Potential 2025 BBWAA awards nominees for the Rays if everything falls into place

With the BBWAA annual awards being announced next week, we thought it would be a perfect time to analyze the potential Rays awards nominees for the 2025 season. The most recent winner for a member of the Rays was 2023 Yandy Diaz, as he took home his first Silver Slugger trophy. In 2021, Rays manager, Kevin Cash and former outfielder Randy Arozarena won awards as well, with Cash being named AL Manager of the Year and Arozarena attaining Rookie of the Year honors. Which Rays players could possibly win awards in 2025?

Brandon Lowe (MVP)

Immediately after the 2025 postseason, the Rays made the anticipated decision of exercising Brandon Lowe's option, so he could remain in Tampa Bay for the 2025 season. Rays fans have seen this exceptional athlete play at a very high level throughout his career. Although injuries have limited his playing time quite a bit, his impressive numbers speak for themselves.

Since he made his debut in 2018, the Virginia native is second among AL second basemen in slugging percentage with a .482 stat. The only player ahead of him is Astros star infielder, Jose Altuve. If there is anyone on this club that could put together an MVP campaign, it would be a healthy Brandon Lowe.

Shane McClanahan (Cy Young)

Shane McClanahan officially made his Rays debut in the starting rotation in 2021. The lanky lefty instantly made his presence known as he went 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 123.1 innings of work. The USF product finished in 7th place for Rookie of the Year voting as teammates, Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco ranked 1st and 3rd according to voters.

McClanahan's best season was in 2022 as he went 12-8 with a 2.54 ERA and obtained his first all-star game appearance. Incredibly, the 27-year old has the 3rd best ERA among left-handed starting pitchers since 2021. The only southpaws ahead of this Rays hurler are Braves starter, Max Fried and Clayton Kershaw.

That is clearly fantastic company to be named with during that stretch of time, which is why we expect to see him compete for well-deserved hardware next season. As he makes his return from Tommy John surgery, expect to witness a fired-up and excited Shane McClanahan, ready to pick up where he left off in 2023.

Yoniel Curet (Rookie of the Year)

Yoniel Curet is our wild card selection for the 2025 Rookie of the Year award. It would be very easy to make a claim for Rays top prospects, Carson Williams, Dominic Keegan, or even Tre' Morgan, but we chose the unconventional route.

Curet is currently the No. 14 prospect in the Rays organization and has the opportunity to earn a spot on the big league roster out of spring training. The Dominican pitcher was signed back in 2019 and has climbed through the minor league ranks, appearing on every farm system club.

The 22-year old righty threw 25.2 innings for Double-A Montgomery last year and recorded a 1.75 ERA with 37 punchouts. He also earned a win in four out of his five starts for the Biscuits. Curet has been added to the Rays roster for this year's camp as he's poised to throw significant innings in Tampa Bay.

Yandy Diaz (Silver Slugger)

If the Rays decide not to trade fan-favorite, Yandy Diaz, he is an easy candidate to win his second Silver Slugger award in Tampa. In 2023, Diaz led the American League in AVG with a .330 clip. For the last two months of that year, the Cuban-born first baseman hit a remarkable .351. The only hitter in the sport with a better average during that span was MVP runner-up, Mookie Betts.

All things considered, the 2025 season will need to play out and the players mentioned above will have to outshine prominent MLB stars, such as Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez. The odds are certainly set against the Rays potential contenders, but who's to say it's impossible.