Richie Palacios’ weak ground ball to second base put a bow on the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2026 season, and now the long offseason grind is officially underway as the club turns its focus to building for 2027.
The first turning point comes quickly. The day after the World Series ends, contracts signed only for the 2026 season expire and those players become free agents. For the Rays, that group is small on the 40-man roster: Gavin Lux, Jorge Mateo, and Freddy Peralta.
November opens with awards season and a few Rays still in the mix. Rawlings Gold Glove winners are announced on November 1, with Chandler Simpson a finalist in left field and Taylor Walls up for the honor at shortstop.
The next day brings a packed slate. Teams can extend qualifying offers to free agents, though the Rays cannot make one to Freddy Peralta because he was acquired in a trade and is not eligible.
November 2 is also the deadline for players to decide on contract options. Tampa Bay has several names in that bucket: Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez, Taylor Walls, and Cedric Mullins.
Walls’ situation is a little different from the others, because if the Rays decline his option they would still control him; the two sides would then need to settle on a 2027 salary or head to arbitration. Free agency officially opens at 5 p.m., and from there players can sign wherever they choose.
Award announcements keep rolling through the month. The Platinum Glove is handed out on November 6, and Kevin Kiermaier remains the only Rays player ever to win it, doing so in 2015. On November 8, the Arizona Fall League Fall Star Game is scheduled, and catcher Nathan Flewelling could be among the Rays prospects on the roster.
The following stretch of days belongs to the hardware. Rookie of the Year winners are announced on November 9, with Victor Mesa Jr. the only Ray who might draw some support, even if he is not expected to land near the top.
Manager of the Year comes next on November 10, where Kevin Cash is viewed as a strong favorite, though Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox is a serious challenger. Cy Young voting is revealed on November 11, and Drew Rasmussen may pick up some support without being considered a true favorite.
The MVP awards are announced on November 12, with Junior Caminero coming off a late push but still likely falling short of the prize. Even so, he could end up as the highest MVP candidate in franchise history.
The Hall of Fame portion of the calendar arrives on November 16, when the ballot for the class of 2027 is released. BBWAA voters have until the end of December to submit their choices, and former Rays who could appear on the ballot include Wilson Ramos, Asdrubal Cabrera, Wade Davis, and Scott Kazmir.
November 17 matters for roster construction. It is the last day for teams to add players from inside the organization to the 40-man roster and shield them from the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings.
Tampa Bay has often been busy on this date, sometimes even turning it into trade season. The most notable example came in 2021, when the Rays got Junior Caminero for Tobias Myers around this deadline.
Silver Slugger winners are also announced that day, and Caminero is a likely winner for his work at third base. Liam Hicks also has a shot.
November 17 is also the cutoff for players to accept or reject qualifying offers.
On November 20, teams must officially offer contracts to their arbitration-eligible players. The Rays currently have 17 players who could be retained for the 2027 season, though that number could shrink over the coming weeks. Anyone not tendered a contract would become a free agent.
December could change everything. On December 2, the MLB CBA expires and a lockout could begin.
If that happens, the offseason freezes until a new agreement is reached. The last lockout started in December 2021 and lasted until March 10, 2022.
If there is no lockout, the Winter Meetings are set for December 7-9 in San Diego. Those are usually the loudest few days on the offseason calendar, when teams line up trade talks and chase major free-agent deals.
The Rule 5 draft follows on December 9, giving clubs the chance to pluck unprotected players from other organizations, provided those players have been in the system long enough. The Rays have had success there before with Kevin Kelly, and they also considered taking Liam Hicks in the 2024 Rule 5 draft.
The international market keeps moving too. The 2026 international signing period ends on December 15.
Then the arbitration clock keeps ticking, with the file-and-trial deadline arriving January 8. The 2027 international signing period begins January 15, and the 2027 Hall of Fame inductees are announced on January 19.
The calendar closes, for now, with February 9 and the last listed marker: P&C.
In Other News...
Rays Face One Big Offseason Question After Their World Series Run
A deep postseason run has a way of sharpening the Rays winter priorities, and this one points straight at the kind of move Tampa Bay usually likes to make. The front office has been linked to trade possibilities that could strengthen both the lineup and the rotation, with the appeal centered on players who come with multiple years of team control rather than short-term fixes.
The challenge, of course, is fitting the right piece into a roster that already has its own financial and positional puzzles. Any meaningful upgrade would likely require Tampa Bay to give up real value in return, and the Rays will have to decide how aggressively they want to chase help while balancing the cost, the control, and the long view that has defined so many of their biggest decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Face An Offseason Rotation Decision They May Not Avoid
The Rays are heading into the offseason with a familiar kind of pitching puzzle, only this one may be harder to solve than usual. After a season that again leaned heavily on run prevention, Tampa Bay has to sort through a rotation picture that already includes some arms under contract while two more starters are moving toward free agency, forcing the front office to weigh whether the current group can be held together or needs a broader reset.
What makes the decision more pressing is the state of the pipeline behind them. The minor league depth does not look especially robust right now, which leaves the Rays with fewer easy internal answers if they want to stay flexible and competitive. That could push them toward the trade market or the free-agent pool as they try to shore up the rotation, and it also leaves open the possibility that some of the names already in the organization become part of the conversation in ways that are not always comfortable this time of year. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Lose Another Piece Of Their Depth As Roster Churn Continues
The churn at the back end of a roster never really stops this time of year, and the Rays have seen another familiar name move on. Oliver Dunn, who got a brief look in the majors before being outrighted off Tampa Bays 40-man roster in September, has elected minor league free agency, a procedural but meaningful step for a player trying to reset his path after a short stay on the big-league roster.
Thomas Pannone is in the same boat after his limited run with Milwaukee this season, parting ways with the Brewers organization by choosing free agency as well. For teams like the Rays, these moves are part of the constant roster churn that comes with trying to keep depth intact, and for the players involved it opens the door to a new landing spot while leaving their next step unresolved. [Read more 🡒]