After four consecutive seasons of trying to be “competitive enough” in the AL East, the Rays have changed the way they approach typical offseasons.
The Rays will be sure to continue dealing a couple useful role players in the later stages of salary arbitration like Alex Colome or Jake Odorizzi, as they usually do, but the team has also traded away the face of the franchise in Evan Longoria, leaving only two players with long-term contracts: center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and starting pitcher Chris Archer.
That’s only two locks on a 25-man roster, and that is by design.