3 Rays' players that didn't meet expectations in 2024

The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off of a bummer of a season where they ended up watching the postseason at home for the first time since 2018.

With that, there are plenty of players who failed to meet expectations and let the team down in terms of production.

However, not all is lost because when there is rain, there is a possibility of a rainbow. Here are the three Rays' players who didn't meet expectations this past season and how they can hope to bounce back in 2025.

Jose Siri

The good news for Siri is that the center fielder will always be valuable because of his defense and that was also evident in 2024.

He's still one of the best defenders in the game as his 16 outs above average was one of the best marks in the whole sport.

Obviously it's not all about defense, as unfortunately his spot in the lineup still comes up. When he came to the plate in 2024, things got real alarming.

His 78 wRC+ was a massive drop-off from his 106 metric in 2023, despite an increase in walk rate and an insignificant downgrade in BABIP.

Siri's biggest positive as a hitter was his ability to hit the long ball, but despite playing in 29 more games and racking up 64 more ABs, he hit seven fewer homers than he hit the previous year.

The good news is that his hard-hit rate and expected metrics all surprisingly increased in 2024 Therefore, the home run productivity can be a bit unexplainable as the dimensions of ballparks and other factors play a role in the numbers.

The bad news is that Siri is never going to be a good hitter, and 2023 might've been his peak. There have even been rumors of the Rays moving on from the defensive star, with Jonny DeLuca having a nice finish to his 2024 season and being a competent center fielder.

The Rays might view a lineup with Siri, Taylor Walls, and whatever defensive-minded catcher they bring in as unteneble for another 162 games. Those three players could essentially be automatic outs.

Taylor Walls

Similar to Siri, Walls is never going to be more than a league-average hitter. If the defensive wizard could even be an average batter, that would actually be a huge development.

Walls was yet again among one of the worst hitters in baseball in 2024 with a 60 wRC+ which is only 11 points lower than his career mark in that metric.

The FSU grad got off to a hot start in 2023, causing some fans to wonder if the slick-fielding infielder had turned a corner and become a productive offensive contributor.

Alas, he came back down to Earth and ended up with a 84 wRC+ for the season.

His strong suit in the hitting department is still his approach, as he's been among the best in baseball in chase rate over the past few seasons. Although, he unfortunately follows that up with some very quiet and soft contact as he usually ranks in the bottom ten percent of baseball in quality of contact metrics.

There's no reason to believe Walls will become Aaron Judge over the offseason, but a change in approach might lead to something. It can't really get much worse, so hopefully Walls is in the "nothing to lose, willing to try anything" portion of his baseball career.

Despite his offensive struggles, he's still an elite defender and will always be valuable as a defensive utility player at the very least. The Rays are trying to count on him to be their everyday shortstop, so it'd be nice if he could play above his talent level until Carson Williams is ready for the big leagues.

René Pinto

One of the biggest lies Rays fans were told in the offseason was that Pinto would be the starting catcher for the 2024 season. That storyline, or experiment, lasted for almost 20 games until he was sent down for to the minors and replaced by Alex Jackson.

During his time in the majors, Pinto continued his hard-hitting ways at the plate. The young catcher had an elite quality of contact numbers during his brief time in the MLB for 2024, but was unable to keep his job despite his 106 wRC+, with Ben Rortvedt taking over as the Rays' starting backstop.

Pinto went down to Triple-A and had a disappointing season to say the least with a 59 wRC+. Pinto may have lost his confidence in the demotion and allowed it to spiral and manifest in his poor offensive production.

Whatever the reason for the Rays' rejection of the backstop, hopefully it ends in 2024 and the Rays don't have to run out another season with limited catcher options. Pinto could very well be a solid slugging catcher, and there's no reason to believe that he can't be an exceptional manager of the Rays' deep pitching staff.