Rays striking delicate balance in building for today, tomorrow

ST. PETERSBURG -- Last month, the Rays made a pair of trades focused primarily on their future. They shipped out starter Shane Baz, second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery for six prospects, only one of them Major League-ready, and a 2026 Draft pick.

Last week, the Rays made another deal that was more about this year. They traded outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels and acquired second baseman Gavin Lux from the Reds in a three-team swap. They gave up a player with multiple years of team control, Lowe, for a pending free agent with a higher salary in Lux.

That sort of give and take has been a theme of Tampa Bay’s offseason.

The Rays signed a handful of veteran free agents to bolster their 2026 team, including center fielder Cedric Mullins, left-hander Steven Matz and outfielder Jake Fraley. They were reportedly interested in free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto before he returned to the Phillies. But they also declined closer Pete Fairbanks’ club option and traded key players like Baz and Brandon Lowe, who could have helped them this season, to beef up their Minor League system.

So, what are the Rays doing? The same thing as always, following a philosophy established by former executive Andrew Friedman during his time with Tampa Bay: operating with “one eye on the present and one on the future.”

“We're always concerned about the future, probably not any more now than then. But I think we're building something really special when you look out three to five years,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said after the Lux trade. “Having said that ... I think it's important for us to give as many teams a fighting chance to compete and to win as we can.”

The only difference, if there is one, is that the Rays are openly acknowledging a specific point in the future: the potential move into a new ballpark that the new ownership group is aiming to have ready in 2029.

“We know they are exhausting themselves on trying to secure a permanent home for our organization that will absolutely, unquestionably elevate the profile of this organization,” Neander said. “With that, we want to make sure to be absolutely certain that the talent and the infrastructure [and] the talent underneath is something that is ready to match that excitement when that time comes.”

That’s the same principle that has long guided their strategy. The Rays never go all-in on a given season, but they pride themselves on being competitive every year and not undertaking long-term rebuilds. They think reaching the postseason as often as possible is the best way to eventually win the franchise’s first World Series, but they also feel they owe it to their players.

“It's really about players, first and foremost. They only have so much time to play this game,” Neander said. “We’ve always talked about [how] you feel like you owe it to them to come to the ballpark with a group of people that are hungry, that have something to prove, and at least give them a chance.”

But they are flexible within that structure, occasionally sliding the scale toward the present and sometimes pushing it toward the future. The former took place in 2021 and ‘23, when they gave up a young Joe Ryan for Nelson Cruz and prospect Kyle Manzardo for Aaron Civale. The latter happened in July 2024, when they parted with several key big leaguers in a series of prospect-focused deals.

Coming off consecutive losing seasons after five straight trips to the playoffs, this offseason has brought a little of both.

They have generally been busy overhauling their roster. Of the 31 players who began last season on their Opening Day roster or injured list, 16 have been let go. Of the 49 players who finished last season on their 40-man roster or injured list, only 26 remain.

Their big deals in December were about building toward something, but short-term signings like Mullins and Matz and the Lux trade -- when they used their outfield surplus to fill the second-base vacancy they created in the Brandon Lowe trade -- reflect their reluctance to give up on the coming season.

“We're always trying to make sure that our future is bright, and … you’ve got to start with having a deep system of a lot of really talented players. We feel like we have that,” Neander said. “And then you just can't totally overlook the season in front of you, and [we] want to make sure that we’ve got a club that can go out there and compete, and if the ball bounces their way, you're competing for a postseason spot. And I do believe this is a team that still has that. We’ve just got to go out and show it and play it.

“We’re going to continue to keep that in mind and do everything we can for ‘26 to be successful, while making sure we're as strong as possible in the future and in a potentially new building and all that stuff as well.”