We kick off the weekend in the final stretch of the offseason, with a trip to the sunshine state. Our second to last AL East club in the previews is the Tampa Bay Rays, who have gone through yet another facelift after a disappointing elimination from the playoffs. While they still have lots of solid players, they have lost two of their most talented for starkly different reasons. Ace of the staff (when healthy) Tyler Glasnow was traded to LA while face of the franchise Wander Franco’s major league career is over following being charged with some absolutely heinous crimes. The less said about the alleged acts in question the better, and while talking about the team can seem trivial in the face of that, we’ll do our best in this preview. Their issues go much deeper than two outgoing contributors though, as their once vaunted rotation is riddled with injuries. The Rays have always been good at finding talent, but is this particular instance too much to overcome? Let’s find out!

Keys to Success

1. Eflin and Civale Lead the Way: With the rotation ravaged by injuries to star arms, the Rays will need to lean on Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale to save them. They both performed well last year in the second half and will have to do so again. There isn’t proven depth in this rotation beyond them so they will have to be work horses and eat innings.

2. Randy Remains Rock Solid: Despite all the changes that have taken place in Saint Petersburg, the one constant for several years now remains Randy Arozarena. The veteran outfielder has always carried himself as leader for this team, but now he has to really shoulder the load offensively. He’s coming off a strong season but will likely have to go above and beyond here to get this team back to the playoffs.

3. Paredes and Diaz Backup Randy: While Arozarena will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting, he’ll need some help from his side kicks. The Robins to his Batman are Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz, who had strong 2023 campaigns and will be looking to continue that this year. If they do this lineup will still be formidable, but there isn’t much room for error.

The Lineup

1. Yandy Diaz 1B

2. Brandon Lowe 2B

3. Randy Arozarena LF

4. Josh Lowe RF

5. Isaac Paredes 3B

6. Jonathan Aranda DH

7. Jose Siri CF

8. Jose Caballero SS

9. Renee Pinto C

The Staff

1. Zach Eflin

2. Aaron Civale

3. Zack Littell

4. Ryan Pepiot

5. Taj Bradley

Closer: Peter Fairbanks

The Prediction

80 Wins

As I said before, the Rays have always been good at getting a lot out of a little for many years. But I don’t think Kevin Cash and company have enough this time around, especially in the starting pitching department. I think this will be a step back for them in a crowded AL East.

You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Also, check out our new Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. We’ll be back with our preview of the defending World Champion Rangers tomorrow!