The Rays’ roster is a snapshot of how they operate, and it’s pretty stark: 24 of the 39 players on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster were acquired via trade. That works out to 62 percent, the highest mark in the majors. The rest of the group breaks down to eight homegrown players, six free-agent signings and one player claimed off waivers.
That kind of roster makeup has become the Rays’ calling card, and MLB Network’s MLB Now spent time Wednesday unpacking why it keeps working. Brian Kenny put it plainly: “The Rays have done a lot of things right,” Kenny said.
“They’ve been ahead of the curve for a long time; they rarely hit the market. They don’t even draft and develop particularly well.”
The edge, according to Kenny, comes from what Tampa Bay does once it starts dealing. “They do three things spectacularly well; identify talent, make good trades and then maximize the performance of the players that they traded for,” Kenny said.
The best proof is sitting on this year’s postseason roster. Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Drew Rasmussen all arrived in Tampa Bay years ago, long before they became central pieces for a club now in the ALCS and a few wins from the World Series.
Caminero came over from Cleveland in November of 2021 when he was just 18. Díaz was also acquired from Cleveland, back in December of 2018 at age 27, and had only 88 Major League games on his résumé at the time, with one home run and 17 total extra-base hits. Rasmussen arrived from the Milwaukee Brewers organization in May of 2021, when he had appeared in just 27 Big League games and was still working as a relief pitcher.
Now those bets are paying off in a major way.
Caminero built on his breakout 2025 season with another huge year, topping 40 homers and 100 RBIs for the second straight season while posting a career-best 5.7 WAR and a 144 OPS+. Díaz gave Tampa Bay steady production at the top of the lineup in his age-34 season, finishing with a .359 on-base percentage, a .446 slugging percentage and a 124 OPS+. Rasmussen delivered across 30 starts, going 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA, a 159 ERA+ and 5.7 WAR, while holding opponents to a .543 OPS.
The Rays finished 98-64 and stood as the best team in the American League, and these three were major reasons why. The larger story, though, is the method behind it all: identify the right players, make the right trades and then pull the most out of them. Tampa Bay has been doing that for years, and this roster is the latest proof.
In Other News...
Rays Fans Are Stuck Waiting On A Crucial ALCS Game 4
Rays fans settled in for a pivotal Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night, only to find the start pushed back because of rain at Progressive Field. The matchup had been set for 8:08 p.m. ET, but MLB Communications and the Guardians announced the delay and said updates would come as conditions change.
The timing only adds to the pressure for Tampa Bay, which trails Cleveland 2-1 in the series and needs to avoid falling further behind. Nick Martinez was lined up to start for the Rays, while the Guardians planned a bullpen game with Shawn Armstrong, leaving both sides waiting for the weather to clear before they can find out how the next crucial chapter unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Keep Exposing Baseballs Biggest Payroll Problem
The postseason has a way of stripping baseball down to its simplest truths, and this year it has put Tampa Bay right in the middle of a familiar argument. Along with Milwaukee and Cleveland, the Rays have pushed into the League Championship Series while operating on a far smaller payroll than the Dodgers and other big-spending clubs, leaning on pitching development, bullpen leverage and clean fundamentals instead of headline-grabbing additions.
For Tampa Bay, the run is another reminder that smart roster building can keep a team in the sport's deepest October stages even without the financial muscle that shapes so many offseason conversations. It also feeds the broader debate around MLB's economic structure, where small-market success keeps colliding with the sport's ongoing questions about competitive balance and whether a salary cap would change the equation. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Fans Are Turning The Trop Into A Playoff Lifeline
With the Rays home in October but not exactly in the middle of a playoff game, Tropicana Field turned into a gathering place for fans watching Game 3 of the ALCS against the Guardians. The start was moved up to 1 p.m. because of weather concerns, and the club opened the building for a watch party that gave Tampa Bay supporters a place to take in the postseason together instead of staring at it from home.
The scene had a little extra novelty, too, with watch-party ticket holders getting a rare chance to go out on the field and toss the ball around. And there is more of it coming, since the Trop is set to host another watch party for Game 4 on Friday at 6 p.m., with tickets still available online. [Read more 🡒]