Small-Budget Rays Still Win Big

The team’s big success on a bare-bones budget is the culmination of several years of hard work in all facets of the organization

- MARC TOPKIN

Going back to the beginning of the 2018 season, the Rays were being called a lot of things.

A December 2017 trade of franchise player Evan Longoria and a series of deals the opening week of spring training that saw veterans Jake Odorizzi, Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza Jr. shipped out for lesser returns made the Rays a popular topic of industry-wide conversation—and consternation.

They were labeled a “disgrace,” an "embarrassment" and “unwatchable” by some members of the national media, accused by others of being “stripped for parts,” of “giving up” on the season, and, most egregiously, of tanking.

And those were some of the more polite descriptions.

After a 3-12 start, the local newspaper raised the question if this could be the worst Rays team in the franchise’s 20-year history.

Team officials pushed back a bit on the tanking allegations but primarily asked for patience. They insisted they had a plan, one that first led to more deals at the 2018 trade deadline—Chris Archer, Wilson Ramos and Nate Eovaldi were the biggest names to go. Further, the organization said it required time and roster space for young players it had been accumulating and preparing to transition to the major leagues.

Despite the Rays’ challenging start, the club won 90 games in 2018.

More importantly, Tampa Bay built the foundation that, combined with a handful of additional offseason moves, would lead to continued success.

In 2019, the Rays, with many of those young players in key roles, got off to a major league-best start and rallied under manager Kevin Cash’s guidance to win 96 games and earn a wild card entry to the American League playoffs, their first trip to the postseason since 2013.