Three questions facing the Tampa Bay Rays during the offseason

The Tampa Bay Rays will enter the 2025-26 offseason with some uncertainty.

Longtime Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg officially sold the Rays at the end of September to an ownership group fronted by Florida-based businessman Patrick Zalupski. While the new ownership group has stated that they want to build on the success the Rays achieved under Sternberg and will not interfere with baseball operations, it is fair to wonder how they will approach building the roster to maintain that success.

There will be at least one area of familiarity. The Rays will be returning to Tropicana Field in 2026 as repairs are expected to be completed in time for Opening Day. Likewise, there is reason for hope in 2026 — third baseman Junior Caminero had a breakout season in 2025 and pitcher Drew Rasmussen rounded back to form in his first full season after elbow surgery in 2023. 

The Rays may not be far off from contending once more. Here are three questions facing the Rays this offseason.

Three questions for the Tampa Bay Rays during the offseason

1. Can Junior Caminero be the star of the lineup?

Caminero emerged as a potential star for the Rays in 2025, producing a .264/.311/.535 batting line over 653 plate appearances, hitting 45 homers and 28 doubles. He was third in the American League in homers and fifth in RBI (110). At 22 years old, Caminero could be a key part of the Rays lineup for years to come.

However, Caminero's performance may be a product of Steinbrenner Field. He produced a .313/.358/.595 batting line in 318 plate appearances at home, hitting 22 homers. Although he continued to show power on the road with 23 homers, Caminero produced a mediocre .218/.266/.477 batting line. The Rays will need more consistency from Caminero before he can truly be a cornerstone of the franchise.

2. Will the Rays ever find a long-term solution behind the plate?

Catcher has been a revolving door for the Rays since their first season in the league. Toby Hall, who spent parts of seven years with the Rays, is the franchise leader with 586 games behind the plate. Jose Molina has been the most valuable Rays catcher with 7.4 fWAR — one of just three catchers with at least 4.0 fWAR in Tampa Bay.

The Rays made moves during the 2025 season to address their catching situation, acquiring Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia in a pair of trades. Nonetheless, the Rays continued to get minimal offense from the position as their catchers produced a .187/.289/.306 batting line in 2025. Unless Fortes or Feduccia begin to hit, or if prospect Dominic Keegan can hit at the major league level, the catching position may continue to be an offensive black hole.

3. What do the Rays do at shortstop?

The Rays thought they had shortstop set into the next decade until legal issues dictated otherwise. Free agent signing Ha-Seong Kim was injured for much of the season and unproductive when he did play. Taylor Walls continued to be excellent defensively, but did not hit. Jose Caballero was sent to the Yankees. Prospect Carson Williams received a great deal of playing time down the stretch despite a roller coaster of a season in Triple-A.

Defensively, Williams is ready, as he is regarded as a future Gold Glove winner at short. The question is whether or not he will hit enough. Williams is considered to have plus power and did hit five homers in 106 plate appearances. However, he also drew just six walks while striking out 44 times. Unless he can make strides in his plate discipline and contact, the Rays may still be looking for an answer at short during the 2026-27 offseason.