Confidence around the Tampa Bay Rays has climbed a long way since Opening Day, when they didn’t get a single vote to win the AL East.
That was the mood entering 2026: the Rays were widely expected to sit near the bottom of the American League and maybe even finish last in the division. The Athletic’s preseason poll reflected that skepticism in full. Boston led the way with 42% of the votes, the Yankees followed at 33%, and the Blue Jays picked up the remaining 25%.
By Memorial Day, Tampa Bay had forced its way into the conversation. The Rays were up to 16% in the vote, while New York still dominated the field at 84%. Boston, Toronto and Baltimore were left out entirely.
The latest update, released at the All-Star break, showed just how much the perception has shifted. Tampa Bay surged to a season-high 46% of the votes, a 30-point jump, while New York dropped by 29 points. The other three teams in the division again received no votes, though Boston’s recent run has changed the feel of the race.
The Rays opened the second half at Fenway Park for a four-game set, and the Red Sox swept them. Even so, Boston’s 13 straight wins have pushed it back into the AL playoff picture, and the division picture still has some life to it.
Tampa Bay’s margin in the standings has not been wiped out, even with five losses in a row. The Yankees have also stumbled out of the break against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which has kept them from cashing in on the Rays’ skid.
If the Rays want to keep holding that spot in the standings, the next move feels obvious: they need help before the MLB trade deadline. The lineup could use more punch, and the pitching staff needs depth.
That need is showing up in the rotation, where two relievers turned starters midseason, Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour, are carrying important innings. It has thinned out the bullpen behind them, even with Bryan Baker emerging as a lockdown closer. The problem is the rest of the relief group hasn’t always backed him up.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Face Three Roster Calls They Cant Put Off
The Yankees left their split doubleheader against the Dodgers with the same uneasy feeling they brought in, because the roster questions around them are getting harder to ignore. Even after taking the nightcap, the bigger picture still points toward a club trying to stabilize itself while weighing whether some of its current pieces fit the way the front office hoped when the season began.
One of those calls is in the bullpen, where Camilo Doval has slid so far down the hierarchy that a move may be coming sooner rather than later, especially with his options situation adding pressure. The position-player side has its own debate, too, with Jasson Domnguez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both at the center of suggested adjustments as the Yankees look for a cleaner mix and a little more certainty in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Pushed The Yankees Toward A Brutal Trade Deadline Choice
With Aaron Judge still out and Giancarlo Stanton dealing with injuries, the Yankees are staring at a trade deadline that may demand more than a routine tweak. Brian Cashman has a roster that can still compete, but it looks incomplete enough that the front office may have to weigh moving everyday contributors and pitching depth to shore up the club before the deadline passes.
The rotation picture is part of what makes the decision so tricky. With several starters on the way back from the injured list, the Yankees could soon find themselves with more arms than spots, creating a path to deal from a position of depth while trying to cover the holes left by the lineup's injuries. The challenge is finding the right balance between preserving what the Yankees already have and making enough of a splash to keep pace in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Ran Into A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Series
The Yankees split with the Dodgers did more than expose a rough offensive weekend. It reinforced how much the lineup still leans on Aaron Judge, and how thin the margin gets when he is not there to carry the middle of the order. New York managed only five runs across the series, and manager Aaron Boone said the club needs more consistent offense, a reminder that one hot stretch from the bats can hide a lot of underlying issues.
Cody Bellinger is one of the players expected to help steady things, but there is also a broader roster conversation hanging over the club as the trade deadline approaches. If the Yankees are going to keep pace, Brian Cashman may need to look beyond internal fixes and consider upgrades at catcher, along with other moves that could reshape the infield mix. The series in Los Angeles did not just cost them a chance at a cleaner result, it sharpened the question of whether this roster has enough reliable offense as currently built. [Read more 🡒]