Projecting Kevin Cash's 2026 Rays Opening Day lineup

Kevin Cash has always been a huge fan of matchups, and this roster could potentially set up really well for his style of management. The difficulty in predicting the Rays lineup is that the Cardinals Opening Day starter has yet to be determined. A few of the most likely candidates are former Rays prospect Matthew Liberatore and Dustin May. Liberatore is a southpaw, while the 6'6 May is right-handed. Therefore, determining the lineup on March 26th will likely depend on which of the two starting pitchers is posted.

Projected lineup vs. a left-handed starter (Matthew Liberatore)

The most likely Opening Day starter for the Cardinals is left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore. The 26-year-old hurler was drafted by the Rays in the first round of the 2018 draft, but was shipped away for the likes of Rays legend Randy Arozarena and Jose Martinez. Every Rays fan will tell you that we won that trade by a landslide, but Liberatore is starting to get more comfortable in the big leagues after a 150+ innings campaign a season ago.

If the southpaw gets the call for his first Opening Day start, then the Rays could deploy a righty-heavy lineup with few hiccups. Taylor Walls, Jake Fraley, and Chandler Simpson would be the odd men out in this case scenario, as they would be replaced by newly acquired infielder Ben Williamson, Ryan Vilade, and Jonny DeLuca, respectively. Considering how well DeLuca and Williamson have hit so far this spring, it should be an easy transition. Vilade is the more difficult decision, but with Cash's track record for matchups, it's a very probable outcome to find him in right field on day one.

The rest of the starters are obvious fill-ins with Nick Fortes playing the right-handed counterpart to Hunter Feduccia behind the plate and probable mainstays like Cedric Mullins, Jonathan Aranda, and Gavin Lux taking their rightful place.

Projected lineup vs. a right-handed starter (Dustin May)

Although it's much less likely considering the injuries and setbacks for the former Dodgers top prospect, the lineup potentials are very attractive against the more common right-handed starter. The speedy Chandler Simpson could settle into the leadoff spot as he aims to continue to wreak havoc on the basepaths this season. Also, the left-handed Jake Fraley could return to the lineup as he has more proven than the 27-year-old Ryan Vilade. Regardless, this roster has been assembled to give Kevin Cash a plethora of options at his disposal.