By Emily McLaughlin
Coming off a 99-63 win season, the Tampa Bay Rays 2023 season ended by getting swept 2-0 in the wild card round by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. With the success of the Tampa Bay Rays, frustration still circles the air about being unable to move past the first playoff round.
After finishing second in the AL East, the Rays made the postseason for the fifth year. Tampa Bay closed the deal on a Wild Card spot after losing a spot for the top seed to the Baltimore Orioles. Following that, losing to the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for the first round of the postseason.
“When the expectation falls, none of us really want to be here,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash in an interview with MLB.com.
During the Tampa Bay Rays’ offseason, questions started to arise. One of the main questions includes Wander Franco being investigated for alleged relationships with underage girls.
It was claimed by an ESPN report that “After a nearly six-month investigation, Franco was arrested on New Year’s Day for not appearing in court to answer a summons from a governmental child-welfare unit in his native Dominican Republic.”
With Franco on administrative leave, the Tampa move was to trade Luke Raley to the Seattle Mariners for infielder Jose Caballero. Replacing Raley also lead to a call upon the St. Louis Cardinals for Richie Palacios in exchange for reliever Andrew Kittridge.
Injuries have also been important in what will happen for the Tampa Bay Rays next season. With many of the injuries indicating elbow, knee, and hip damages and a few plater positions on defense, the Tampa Bay Rays are in for many trades.
Starting pitcher Shane McClanahan is a notable injury that will hurt the Tampa Bay Rays next season. McClanahan going into rehab from Tommy John surgery will leave the Tampa Bay Rays questioning what they will do without him.
During the offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays faced hard decisions due to their tight budgets. Making decisions based on the projected arbitration salaries created by Matt Swartz.
Earlier in October, a few players became free agents, specifically catcher Francisco Mejía and reliever Erasmo Ramírez. Other relievers like Jake Diekman, Chris Devenski, and Robert Stephenson were on the free agents list.
The main loss will be right-handed pitcher Stephenson. Coming from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the midseason trade, Stephenson will be able to get more money than the Tampa Bay Rays were willing to offer.
Even though returning the next season with most of the Tampa Bay Rays roster, having losses such as Franco, Stephenson, and McClanahan will hurt. With the number of raddled injuries during the season and the amount of trading and free agency produced, it will be hard to tell how the Tampa Bay Rays will come out of these ruts for next season.