Tampa Bay Rays rebuild held up by slow offseason
By David Hill
The Tampa Bay Rays next rebuild appeared to be scheduled for this offseason. Instead, a slow free agent market is holding up their plans.
There was no question that the Tampa Bay Rays were going to rebuild. Evan Longoria had been sent to the San Francisco Giants, as the team traded their face of the franchise. It was a matter of time until Jake Odorizzi, Chris Archer, and Alex Colome joined him as being former members of the franchise.
Or so we all thought. Instead, aside from that trade of Longoria, it has been a quiet offseason for the Rays. There have been plenty of rumors surrounding Archer, but nothing has happened. The market for Odorizzi has been virtually silent, even though it was considered a foregone conclusion that he would have left Tampa Bay by the time the calendar changed.
The reason for such a lack of movement by the Rays? It may well be due to the glacial pace of free agency. With a plethora of pitching options available, including top pitchers like Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, and former Rays pitcher Alex Cobb, few teams are willing to part with assets to take on a player.
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This puts the Rays in a bind. They need to cut payroll once again, as players are starting to get too expensive for the team to afford. And yet, there are no takers for the players the Rays would like to move on from, at least any making an offer that could be considered acceptable. At this point, whether they want to be or not, Tampa Bay is stuck with virtually the same team it had in 2017.
Yes, as it stands, there are differences. Matt Duffy, if healthy, will slot in at third. Jake Bauers will be given a chance to take over at first. But that is hardly the rebuilding lineup the Rays anticipated at the beginning of the offseason, when it appeared as though the future would be now.
Chances are, at some point, that rebuild will happen. Odorizzi will be traded, either during Spring Training or at the trade deadline. Players like Willy Adames and Brent Honeywell will receive their chance at the major league level, as they look to prove that they can be building blocks for the Rays. That opportunity may just take a little longer than expected.
Next: The hold up on trading Archer
The Tampa Bay Rays rebuild is on hold, not from their own desires, but from the slow free agent market. Eventually, these players will be moved, but no one knows when that will be the case.