Tampa Bay Rays: A busy offseason begins today

Prepare for a rollercoaster of an offseason Rays fans. With the conclusion of the World Series last night, the offseason has officially started, and the Tampa Bay Rays will be looking to make a splash of two in the coming months. Get ready Rays fans!

Starting today, The Tampa Bay Rays will be looking to improve their 90-win 2018 team. A team that was made up of rookies and misfits and the occasional veteran  that started 1-8 and went on to finish the season on a 89-64 run.

In 2018 the Rays were David and the Red Sox and Yankees were Goliath in the American League East, David however, was unable to take down the giant. In 2019, David will return stronger, looking to slay the now defending World Champions and the increasingly talented Yankees.

It is time for the Rays to make their move, they have the financial flexibility and prospect pool to improve their 25-man roster through trades and signings. The plan to alleviate themselves of guaranteed contracts and future expensive arbitration salaries that was set in motion in the offseason of 2017 could prove to be one of the most aggressive and fruitful plans in Tampa Bay Rays history.

They began the improvement of their 2019 roster with the addition of Tommy Pham at the deadline and will only look to add to the surplus of controllable talent in the coming months. There will be addition in the forms of subtraction, trades, and signings.

This offseason could prove to be similar to 2017 due to the fact that there will be some surprising subtractions such as fan favorite Kevin Kiermaier. C.J. Cron and Matt Duffy may also be missing on opening day. I don’t expect Carlos Gomez or Sergio Romo to return in 2019.

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The Rays could welcome back a familiar face or two in Wilson Ramos and Nathan Eovaldi, although I believe the latter is less likely. We may also see the Rays make a blockbuster trade for Paul Goldschmidt or Jose Abreu in an effort to add production to the middle of their lineup. Noting is out of the question this offseason.

Buckle up Rays fans, it is going to be a wild ride leading up to Opening Day. A wild ride yes, a necessary one, absolutely. It is time to play some October baseball again in Tampa Bay and to do that they will need to undertake the biggest offseason in Rays history.