The 2016 season was a difficult campaign for the Tampa Bay Rays. How can they potentially right the ship for the 2017 season?
Perhaps more than any other team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays have to operate within their system. They had become known for their ability to develop pitching, and a focus on speed and defense before the rest of the league caught up to those plans. Likewise, they had a knack for finding players on the free agent scrap heap that would step in and play an important part of their success.
Those days may have passed. The former braintrust is gone, heading off to the Dodgers and the Cubs. As such, there was a new direction in Tampa Bay, as the front office eschewed that typical focus on speed and defense to load up on power. The results were not pretty, as the Rays finished 25 games out in the American League East.
While the Rays will have their typical budgetary constraints again next season, they have plenty of hope for the 2017 campaign. In fact, the Rays president of baseball operations, Matt Silverman, stated that they are “hell bent” on competing next year. Considering their performance this past year, that would be quite the accomplishment.
How could the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves back into the postseason hunt next year? Even better, should they focus on making the playoffs next year, or take a more long term approach? Let’s take a look at five places the Rays should take a look at in the offseason.