2K24: Tampa Bay Rays

[Sour Masher]

Im not a prospect head like many of you but I don't think the return of Aidan Smith and Brody Hopkins feels like enough for a guy who was crushing the past 2 months and has 2 more years left after this one.

I know the Rays can do no wrong and all.

As far as the Arozarena side, as someone who has him on a lot of teams, this move to the Mariners leaves me pretty meh. And that probably lowers the market on a guy like Luis Robert.

Smith could develop into something, but I agree, unless the PTBNL is a significant one, I don't get the deal for the Rays.

[Moonlight J]

They're clearly playing for relaunching the team for the new stadium so they're acquiring quantity and hoping some of it sticks. Hopkins could be the best of the bunch as I love what I see on video, but hitting prospects has long been the bane of this organization. I wish they'd target well-developed guys in other orgs rather than toolbags in the lower levels.

[madducks]

With Paredes and Rosario getting dealt, is it time for Junior Caminero?

[madducks]

With Paredes and Rosario getting dealt, is it time for Junior Caminero?

I guess not.

I swear, Rays players are the most frustrating fantasy players to own due to the way the front office and Kevin Cash micro-manage their players with delayed call ups, platoons, constant lineup changes, closer committees, openers, bullpen days, etc.

[Moonlight J]

feels like they're stalling him to retain rookie eligility, although if this Yandy forearm bruise thanks to a 110 MPH liner by Yordan is anything, they may have to call him up. Look at the box score in Durham now and he's been bouncing back and forth between 3B and 2B of late. He has 7 homers and 3 doubles since the start of July with 6 walks and 13 strikeouts in 74 plate appearances

[madducks]

The Rays are calling up Junior Caminero before Tuesday’s game.

[Teenwolf]

The Rays are calling up Junior Caminero before Tuesday’s game.

I thought they were waiting until the cutoff where he'd still be rookie eligible (I thought Aug. 26 or so).

Pleasantly surprised! Looking forward to plugging him into my dynasty lineup down the stretch.

[madducks]

Pete Fairbanks to the 15-day IL with a right lat strain.

[rhd]

This may seem sort of random posting this now but did you realize the Rays are the only MLB team that has never hosted an All-Star game? The Rays entered MLB in 1998 so this is their 37th year. They should have hosted one by now. Anyone know of a reason why they havent?

Also, Tropicana is one of 4 current MLB stadiums not to have hosted an AS-game. The other 3 are Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philly, Truist Park in Atlanta and new Yankee Stadium. Truist is scheduled to host in 2025 and Citizen's is scheduled to host in 2026. New Yankee Stadium opened in 2009 and old Yankee Stadium hosted for the 4th and last time in 2008 so they probably want to wait a while longer before the new one gets to host.

[rhd]

Hurricane Milton tore off part of the roof of Tropicana Field. From the pictures I saw, I'm wondering whether the stadium will be repaired in time for the 2025 season.

Fortunately, this hurricane hasnt been quite as bad as most were predicting. From what few reports I've seen so far, only 10 confirmed deaths.

[Todd Zola]

Tropicana Field damage in Hurricane Milton: Rays stadium options (tallahassee.com)

[Moonlight J]

Could be anywhere from $25-$30M to replace the roof, which is quite the expenditure for a place that is scheduled for demolition in November 2027. I don't think it's impossible to state they may have played their last game there and they just decide to get a head start on demo and play out the next two seasons at Disney

[rhd]

More info on the Rays options re: the stadium issues. I just listened to a long BA podcast where they interviewed Marc Topkin, long-time beat writer for the Rays:

1) Fixing the stadium - The Rays are scheduled to move into a new stadium in 2028, so if they fix the current stadium they're only there for 3 more years anyway. Assessment of the damage, and how much of it will be covered by insurance, is ongoing and it is not yet known how much the necessary repairs will cost. It cost $18.3 mil. and took 6 months to repair the roof at the old Metrodome in 2011 and the damage to that roof wasnt nearly as extensive as that to the Rays' stadium. Plus, until they get at least a temporary roof on, more rain will cause even more damage. The new stadium will be next door to the current one and ground-breaking is scheduled for Jan. 2025 so if the repairs cannot be done very quickly, it may interfere w the work to be done on the new stadium. Topkin said that, even if they decide to do the repairs, they wont be finished by opening day. He seemed to think that playing there in June might be realistic. Spending $50+ mil on a stadium that is scheduled for demolition in 3 years does not sound like a sensible idea to me. The revenue from ticket sales and ad revenue they'd lose by playing somewhere else I dont think comes close to matching the likely figure for the repairs.

2) Playing at Tropicana w/o fixing the roof - Topkin says it is essentially impossible for the Rays to play there w/o fixing the roof because, among other things, there is no drainage and the lights are for indoors, not outdoors. Putting in drainage does not seem feasible either because there is a concrete slab underneath the field that contains all the electrical wiring for the stadium. Plus the supports for the roof also are supports for the walls so they would have to remain in place and, if necessary, would have to repaired sufficiently themselves even if the roof covering was not put back on.

3) Playing at another home stadium for 3 years until the new stadium is ready - No shortage of possibilities but probably a shortage of good ones: a) Charles Schwab Stadium in Omaha. This is home to the College WS and is the largest unused stadium in the country But how many people in Omaha will attend Rays' games?; b) ST parks in the area, such as the Yanks' Tampa stadium, or the Rays' own ST facility in Port Charlotte. But some of these parks are also used during the season for minor league affiliates. And the seating capacity at these stadiums is small; c) The stadium at Disney World in Orlando. It seats only 7500 and the Braves said it was too small even as their ST facility; d) Share the Marlins' Stadium. The trouble w this is that the 2025 schedules have already been made, and at least some of the Rays' and Marlins home games are scheduled for the same dates. So one team would have to play during the day and the other at night for these dates; e) Olympic Stadium in Montreal. They've scheduled repairs to the roof for that stadium also, so these repairs may have to be halted if the Rays were to play there. And, again, how many people in Montreal will attend Rays' games?; f) The NFL Tampa Buccaneers' Stadium. The USF baseball team already plays there so this seems somewhat feasible. But again, existing schedules could conflict. Topkin doesnt think any of the West Coast parks (e.g. the A's old stadium) are feasible. And if the Rays play elsewhere, there's the question of how do you transfer fans' season tickets, or other pre-purchased tickets, to the new stadium. Not to mention how sponsors' pre-purchased ad space will be handled.

4) Playing all road games. That would be 3 years of completely lost ticket sales and mostly lost ad revenue. For a team that has been one of the lowest revenue teams in MLB from the start and is trying to increase its revenue and its attractiveness to both fans and FA players and is building a new stadium to help do this.

Will be interesting to see what they do next. To me, sharing the Marlins' stadium sounds like the least bad option, if they can work things out w the Marlins. The Buccaneers' stadium also sounds like a better option than most of the others.

[harmon]

Thanks very much RHD for your effort in putting this important info together. Definitely some fantasy implications in all of this.

I agree sharing the Marlin's park seems most logical.

[madducks]

The Rays only averaged 16,515 fans per game at Tropicana Field in 2024. And the Yankees spring training site in Tampa holds 11,026. Maybe they could add some more seats in the outfield since George M. Steinbrenner Field has very few of them there. Even if they can't, that could be acceptable for 3 seasons. Maybe the shortage of tickets in 2025-2027 would create more interest for 2028 season tickets at the new ballpark.