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Tampa Bay Rays

2012 – Finished third in AL East

Record: 90-72

Tampa Bay missed out on the playoffs last year for the first time since 2009, even after finishing 18 games above .500. The Rays had one of if not the best pitching staffs in all of baseball last season but their mediocre offence kept them five games behind the Yankees and also third place in the wild card hunt. The Rays have lost some of their offence in the offseason, letting longtime outfielder B.J. Upton walk away in free agency along with Carlos Pena, Jeff Keppinger and reliever J.P. Howell.

The Rays are so adamant that they have one of the deepest rotations in the league that they have traded ace James Shields and up-and-coming Wade Davis to Kansas City for prospects. Their other moves were fairly minor, but this is what the Rays do every single season, getting by on the strength of their farm system and shrewd GM Andrew Friedman. The owner has improved the team under severe financial constraints, doing business with a payroll under $60million while several division rivals have $150+million as the norm. Will they be able to compete again and make a return to the postseason?

INCOMINGS

P Roberto Hernandez, Mike Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, Juan Carlos Oviedo, Jamey Wright

1B/OF Shelley Duncan

IF Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, James Loney

OF Wil Myers

OUTGOINGS

P Burke Badenhop, Wade Davis, J.P. Howell, James Shields

IF Reid Brignac, Jeff Keppinger, Elliot Johnson, Carlos Pena

OF B.J. Upton

Outfielders

Leftfielder Matt Joyce has established himself as a solid outfielder over the last two seasons, batting .277 with 19 HR, 75 RBI and 69 R in 2011 and .241, 17 HR, 59 RBI and 55 R last season. He will likely start around 110 games and you could do worse than a guy with a .800+ OPS. Desmond Jennings is in centre and is mostly a singles hitter with a low average (.246 in 2012) and a lot of strikeouts (120). On the plus side he stole 31 bases – he was caught only twice – but while his speed is great his hitting is not. Rightfielder Ben Zobrist has been the Rays’ most consistent producer over the last four years (considering Evan Longoria’s injury problems). Since 2009 he is batting .268 while averaging 19 HR, 83 RBI, 89 R and 35 doubles. He is perhaps one of the most underrated outfielders in the game.

Infielders

James Loney has been brought in to play first base after his worst season in 2012 where he split time between the Dodgers and Red Sox. He had career lows in average (.249), OPS (.630), home runs (6) and RBI (41). Loney has been a consistent .280 hitter and with a new home in Tampa Loney could get back to his potential of driving in 90 runs a season. Kelly Johnson and Ryan Roberts will split time at second base and both have good pop but low averages. Johnson hasn’t shown the sort of performance he did in Arizona three years ago and in Toronto last year batted .225 with 16 HR and 55 RBI. Roberts batted .235 with 12 homers and 52 RBI in 2012 and will play some third base and also DH this season. Yunel Escobar is certainly better with the glove at short than he is with the bat, last year hitting .253 (a career low). He didn’t fit Toronto well last season but he may have a solid line in Tampa. The Rays have signed third baseman Longoria through 2023 despite him missing nearly 100 games last year, that’s how good he is and how much they value him too. When healthy his OPS is consistently above .800, his RBI total is 100+ and that is why he needs to be healthy for the Rays to make a run.

Catchers

Jose Molina is still one of the better defensive catchers in the game despite being 37 years of age. However, he isn’t exactly a good hitter. The Rays have no problem with his .223 average because he has great glove work and has the ability to work with their young pitching staff. Jose Lobaton has been in the minors since 2003 and his .222 average and 20 RBI in 167 at-bats in 2012 should be exactly where he is next year too.

Starters

David Price won the Cy Young award last year after a league-leading 20 wins. He also led the majors with a 2.56 ERA, and over the last three seasons he has a 2.93 ERA. He is the undisputed ace of this staff and will lead in front of Matt Moore (11-11, 3.81 ERA in his rookie season of 2012), Jermey Hellickson (23-21 over his first two seasons), Alex Cobb (14-11, 3.86 ERA in his first 32 major league starts) and Jeff Niemann (who missed most of last year with a fracture in his leg).

Relievers

Closer Fernando Rodney had a 4.42 ERA between 2007 and 2011, but last season he saved 48 games (two blown opportunities) while posting a sublime and ridiculous 0.60 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. Rodney, at 36, will be in the same role in 2013. Joel Peralta and Kyle Farnsworth are solid veterans in an otherwise young bullpen – Peralta has put up a 3.27 ERA in 134 innings over the last two seasons, while Farnsworth has a 2.76 ERA in two seasons with the Rays. Jake McGee and Cesar Ramos are good-looking young relievers – last year the former put up a 1.95 ERA while the latter was nearly as good at 2.10.