Friday, November 06

ST. PETERSBURG -- Before spending nearly an hour Tuesday morning answering questions about the Rays’ run to the World Series and what comes next, Erik Neander allowed himself to think back to a year ago.

His year-in-review press conference in 2025 couldn’t have been more different. It took place at the end of September, inside George M. Steinbrenner Field, on the heels of a 77-win season.

This season-ending tradition had to wait until early November, back inside Tropicana Field, because the American League champion Rays made it all the way to Game 5 of the World Series. Less than a week earlier, the Brewers were down the hall, spraying champagne after winning the first championship in franchise history.

“Amazing how much can be accomplished in one year, and next time, we need to make sure we’re the team celebrating at The Trop,” Neander said. “But we were close. It was an unbelievably special year in so many ways. A disappointing ending.”

It was the third time the Rays had reached the World Series since 2008, and the third time they lost. Getting there was a remarkable achievement. Getting there and winning it all remains the objective.

The journey to that goal has already begun, as the Rays’ offseason work is underway. Here are five questions they’re facing in their attempt to repeat as AL champions and finish the job.

1. Will they really keep Drew Rasmussen?
Neander said the Rays have “every intention” to keep their ace atop their rotation next season, even as he’s due a franchise-record $20 million after they picked up his club option for 2027.

But the Rays’ history will ensure that Rasmussen’s future remains a topic of conversation. Even if the club increases its payroll, $20 million will represent a sizable chunk of it. They’ve traded a lot of talented players nearing the end of their contracts, but they’ve never paid one that much for a single season.

Of course, you could easily argue that Rasmussen is worth it for many reasons. He was one of the most effective starters in the Majors this year, going 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA in 172 innings over 30 regular-season starts then recording a 2.20 ERA in 28 2/3 innings over five playoff starts. He’s been that good, when healthy, for years.

Rasmussen is, as pitching coach Kyle Snyder says, “the standard.” It’s hard to imagine the Rays’ rotation without him, especially if they hope to be better than they were this year.

2. What happens to the rest of the rotation?
The questions about Rasmussen obscure potentially bigger issues on the starting staff. How are they going to replace free agents Nick Martinez and Freddy Peralta? And will they trade Shane McClanahan entering his final year before free agency, too?

Laying out the Rays’ existing rotation options to begin next season, Neander pointed to Rasmussen, McClanahan, Griffin Jax, Ian Seymour and the returning Ryan Pepiot.

It would be a promising group, certainly. 

Rasmussen and McClanahan have top-of-the-rotation stuff and track records, when healthy. Jax’s workload was limited, but his run prevention as a starter was elite. Seymour had home run issues and a rough postseason, but showed high-end strikeout stuff in the rotation. And Pepiot was a reliable source of innings with an above-average ERA for the Rays before sitting out this whole year due to a hip injury.

Is it a championship rotation? Is it enough to replace the innings and veteran presence Martinez brought, or the stretch-run fire Peralta provided? Do they have enough depth to withstand a trade or key injury?

3. Will they upgrade their lineup?
You can break down the World Series results any way you want, but two things became apparent over the course of those five games: The Brewers had a deeper lineup and a more dominant bullpen. Let’s start with the first one. 

Tampa Bay’s lineup is mostly set to return -- and that’s hardly a bad thing, considering how dynamic and dangerous it was throughout the regular season. The group was also athletic and full of quality defenders, key traits for a Rays team built on run prevention.

But can they squeeze a little more offensive juice out of the bottom third of the order, whether that’s through internal improvement or some savvy additions, without sacrificing everything else?

4. What about the bullpen?
This seems like less of a pressing issue, as closer Bryan Baker and all his top setup men are set to return: Tyler Wells, Kevin Kelly, Cam Booser, and the list goes on. 

They were an effective group during the regular season despite a lack of elite velocity and swing-and-miss stuff, which Milwaukee featured in abundance in October. But a full season of Wells should help, and the Rays tend to excel at finding diamonds in the rough -- like Booser -- to address areas of need.

Do they have enough to get back to the postseason and keep their foot on the gas all the way through October, or do they need more firepower?

5. Are there any big moves in store?
This seems unlikely, if only because the Rays have such a strong core in place and few glaring weaknesses. But that almost makes this offseason even more interesting, because the lack of holes to fill might allow the Rays to get more creative.

They are always opportunistic, as we were reminded on multiple occasions at this year’s Trade Deadline with the additions of Peralta, Wells and Liam Hicks. And they have shown a greater willingness to be aggressive when they believe certain moves can push them meaningfully closer to winning the franchise’s first World Series.

Will they be the ones celebrating this time next year? That’s the biggest question.

The annual GM Meetings will take place next week, with all of baseball’s executives and agents descending upon Las Vegas on Monday. That is typically when clubs start laying the groundwork for their offseason activity, but the transactional action could begin earlier than most years.

It’s also awards week, with the major BBWAA awards going out each night from Monday-Thursday on MLB Network. The Rays, who can already claim an overdue Gold Glove Award winner in Taylor Walls, have finalists for Manager of the Year, Reliever of the Year and MVP, and they are sure to be represented well during the MLB Awards in Vegas on Wednesday.

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