• Chris Archer had better results.
• The bullpen had performed up to expectations.
That's a lot of maybes, but it's still tough to quantify why the 2016 Rays didn't have a better season.
"Winning teams find ways to overcome injuries," said Matt Silverman, Rays president of baseball operations. "We weren't able to do that this year -- especially in June, when our depth was most tested. We also didn't convert outs and limit damage like we've grown accustomed to."
Silverman allowed that the team showed improvement in the second half.
"[We got better], especially on the defensive side of the ball," Silverman said.