Tampa Bay Rays: 5 Bold Predictions for 2019

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ST. PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 17: General view as baseball fans watch the Tampa Bay Rays take on the New York Yankees during the sixth inning of a game on April 17, 2014 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

2018 left Tampa Bay Rays fans salivating for the 2019 playoffs. A 90 win team and the first winning season since 2013. The Rays are poised to be a force to be reckoned with in 2019 and here are my bold predictions.

The Tampa Bay Rays are looking like contenders again and with that comes bold predictions. The 2018 season was as refreshing as it gets for a baseball fan in Tampa Bay. The Rays had been stuck in a revolving door of trying to remain competitive while also rebuilding. They were successful at the latter of the two objectives, that is until last year, when they were successful at both. The Rays continued to rebuild while also winning 90 games.

They traded away Evan Longoria, Jake Odorizzi, Corey Dickerson, Steven Souza among others prior to the season starting and then went on to send away Alex Colome, Chris Archer, and Nathan Eovaldi during the season.

Amid all the loss, the Rays won, and they won a lot. They won 90 games for the first time since 2013. Blake Snell won the Cy Young award and Joey Wendle had a breakout campaign.

But as we approach the 2019 season, my predictions are the exact opposite. They are bold. They are positive. They are exciting.

Had I made bold predictions last year prior to the 2018 season they wouldn’t have been pretty, actually they would have been pretty bleak. But as we approach the 2019 season, my predictions are the exact opposite. They are bold. They are positive. They are exciting.

Positive and exciting are quite contrary to the words that surrounded the Rays entering 2018, but now in 2019 those words define the Tampa Bay Rays. Lets get to the predictions…!