Tampa Bay Rays: Do not believe the financial narrative

The Tampa Bay Rays will spend money, but only in specific instances.

Whenever the Tampa Bay Rays trade a player, the financial implications are automatically brought into consideration. This was certainly the case when Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth were sent to the San Diego Padres for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a player to be named later. As Pham is expected to earn $8.6 million in arbitration, compared to the $3.4 million for Renfroe, the financial aspects have to be looked at.

Given the Rays track record, this deal was looked upon as another example of ownership refusing to spend money. One could not necessarily fault ownership for that stance – the Rays do not draw at Tropicana Field, making it difficult to justify a large expenditure on salary. However, with a team that is seemingly always in contention, the Rays will need to spend to take that next step.

This has been the biggest gripe against ownership. Virtually every time a player begins to make a relatively decent wage, they are sent out the door. The wins may be nice, but the bottom line is a greater consideration for Stuart Sternberg and company. As such, the narrative is that the Rays will not spend at all.

Tampa Bay Rays

The problem is that the narrative, as is the case when so much is extrapolated from different situations, is false. No, the Rays are never going to be confused with the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox when it comes to payroll, but that does not mean they will not spend. Instead, they spend in specific cases.

We can just look at the previous offseason. The Rays brought in Charlie Morton on a two year deal worth $30 million, and a vesting option worth another $15 million for 2021. Tampa Bay made offers to DJ Lemaheiu and Nelson Cruz. They attempted to bring in Craig Kimbrel during the season.

Then there are the long term extensions that they have signed. Blake Snell is in place through 2023. Brandon Lowe signed an extension to lock him in through 2024 with two team options. Kevin Kiermaier is signed through 2022 with an option for 2023. Other extensions could be forthcoming as well.

The money is there for the Rays; it is just a matter of finding the perfect fit for their budget and projections. That is what makes their offseason so difficult to project – a player like Travis d’Arnaud who had success in Tampa Bay made sense to bring back, but the Rays were not comfortable with his salary demands. The Rays will spend and bring the right fits in this offseason, but it is a matter of finding those players.

When that happens, the baseball universe will be shocked that the Tampa Bay Rays spent in free agency. Yet, their track record shows that they will spend, but only in the right situation.