The last AL East team I am looking at, is the reigning AL East division champs, Tampa Bay Rays. They are coming off a first place finish in the AL East with a 40-20 record. They also made a deep run into the playoffs, beating the Yankees, beating the Astros, but losing to the Dodgers in the World Series. But, even after the success they had last year, the Rays are the Rays and they’re cheap. In the offseason they restructured their roster trading away, their top starter, former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
| Additions | Departures |
| LHP Rich Hill | LHP Aaron Loup |
| RHP Chris Archer | LHP Blake Snell |
| RHP Collin McHugh | RHP John Curtiss |
| RHP Luis Patino | RHP Charlie Morton |
| RHP Michael Wacha | C Michael Perez |
| C Francisco Mejia | 1B Nate Lowe |
| C Mike Zunino (Re-Signed) | Outfielder Hunter Renfroe |
During the offseason, the Rays did what the Rays do, and that’s shed payroll and rebuild. They did the unthinkable and traded away their ace, mere months after making the World Series. To be fair, fans expected some sort of “breakup” because of how manager Kevin Cash pulled Blake Snell in the 5th inning of game 6 of the World Series, even though Snell was dealing. If I was Snell, I would have demanded a trade right after game 6, because the Rays don’t take off the handcuffs. Moving on; no real notable names that were signed. One that does stand out, is former Dodger, good ‘ol Dick Mountain, Rich Hill. He is a guy that fits into the Rays’ model and the way they work. Another name that may stand out, is former Ray Chris Archer. Archer, after being traded to Pittsburgh, struggled so bad. Maybe he can find his groove again, but regardless, Tampa fleeced Pittsburgh when the Archer deal was made.
Projected Starting Rotation
| 1 | Tyler Glasnow |
| 2 | Rich Hill |
| 3 | Chris Archer |
| 4 | Michael Wacha |
| 5 | Ryan Yarbrough |
Looking at the potential rotation, there’s not much to talk about. The only big name is Tyler Glasnow, who is a stud on the mound. He is the only guy, they can count on to pitch every fifth day. Hill and Wacha have injury histories that will follow them, Archer is a reclamation project so you can’t count on him until he proves he’s back, and Yarbrough is the opener the Rays use that only goes a max 4 innings. Glasnow has the potential to win the AL Cy Young award, but if and this is a BIG IF, IF they take off the damn handcuffs and training wheels. One last thing, good luck to Rich Hill, who has top 3 all time nicknames, Dick Mountain.
Projected Line-Up
| 1 | 2B Brandon Lowe | L |
| 2 | LF Randy Arozarena | R |
| 3 | DH Austin Meadows | L |
| 4 | 1B Yandy Diaz/Ji-Man Choi | R/L |
| 5 | SS Willy Adames | R |
| 6 | 3B Joey Wendle | L |
| 7 | C Mike Zunino | R |
| 8 | RF Manuel Margot | R |
| 9 | CF Kevin Kiermaier | L |
The line-up is a good line-up on paper. They have great hitters, like Austin Meadows, Kevin Kiermaier, Arozarena, etc. Names to keep an eye on are, Arozarena, Meadows, Choi, and Diaz. Diaz and Choi will be splitting time platooning over at 1st base, but both are different hitters but they get the job done. Diaz is more of a power hitter, while Choi is a gap-to-gap hitter who mainly hits doubles and refuses to strikeout. They balance out the lineup. Arozarena, came to the spotlight in the postseason last year, but will the success carry over? That’s the big question. I don’t expect Arozarena to duplicate his season last year, but I do expect him to have a good year. Lastly with Meadows, its time for him to come into his own, and be the guy that the Rays traded for in the Chris Archer deal.
2021 PECOTA AL East Projections
The PECOTA projections have Tampa finishing in 2nd place behind the Yankees. I get why this is the projection, because the Yankees are the Yankees and they are the “team to beat” on paper. Although, the Rays have shown that we can’t count them out, because they always have something up their sleeves and somehow make into the playoffs. I predict the Rays will finish in 1st place and “shock the world” once again. I can’t count the Rays out because of what they have done in the past.
