5 positions to watch in Rays' Spring Training

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays usually enter Spring Training with their Opening Day roster mostly set and most jobs accounted for, with a few exceptions and room to improvise if needed.

This spring could be different.

Since the Winter Meetings, Rays officials have talked about creating more competition in camp this year. They view it as a way to get the most out of their players, especially those looking to begin a bounceback season. With that in mind, let’s look at five positions worth watching closely when players begin reporting and working out.

One other thing to keep in mind: President of baseball operations Erik Neander has spoken all offseason about making their roster more “functional” as they get closer to Opening Day, so it’s possible their squad could evolve once Spring Training begins.

Outfield
Neander has jokingly compared this competition to a “15-man battle royal,” because it’s a crowded field. Free-agent acquisition Cedric Mullins is going to play a lot in center field, but there don’t seem to be many certainties beyond that. That makes this arguably the most interesting position battle that will unfold at Charlotte Sports Park.

One likely scenario involves Chandler Simpson playing a lot in left field and Jake Fraley primarily handling right, with the Rays complementing all those lefty hitters with right-handed options like Jonny DeLuca, Ryan Vilade or Justyn-Henry Malloy.

But even that leaves out Richie Palacios, a patient hitter and athletic defender who can play just about anywhere, and the team's highly regarded No. 4 prospect Jacob Melton, who will have a chance to show why the Rays are so high on his potential.

Rotation
The big storyline here will be the health and status of Shane McClanahan, who is expected to be good to go after missing the past two seasons due to injuries. If he looks like himself, the Rays have a dangerous one-two punch with McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen atop their rotation.

Ryan Pepiot and Steven Matz will join those two, leaving one spot in question. The leading candidates seem to be the talented but inconsistent Joe Boyle and the deceptive but relatively inexperienced Ian Seymour. Perhaps Yoendrys Gómez or Jesse Scholtens will make a strong impression.

This also feels like somewhere the Rays could potentially make a late addition after camp begins, especially with a handful of experienced, innings-eating starters lingering on the open market.

Shortstop
This is almost certainly going to be Taylor Walls’ job to begin the season. The Rays continue to rave about the Gold Glove Award finalist’s defense and how valuable it is, something they came to appreciate even more when he wasn’t available to end last season. They added depth in the form of utility man Brett Wisely, but not necessarily anyone who’s going to challenge Walls for everyday reps.

But they’ll also take time to see how much their top prospect Carson Williams learned from his unexpected stint as their regular shortstop last season.

Williams has tremendous speed and power to go along with a strong arm and high-level defensive ability, but he hasn’t yet proven that he can make enough contact to thrive in a regular role. If he can, he could get a chance to reach his All-Star ceiling sooner than later.

Catcher
The Rays have had a different Opening Day catcher each of the past four years, going from Mike Zunino (2019-22) to Christian Bethancourt (’23) to René Pinto (’24) to Danny Jansen (’25). It’ll be another relatively new face this year, most likely from the duo Tampa Bay acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline.

The Rays expressed a willingness to explore upgrades behind the plate all offseason, but at this point, Hunter Feduccia and Nick Fortes remain atop the depth chart. Will that still be the case in two months? What will they learn in Spring Training about their No. 20 prospect Dominic Keegan now that he’s one step away? Could non-roster invitee Blake Sabol claim a spot?

And how much might we see of (or hear from Minor League camp about) Nathan Flewelling and Caden Bodine (the team's No. 13 prospect), two intriguing catching prospects on the rise in the lower levels?

Bullpen
The World Baseball Classic will take arguably their top three high-leverage options -- Griffin Jax, Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger -- out of camp for some time. That should provide the Rays with more innings to evaluate the rest of their relievers as they move forward without a traditional closer in Pete Fairbanks.

Bryan Baker also figures to be part of the high-leverage mix, and they acquired Steven Wilson this offseason to add another experienced arm to the mix. That leaves perhaps three spots for a bunch of candidates, including right-handers Hunter Bigge, Kevin Kelly, Cole Sulser, Mason Englert and Gómez and lefties Ken Waldichuk, Joe Rock, Cam Booser and John Rooney, among others.