3 breakout candidates for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025

After a disappointing end to their 2024 season, the Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back and return to their winning ways. To do so, they'll need some major contributions from players who either had setbacks in 2024 or new guys who didn't quite live up to expectations.

This early in the offseason, with the MLB Playoffs ongoing, players on this list might not even be rostered by the time the 2025 season begins, because you never know what the Rays' front office will do in trades and free agency. That said, it's never too early for optimism.

3 breakout candidates for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025

Jonny DeLuca

Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tyler Glasnow/Manuel Margot deal, DeLuca had a rough start to his first season in a Rays uniform. He missed the first few weeks of the season with a broken hand and seemed a bit uncomfortable even when returning to play, cratering in the month of June, where he had a -14 wRC+ over 58 plate appearances.

However, DeLuca turned that around in July and September, submitting wRC+ numbers over 100 for those months and finishing the year with almost a 1.0 WAR, a remarkable feat given his ice-cold June.

DeLuca provided quite a bit of that value in the field, posting 8 outs above average over his 794 innings played in the outfield, with those innings divided almost in half between center and left. He was stronger in left field, but with his bat hopefully playing up moving into 2025 and rumors that incumbent center fielder Jose Siri is on his way out, he could very well earn quite a bit of playing time in center next year.

Josh Lowe

Is he a breakout candidate, or more of a bounce-back guy? Either way, Lowe and anyone watching his 2024 performance would describe his production as mediocre at best, especially from a corner outfielder, whose value is a bit capped due to the nature of the position he plays. Lowe, like DeLuca, spent quite a bit of time on the injured list, only appearing in 106 games for the season.

Luckily, unlike DeLuca, Lowe managed to be a bit better at the plate, ending up with a 98 wRC+ for the season and giving the Rays a baserunning value of 3.3 with his ability to swipe bags and take the extra base. While Lowe isn't quite the defensive outfielder that DeLuca is, with his OAA coming in at a rough -3 for the 2024 season during his time in right field, his standing should be viewed as more of an average right fielder, as that's been what he's done for the first few years of his major league career.

Looking deeper into his process metrics, not much changed for Lowe in his approach. He's never been a super-disciplined hitter, ranking in the bottom quarter of baseball in chase and whiff percentage, but he still hits the ball pretty hard and has good bat speed. His contact rate took a bit of a dip in 2024, but he should be able to bounce back and be a solid power-speed combo right fielder who mashes right-handed pitching in 2025. His 130 wRC+ from 2023 is very much obtainable, and his platoon role in right field along with whoever the Rays decide to bring in as a right-handed utility man should help bolster what was a power-less lineup in 2024.

Richie Palacios

Richie Palacios is not going to be the power threat that Lowe is, but he can provide a fair amount of value to the Rays, just in different ways. For one, he provides a versatile glove that plays at least average defense in both of the corners and potentially at second, especially as rumors swirl about the Rays picking up Brandon Lowe's option for the 2025 season.

Also, his approach at the plate and ability to at least be serviceable against lefties (he hovered around a 100 wRC+ against righties and lefties last year) lends himself to be a valuable bottom-of-the-order option that could even tap a bit more into some unleashed power given another year in the fantastic Rays player development system. Palacios has always been a contact and approach type of hitter, and while expecting 20+ homers is a bit unrealistic, if he can stay healthy it's not impossible to see him sacrifice a bit of that great approach for a more powerful swing.

All in all, Palacios has a super high ceiling as a high on-base versatile bench bat that can plug and play against both lefties and righties, but his ceiling could be evolving as he takes this offseason to alter his approach a bit to give himself a shot at earning more playing time for a Rays team desperate for any kind of offensive production.