How to Stick Around in Tampa Bay

 

I wanna draw attention to something that doesn't happen often. Right now, on the Rays, there are three players who have been here since at least 2019. They are, namely, Pete Fairbanks, Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe. All of them have been here since pre-pandemic, and in Lowe's case since 2018, and they are still with the team, having not been traded yet. This...doesn't happen often.

There's not a lot of players, other than Kevin Kiermaier or someone like that, who get to the end of a contract having played it all for the Rays. It used to be basically everybody, as guys like Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton and James Shields would easily play 5 or more seasons in Tampa. But then the ownership tightened the belt and went into their Cash-era 'trade them the second they get good' strategy. And as such, these players don't persist. Last year Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena were dealt just as they were blossoming as Rays, and Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, even Zach Littell have been dealt right as they've become trusted arms.

Yet those three are still here, despite the idea that one or more would be dealt this deadline. As such, all three have been delivering great seasons for the Rays. Diaz's power bat is taking off, he's got 20 homers and 67 RBIs. Lowe, despite missing time with an injury, still has 23 homers and 57 RBIs. Fairbanks has been quietly putting together a great season at RP1, with 20 saves and a 2.64 ERA. All three are valuable, well-used, respected and still very good at the game. You're seeing the next generation of the Rays begin to take over, the Pepiot regime or the Aranda/Caminero regime, and these guys still definitely factor into things, and that's very important if the Rays want to compete again.

BUT...all three of these guys are potentially going to become free agents very soon. All three have a team option for 2026, and we know how the Rays are about paying their players. So the end of the road may still come very soon, regardless of the work they've put in. 

The Rays don't have much else to accomplish this year other than being a decent spoiler. They're under .500 and behind the scrum, and they're the one team in the AL East that didn't spark fire recently. All that remains is to finish strong and set up a better team for next year, and with Aranda back and the strong likelihood of another set of great prospects on the way, that's very doable.

Coming Tomorrow- Abrams made the majors, Gore made the majors, Wood made the majors. Now it's his turn.