Rays Betting on Culture, Chemistry, and Veteran Presence to Compete in Loaded AL East
PORT CHARLOTTE - In a division where the Yankees and Red Sox can flex financial muscle, the Orioles are loaded with young talent, and the Blue Jays are fresh off an AL pennant, the Rays know they can’t outspend or outslug their rivals. But they’ve never tried to win that way. Instead, Tampa Bay is once again leaning into what’s always made them dangerous: finding an edge where others aren’t looking.
This time, it’s not about analytics or openers. It’s about culture.
“For us to compete in this direction, we’re going to have to come from a different angle,” said Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “Part of how we’re going to have to foster that approach is through some belief and toughness and work ethic and care for one another.”
That mindset is reflected in a dramatic offseason reset. The Rays moved on from more than 20 players, including clubhouse staples like Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks.
In their place? A group of veteran additions - pitchers Nick Martinez and Steven Matz, outfielders Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins, and second baseman Gavin Lux - who bring more than just on-field production.
They bring experience, leadership, and the kind of presence that can shape a clubhouse.
“You’re always trying to solve for talent first. Talent fixes a lot of things.
Winning fixes a lot of things,” Neander said. “But if we can get the talent right and also get people that have the right competitive makeup, and are about the team in front of themselves, it accelerates the development for a lot of people around them.”
That’s the key here. The Rays aren’t just looking for innings or at-bats.
They’re looking for players who can help guide the next wave - guys like Chandler Simpson, Junior Caminero, and Ryan Pepiot - through the grind of a big-league season. The goal is to shorten the learning curve, to give young players the kind of insight that usually only comes with years in the league.
“It’s difficult to measure obviously, but it’s important,” Neander said. “The shorter the list of things are that a young guy says, ‘I wish I had known that five years ago,’ the faster people are growing.”
It’s not the first time the Rays have gone this route. Back in 2008, veterans Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske were credited with helping shift the mindset of a franchise mired in mediocrity. That team went from 90-plus losses to an AL East title and a trip to the World Series.
Since then, Tampa Bay has occasionally dipped into the veteran market with purpose. Charlie Morton, Rich Hill, and Corey Kluber all brought more than just innings - they brought credibility, calm, and a blueprint for how to navigate the highs and lows of a season. The Rays made the playoffs in each of those years.
“When we look at our group, we talk about this,” Neander said. “Guys like Morton, Kluber, Hill - they’ve experienced success, failure, injuries, adversity, and have stood the test of time.
That’s really helpful for younger, impressionable, developing players. We’ve seen it time and time again.”
Now, it’s Martinez and Matz in one corner of the spring clubhouse, Mullins, Fraley, and Lux in another. Between them, they’ve seen just about everything the game can throw at you.
“I think experience is always a good thing,” said Matz, who started Game 4 of the 2015 World Series as a rookie with the Mets. “There’s a great group of players in here, just guys who come from different organizations, different points in their career. I think it’s always good to bring in experience and just understand what good culture is.”
Mullins, a 2021 All-Star who helped lead Baltimore’s rise, echoed that sentiment. “I think it’s important to mix a blend of guys that go about their business in different ways,” he said.
“Some guys are more vocal than others. I’m more the lead-by-example type - come in, get my work in, be efficient, be disciplined with the work I’m putting in and just showing guys what success looks like in a sense.”
Martinez, who spent four seasons pitching in Japan mid-career, knows firsthand how much the right environment can affect performance.
“I think it does help getting the pitch across the plate,” he said. “Because if you’re in a good state of mind, I think you’re going to be more successful.”
And for younger players like Pepiot, who’s still establishing himself in the majors, those veteran voices can make a real difference.
“It can definitely help,” Pepiot said. “It can help the vibes and the environment that you’re in.
It can also help when you have guys that have good character, that are good teammates - they can help you ride the highs on more of a steady pace. And also then when we go through a skid, it’s not like we’re all down in the dumps.”
Of course, good vibes alone won’t be enough to hang with the heavyweights in the East. But Matz pointed to last year’s Brewers, who won 97 games with a team-first approach and a strong clubhouse culture.
“I think that kind of was an example of what we could do this year,” Matz said. “Seems like we have the team and a good group of guys that can have a good culture and stick together and win some games in a tough division. I think we’re set up nice for that.”
Neander agrees. He’s not pretending this will be easy. But he believes the mix of experience, leadership, and hunger gives the Rays a fighting chance.
“We’re going to need this,” he said. “This is going to be a heck of a puzzle to put together this year to compete and to win.”
And if there’s one thing the Rays have proven time and again, it’s that they don’t mind solving difficult puzzles - especially when everyone else is looking the other way.