2020 record - 40-20, 1st place in AL East
Key Addition - Chris Archer
The signing of free agent Chris Archer on a 1 year $6.5m deal represents the culmination of a huge trade victory for the Rays over the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the trade deadline in 2018, Tampa Bay traded Archer for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows & Shane Baz in one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. Not only did they get a top of the rotation arm in Glasnow and an All Star in Meadows, but also a top 100 prospect (according to MLB Pipeline) in Baz. And now they've signed Chris Archer back once he hit free agency. Unbelievable.
The Rays - who were 2 wins away from winning the World Series in 2020 - needed to get some starting pitching into their ranks and Archer helps strengthen them there. Whether Tampa Bay are getting a similar pitcher now to the one they traded away in 2018 remains to be seen. He wasn't great in Pittsburgh (6-12 with a 4.92 ERA and negative WAR) and he missed all of 2020 after undergoing surgery.
If Tampa Bay can work their magic, like they have with many players before, then Archer will be a very useful addition for them this season.
Just missed out - Rich Hill, Francisco Meija, Michael Wacha
Key Departure - Blake Snell
And it's not even close. The Rays decided to trade Blake Snell to the Padres earlier this winter after getting the the World Series last season. They got to the World Series and they traded away their best pitcher. They came so close to winning it all for the first time in their history and they made their team worse. Just let that sink in.
Now, with that said, the Rays are a small market team and they have a reputation of trading away players before they hit free agency to maximise the return they can get. And the return they got from the Padres was really good but, by losing Snell, the Rays have a team that is less competitive now than it was at the end of last season.
Just missed out - Charlie Morton
Notable rookie cards - None
There are no Tampa Bay rookies in the Topps 2021 Series 1 set.
Predicted 2021 Team MVP - Austin Meadows
This was a difficult one. Tampa Bay have a lot of really good players without having any huge stars. We're predicting that the Rays will have a bunch of players who hit around .250 with 20ish home runs this season
Tyler Glasnow has an excellent argument here too and we expect him to finish the year with an ERA below 4 and over 200 K's.
But we decided to pick Meadows because we think that he can return to 2019 form or better, which we think would make him an All Star for the second time.
Meadows' 2020 stats suffered as a result of having a poor September before finding himself on the IL. The shortened season emphasised his grim September in a way that a full season wouldn't and we expect that he will have a big bounce back season in 2021.
We wouldn't be surprised if Meadows hits .280, 30 home runs & 90 RBI this year.
Player to watch for the future - Wander Franco
Again, this was a pretty easy pick to make. But that's because of how good Wander Franco is and not because there are a lack of other options to choose from. The Rays have a stacked farm system with no less than 8 in the top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline.
Luis Patino, postseason hero Randy Arozarena or Vidal Brujan would all be great assets for any organisation.
Rays fans can expect to see a bunch of these prospects at Tropicana Field this season, but it will be the arrival of Wander Franco that will be most hotly anticipated.
He has been on an absolute tear since making his debut in affiliated ball in 2018, having not hit below .300 at any of the minor league levels so far.
We don't think it'll be long after his service time has been suitably manipulated that he'll make his debut for the big league club.
Storyline to keep an eye on - How many prospects will play in Tampa Bay this year?
There could be a lot. We've already mentioned Wander Franco above but let's dig a little deeper.
Luis Patino already made his debut for San Diego last year and looks set to join the Rays rotation at some point this year.
Randy Arozarena is already a fan favourite after his exploits in the postseason and will likely be the starting LF on Opening Day.
The speedy Brujan has the potential to develop decent power.
Potential 2-way player Brendan McKay will continue his recovery from injury but is likely called up again at some point.
And that is just a taster. There are a number of others who could make their debut this season and Rays fans will be very interested in how well they do.
Prediction for 2021 - 3rd in the AL East
This was a tricky one. They unquestionably took a hit when they traded Blake Snell and lost Charlie Morton to free agency.
So we envisage the Rays taking a temporary step back in the standings before they quickly climb them again as their prospects become major league regulars.
Tampa Bay's playoff chances might depend on the playoff format that MLB decide to use - remember they announced changes to the 2020 postseason the same day that games started being played.
But the Rays are the Rays. They have an uncanny knack of finding ways to win, so we wouldn't be surprised if they finish the season higher than we predict here.
Do you agree with our predictions? Or have we got them horribly wrong?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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