Oct 7, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander before game one of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Rays Still Have Multiple Needs Heading Into Winter Meetings

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Dec 4, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays have started to get active with the winter meetings coming up right around the corner. However, there is still work to be done.

After a poor second half of the season, the Rays are a team that is hoping to make some improvements this winter to be able to contend in the challenging American League East. This division just seemingly is getting better and better and competing against some of the best of the best is going to be a challenge.

However, in the first half of 2025, Tampa Bay looked like a contending team. Now, they will be trying to sustain that for an entire season, and that means improvements will need to be made.

So far, the Rays have started that by addressing their needs in the outfield. This was a unit that lacked offensive firepower, and Tampa Bay has elected to sign both Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins so far this winter. If Mullins can bounce back from a bad second half of the year, he could make a significant impact for the team.

With the outfield need likely set for now with those two additions, the team will start to explore upgrades in other areas of need. MLB.com recently wrote about the biggest question for the Rays heading into the winter meetings, and it was a relatively simple one.

What’s next for Tampa Bay?

Now that the outfield is likely set with the additions of Mullins and Fraley, the team is also likely to have to take a look at potentially moving some of their outfielders in a trade. This was an area that the team wanted to reshape this offseason, and with two new players coming in, trading one or two players from the unit makes sense.

Furthermore, another pressing need for the lineup is going to be at catcher. This has been a position that hasn’t given the team much offensively in recent years, and they would love to find an upgrade there.

For the pitching staff, while the team likely feels comfortable with what they have in the bullpen, they do need to add a starting pitcher or two. Creating some depth for this unit will be important in the challenging division, and there are, fortunately, a number of options to pursue.

Overall, Tampa Bay is likely to continue to be aggressive in trying to make some minor moves to help improve the team. With multiple needs across the roster, they will have to be mindful about where they allocate resources.