Rays finish towards the bottom of AL East in offseason grade according to Yahoo Sports

It has been a busy offseason for many teams across the league, while other clubs have laid dormant since November. The Rays are situated in the middle of these scenarios, as they've completed two deals in free agency. In fact, one of those signings was the second largest contract in franchise history. Therefore, this offseason was actually very lucrative in the Rays perspective.

Although, Yahoo Sports gave the Rays a slightly above-average B- offseason grade. Two AL East teams fared better as the Yankees were awarded a B+ and the Blue Jays earned a B grade. New York definitely deserved their impressive grade with the free agent signings of Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt. The Bronx Bombers also added Devin Williams and former MVP Cody Bellinger via trade to solidify their post-Juan Soto roster.

The Blue Jays earned their respectable B grade due to the additions of slugging outfielder Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman, and veteran starting pitcher Max Scherzer. Their front office also traded for prolific defensive second baseman Andres Gimenez. Toronto will likely improve from their last place finish a year ago.

The Rays finished even or above both the Red Sox and Orioles with their B- offseason grade. Let's look back at the acquisitions from this offseason that led to this result. As mentioned earlier, the key signings were through free agency, as the Rays were able to add Gold Glove infielder Ha-Seong Kim and Danny Jansen to fill much-needed holes.

Rays completed 3 major trades for pitching depth

Aside from the two free agency deals, the Rays also executed three trades that all resulted in adding depth to their pitching staff. At the onset of the offseason, Erik Neander and company sent talented center fielder Jose Siri to the Mets for right-handed reliever Eric Orze. Orze has had very limited major league time with little success, but the potential value that he contains could allow him to be a valuable depth option out of the bullpen.

Another key trade this offseason involved the Rays dealing Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics for hard throwing right-hander Joe Boyle and two minor league prospects. Boyle's game lacks stable command, so he will need to improve in that department. If he makes progress towards locating his pitches, then the sky is the limit for the 25-year old.

The third substantial trade this offseason was for Tigers swing-man Alex Faedo. This Tampa native was drafted in the first round by Detroit out of the University of Florida.

Before making his mark in the big leagues, Faedo suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Since recovering from this common procedure, the 28-year old had been a decent presence in the Tigers pitching staff. However, Detroit decided to DFA the slider-heavy hurler. Tampa Bay took advantage by acquiring the righty to bring him back to his hometown with the hopes that they can revive his success from the past.

Rays added low-risk depth options through minor league deals

The front office signed four players with minor league deals this offseason. Those include former Baltimore Oriole Joey Krehbiel, USF product Coco Montes, and 28-year old reliever Andrew Wantz. Above all these additions, the Rays also signed former White Sox Rookie of the Year finalist Eloy Jimenez. This prolific power threat has the best chance of all of them to make the big league club. However, the designated hitter hit a sub-par .232 with one home run for the Orioles in the second half of the 2024 season. If the Rays can spark a comeback year for the Dominican Silver Slugger, then this high reward opportunity could come to fruition.