Rays facing ridiculous schedule in 2025 due to stadium issues

The Tampa Bay Rays will be playing a very grueling schedule in 2025, largely due to their enforced move from Tropicana Field.

Major League Baseball announced a pair of changes to the Rays’ previously-announced regular season schedule for 2025 on Monday, via the Associated Press. 

The Rays will play a home series in Tampa against the Los Angeles Angels from April 8-10 after originally being scheduled to play that series in California. As a result, the Angels-Rays series that had been scheduled to be played in Tampa from Aug. 4-6 will be moved to Anaheim on Aug. 5-7. 

The Rays’ two series against the Minnesota Twins will also be flipped. They will host the Twins in late May and then travel to Minnesota in early July.

The league made the changes out of consideration for potential weather issues in Florida. Since the Rays will be playing outdoors at Steinbrenner Field, MLB sought to account for the summer rainy season in Florida by getting as many home games out of the way early in the year.

The changes will have consequences for the Rays and their travel schedule. 47 of the team’s first 59 games will be at home, followed by a run of 69 of their final 103 games on the road.

The Rays were left with no choice but to play outdoors after Hurricane Milton ripped apart the roof of Tropicana Field in October, knocking the venue out of commission until 2026 at the earliest. 

The Rays did not have to go far for a suitable stadium, but without the benefit of a roof, weather may be a big issue for them next season. Given these changes, one could argue it already is.