Rays Projected 2025 Opening Day Roster
The offense has mostly taken shape. What’s left to do?
Last season things did not go the Rays way, and the team triggered a rebuild at the trade deadline by dealing star players Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, and Zach Eflin — dramatically overhauling the farm system and setting up 2025 to be a transition year.
Indeed, the organization is stocked with left-handed hitting talent that’s sure to give the 2026 Rays a brand new look no matter how well the team plays this year.
If things do not go their way again, there are yet more stars that could be traded in Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, and Pete Fairbanks, but for now it looks like all three will be part of the team’s plans for the coming season.
As of today, here’s what that roster looks like.
vs Right Handed Pitching
Below, left handed hitting batters receive one asterisk (*) and switch-hitters two (**).
- Yandy Diaz, 1B
- Brandone Lowe, 2B*
- Junior Caminero, 3B
- Josh Lowe, RF*
- Richie Palacios, LF*
- Danny Jansen, C
- Jonathan Aranda, DH*
- Jonny DeLuca, CF
- Taylor Walls, SS**
I’m not sure it’s fair to slot Walls into the starting lineup given Caballero’s incredible run (literally, on the basepaths) as the team’s primary short stop last season, but no matter who is the starter at the position, it’s all a placeholder for Carson Williams, the team’s top prospect who just might push his way up to the majors this year.
It’s for that reason I actually wonder if a trade of Caballero might be in the cards before the end of the off-season. It’s hard to imagine his value being much higher after leading the American League in swiped bags, and unless he’s going to add outfield to his repertoire, the Rays might need his roster spot elsewhere. More on that in a moment.
I’ve slotted in Jansen here at catcher, as the price tag seems to convey the Rays are looking to the 30-year old backstop to take the lion’s share, but it’s worth noting that 2024’s primary catcher Ben Rortvedt is a left handed hitter.
vs Left Handed Pitching
In this section I’ll indicate the three platoon options in bold.
- Yandy Diaz, 1B
- Junior Caminero, 3B
- Brandon Lowe, RF*
- Christopher Morel, LF
- Curtis Mead, 2B
- Danny Jansen, C`
- Jose Caballero, SS
- Jonny DeLuca, CF
- ???, DH*
Where and whether Brandon Lowe gets reps against left handed pitching in 2025 will be an interesting element to the coming year.
The Rays are sorely lacking right handed hitting talent with corner outfield experience, as neither Walls or Mead have reps in the outfield in the majors or minors, but Lowe has had some brief appearances there for the Rays over the years.
Palacios and J. Lowe combined for only 81 PA against left handed pitching last season and seem likely to be strictly platooned next year, so for me — unless the roster construction changes — the likely solution seems to give B. Lowe outfield reps, a strategy that would be helped by both the short porch and playing on grass instead of concrete.
Given the presence of two SS and two C, it’s hard to see who fills the final slot in the lineup for designated hitter, so it seems like a likely spot to rotate in and out various players under the current roster construction.
That is, of course, unless the Rays decide to trade or option Walls or Caballero, which would leave room to pursue a RHH outfielder to resolve the roster imbalance.
In that scenario, I’d love to see the team target a bat like Mark Canha, who adds a veteran presence, offers wide positional versatility — he got reps at 1B (50 games), DH (34), LF (27), RF (16), and 3B (1) in 2024 — and has averaged a 124 wRC+ against left handed pitching over the last two seasons.
Santa, if you’re listening...