The Rays have never been a team to tank, despite being in the hyper competitive American League East division.
After a lost season, where the Rays went “all in” at the trade deadline but missed the playoffs, Tampa Bay Times beat writer Marc Topkin asked the team’s lead owner if next year would be the season they finally bite the bullet and rebuild:
[MT] Could this be the year you cut it way back and retrench, as you've hinted previously could be coming?
[SS] The team is good enough clearly, and we have confidence in the guys, but we'll see how the offseason goes.