The Tampa Bay Rays are staring at a roster crunch with the offseason barely underway, and the next few dates on the calendar already carry real weight.
The General Manager meetings are wrapping up, and that usually means the market starts to move. Then comes Tuesday, November 17th, when clubs must decide which players from within the organization get added to the 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 draft.
A few days later, on Friday, November 20th, teams have to make their non-tender calls on arbitration-eligible players. And hanging over all of it is the possibility of a lockout if the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires, just as the previous one did on December 2nd, 2021, when free agency moved with rampancy that was unprecedented.
For the Rays, the roster picture is already shifting. After the World Series, Freddy Peralta, Gavin Lux, and Jorge Mateo became free agents.
Nick Martinez and Cedric Mullins were also sent to free agency when Tampa Bay declined their mutual options. Nick Madrigal and Jonathan Heasley were outrighted off the 40-man roster, while Alexander Alberto and Jack Suwinski were added.
The club also had to activate everyone from the 60-Day Injured List, which put Jacob Melton, Edwin Uceta, and Ryan Pepiot back on the 40-man. That leaves Tampa Bay with 39 players on the roster.
There’s still room for more movement, and a few names sit right in the middle of it.
On the pitching side, Alexander Alberto, Joe Boyle, Garrett Cleavinger, Alex Cook, Jesse Scholtens, and Edwin Uceta are the ones to watch. Alberto and Boyle both have big-league stuff, but Alberto only reached Triple-A this past season in his sixth year in pro ball, while Boyle’s command remains a major issue. Cleavinger’s stock has swung hard in the wrong direction; after being one of the better arms in the Rays bullpen in 2025, he became one of their least reliable in 2026, and he’s projected to make $3.7 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility.
Cook was added to the 40-man roster last November and got a handful of appearances for Tampa Bay this season. Scholtens filled the depth role the Rays needed, taking the ball whenever they needed innings, competitive game or not.
Over his final 10 outings, he posted a 5.45 ERA across 38 innings. Uceta’s path was even rougher.
He had been the de facto closer in 2024 during a breakout year, then lost some of that shine in 2025. The Rays hoped he could get back there this season, but a shoulder issue derailed him early.
He did start a rehab assignment, but he never fully recovered, and the Rays later said he had surgery and would miss at least the first couple of months of the 2027 season.
The position-player group has its own questions. Jadher Areinamo, Carson Williams, and Nick Fortes are all in the mix.
Fortes handled the bulk of the catching duties for most of the 2026 regular season and did well with the job. But Tampa Bay made a significant change at the deadline by bringing in Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins, and Fortes slid into a backup role. That spot suits him, but the soon-to-be 30-year-old is projected to make $3.4 million in arbitration, and Kenny Piper appears ready to step into that role.
Areinamo was added to the 40-man last November even though he had only just reached Double-A, a sign the Rays believed another club might grab him in the Rule 5 draft. His bat backed up a bit in 2026, and his strikeout rate jumped, but he still has a case to make for himself and won’t turn 23 for a few more weeks.
Then there’s Carson Williams, who was supposed to be the shortstop of the future. So far, the opportunities have not turned into production.
He was called up to the active roster three times in 2026, but he started only 11 games and hit .108/.154/.216 in 40 plate appearances. When the Rays were making their late push for the playoffs, they signed Jorge Mateo and leaned on him instead of Williams.
In Other News...
Brandon Lowe Just Became A Tougher Rays Decision Than Ever
Postseason baseball keeps tilting further away from the classic three-run homer model, and Tampa Bay has been living in that world for a while. The Brewers championship run only sharpened the point, with speed, contact and pitching carrying more weight than pure slugging as fastball velocity keeps climbing and power production keeps shrinking in October. For the Rays, that backdrop matters because it fits the way they have tried to build, valuing versatility and offense that can travel when the long ball disappears.
Brandon Lowe sits right in the middle of that conversation, because his bat still gives Tampa Bay a middle-of-the-order threat at a position where offense can be hard to find. The problem is that free agency rarely rewards teams for paying for second basemen on the wrong side of their prime, especially when age trends for middle infielders start to turn quickly. Lowes value is real, but so is the risk that comes with trying to decide how much longer the Rays can count on it. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Stadium Plan Is Moving But Tampa Bay Still Has A Hurdle
Hillsborough County took another step toward the Rays long-discussed stadium plan this week, with commissioners moving the proposed ballpark onto the list of projects eligible for money from the countys half-cent sales tax. The board also advanced the bond side of the financing, a procedural but important move that keeps the project in play and lets county lawyers start the next phase of review.
Even with those votes in hand, the public money is not ready to be spent. The County Attorneys Office still has to work through the bond validation process, and the stadium package will need more agreements and more commission action before the county can actually put dollars toward the ballpark. For a proposal that has already spent plenty of time in the public eye, the latest vote is progress, but not the finish line. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Cash Still Earned A Telling Sign Of Respect Around MLB
Will Venable and Pat Murphy took home the Baseball Writers Association of Americas Manager of the Year honors, a reminder of how much respect there is around the game for the job both men did in 2024. Venables work with the White Sox stood out in the American League after a major turnaround and the clubs first postseason berth since 2021, while Murphy made history by becoming the first National League manager to win the award three straight times.
For the Rays, the more telling note is that Kevin Cash remained firmly in the conversation on the AL side. Even in a race that went to Venable, Cashs presence near the top underscores how widely his work is still valued across MLB, especially in a league where navigating injuries, roster churn and constant adjustment has become part of the job description. [Read more 🡒]