, he mentioned the San Francisco Giants as a potential landing spot.
Lowe Makes Sense for Giants