{"id":540272,"date":"2026-01-27T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/540272\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:00:17","slug":"rays-on-the-field-moves-were-impactful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/540272\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays on the field moves were impactful"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tampa<\/a>Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot delivers to the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O’Meara)<\/p>\n

New ownership dominated the winter conversation. The new stadium plans also stayed in the spotlight. Those stories pushed baseball moves off the front page. The Rays still made important roster decisions for 2026.<\/p>\n

Key Option Decisions Shaped the Roster<\/p>\n

The Rays exercised Brandon Lowe\u2019s club option. They declined Pete Fairbanks\u2019 option, making him a free agent. Both decisions signaled a shift in roster priorities.<\/p>\n

Trades Added Depth and Flexibility<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay acquired Gavin Lux in a multi\u2011team deal. The club also added Brett Wisely and Ken Waldichuk from Atlanta<\/a>. Ryan Vilade arrived earlier in the offseason for organizational depth.<\/p>\n

Roster Shuffling Continued Through January<\/p>\n

The Rays designated Osvaldo Bido for assignment. They also designated Tsung\u2011Che Cheng to clear roster space. These moves created flexibility for future additions.<\/p>\n

Arbitration Deals Locked In Core Contributors<\/p>\n

Richard Palacios agreed to a 2026 contract. Griffin Jax also reached a deal to avoid arbitration. Ryan Pepiot and Steven Wilson signed as well. These agreements stabilized the bullpen and outfield depth.<\/p>\n

A Quiet but Strategic Offseason<\/p>\n

The Rays did not chase major free agents. They focused on depth, versatility, and cost control. The front office believes the roster can compete immediately. The new ownership group supports a long\u2011term plan.<\/p>\n

Projected Opening Day Lineup at Tropicana Field<\/p>\n

Gavin Lux \u2013 2B<\/p>\n

Yandy D\u00edaz \u2013 1B<\/p>\n

Randy Arozarena \u2013 LF<\/p>\n

Isaac Paredes \u2013 3B<\/p>\n

Taylor Walls\u00a0\u2013 SS<\/p>\n

Jake Fraley\u2013RF<\/p>\n

Jonathan Aranda \u2013 DH<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Siri \u2013 CF<\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Pinto \u2013 C<\/p>\n

Projected Rotation: Ryan Pepiot plus arms like Shane McClanahan (if healthy in a limited role), Drew Rasmussen, and Steven Matz, with internal depth such as Ian Seymour plus a number of farm hands who could make the roster.<\/p>\n

Projected Wins: The Rays project between 84 and 88 wins. A playoff push is realistic with improved health and depth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot delivers to the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2377],"tags":[5,1751,1738,730,6439,7145,4,71457,11078,52574,848,297,71458,67717,1956,4274,2550,68,2551,2549,8607],"class_list":["post-540272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa-bay-rays","tag-baseball","tag-brandon-lowe","tag-brett-wisely","tag-gavin-lux","tag-griffin-jax","tag-ken-waldichuk","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-2026","tag-new-stadium","tag-new-ownership","tag-pete-fairbanks","tag-rays","tag-rays-offseason","tag-richard-palacios","tag-ryan-pepiot","tag-steven-wilson","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampabay","tag-tampabayrays","tag-tropicana-field"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115966013225076700","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}