NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Last offseason, the Rays decided Jonny DeLuca was their guy in center field. They moved on from Jose Siri after the 2024 campaign, clearing a spot in the middle of their outfield for the athletic DeLuca.
On Opening Day last season, DeLuca took his place in center at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He played in each of Tampa Bay’s first nine games, with seven starts and two late-game substitutions, and got off to a nice start at the plate. But he only played 11 games after that, sidelined in early April by a frustrating right shoulder strain and again in August by a strained left hamstring.
DeLuca entered this Spring Training with no such assurances. The Rays remade their outfield, bringing in veteran options in center field (Cedric Mullins) and right (Jake Fraley), a talented young outfield prospect (the Rays' No. 4) in Jacob Melton, another depth option in Victor Mesa Jr. and a pair of right-handed-hitting platoon options in Ryan Vilade and Justyn-Henry Malloy. And they already had Chandler Simpson and Richie Palacios on board.
But DeLuca still has a chance, and he wants to show the Rays he can still be the guy.
“Every season is the biggest season. What we have is now, and that's pretty much it,” DeLuca said. “I still think, personally, I'm the guy, but we obviously have a really talented group of outfielders here. … The competitiveness is super fun for all of us, but I still feel very confident in my ability.”
The Rays do, too. Seemingly every time DeLuca’s name comes up, club officials rave about his talent on both sides of the ball. He’s been an elite defensive outfielder. Granted regular playing time down the stretch in 2024, he hit .263 with a .697 OPS and nine steals in his last 51 games of the season. He was even better in limited time last year, going 19-for-57 (.333) with six steals in 20 games.
But that praise always comes with a reminder, a caveat of sorts: He needs to stay on the field.
DeLuca realizes that, too.
“I don't want to be the guy who's labeled as, like, injury prone,” he said. “Obviously, after the season, you kind of are labeled that, so I'm going to do everything in my power to stray away from that in the years to come.”
That was DeLuca's mentality over the winter, when he explored every available avenue to get himself in the best possible shape.
He underwent testing to determine which foods weren’t good for his body, abandoned processed sugars and embraced high-quality whole foods. He stopped “just lifting like a bodybuilder” throwing around heavy weights and focused on more functional movements, flexibility (including yoga and pilates) and running.
“The offseason, after you have a long season, is usually just for resting, being with family then kind of slowly getting back in the swing of things,” DeLuca said. “This one, obviously missing most of last year, I was like, ‘OK, this is like my season, almost. I’m going to lock in right now. Then once the season comes, it should be easy with all the work I’ve done.’”
DeLuca also displayed his dedication to winning a job with the Rays by declining an opportunity to play for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He admitted feeling “a little jealous” when he saw the Italian squad pull off a stunning upset of Team USA on Tuesday night, but he made his decision for a reason.
“The Rays are where I want to be, and this is obviously a big season,” DeLuca said. “I want to be here with the guys and want to be with their staff and the new guys, so it's important.”
The Rays are still making decisions about their Opening Day roster, but DeLuca would seem to be a good fit as a right-handed-hitting complement to the lefty-hitting veterans Mullins and Fraley. His defensive ability makes him unique, as he can handle center or right.
“We've known for a long time that Jonny's a really talented player that could help us,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It has been a little bit of a struggle to keep him on the field, but he worked hard this offseason on his body, his physicality and his diet. Everything he's doing a little bit is, I think, with the intention to just give him every small bit of edge to try to stay on the field.”
As long as he does that, DeLuca knows, he can still be the guy.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is staying, obviously, injury free, keeping tabs on the body and how it feels. And right now, I'm feeling super good.”