The front office should consider lengthy contract extensions for these 3 Rays players

News broke out yesterday that multiple young stars signed lengthy contract extensions with their respective teams. Clutch outfielder Jackson Merrill inked a nine year deal with the Padres and 22-year old second baseman Kristian Campbell will now remain in Boston for eight more years. These moves were very smart for each club as they eyed the future with their beloved youngsters.

The Rays are in an interesting situation where they have an immense amount of talented youth, but are very limited on the financial side. Therefore, they're not able to hand out extensions of the magnitude that other teams are producing, especially in the midst of the Tropicana Field fiasco. Although, they still need to build a team for the future and three players come to mind for potential contract extensions.

Taj Bradley

The Georgia native made his big league debut in 2023 and he's shown exceptional stuff ever since. The command has been a struggle at times, but overall Bradley has performed well as a top-end Rays starting pitcher.

The 6'2 hurler has accrued a respectable 4.71 ERA over 248.2 career innings. His success continued in his first start of 2025 as Bradley gave up only two runs on five hits against the Rockies. We know that Erik Neander and company are pleased with the former 5th round pick's performances thus far, so a contract extension may be in the near future.

Contract prediction: 3 years, $24 million

Shane Baz

It will be difficult for the front office to extend right-hander Shane Baz due to his unfortunate injury-ridden past. The former Pirates prospect was traded to Tampa Bay in 2018 and he's only been healthy enough to toss 125.2 innings in a Rays uniform.

However, the upper 90s fastball and nasty offspeed pitches still play as was very clear in his first start this season. Baz threw six scoreless frames with 10 strikeouts against the Pirates, displaying his electric repertoire. A short extension could be in the works for the 25-year old hurler.

Contract prediction: 2 years, $20 million

Junior Caminero

We had to save the best for last, of course. Although he's struggled with his defense so far, we have to remember that Caminero is still only 21-years of age. Also, the young infielder is currently hitting .318 with only three strikeouts in 22 at-bats. The power numbers haven't come to fruition yet, but we know that he will hit his fair share of home runs throughout the season. Therefore, the Rays should consider locking him up long-term.

Contract prediction: 6 years, $70 million