SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates with teammate Junior Caminero after a win against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on August 13, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
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Of the nine players in the Rays’ batting order Opening Day 2025 against the visiting Rockies, only four remain with the club less than one month before Charlotte Sports Park buzzes with activity that signals the start of spring training.
The trade of right fielder Josh Lowe in a three-team deal that sent the lefthanded hitter to the Angels and brought second baseman Gavin Lux to Tampa Bay from the Reds, was the latest in a flurry of activity that has filled the transactions section since the new ownership group assumed control in October.
Not that the Rays are bereft of familiar faces. Yandy Diaz, who was the Opening Day designated hitter a year ago after winning the American League batting crown in 2024, remains on board. For how long? It was last spring training when the club picked up his $12 million option for the 2026 season and added a vesting option for 2027 that would be good for $13 million should Diaz, who turns 35 in August, reach certain performance plateaus.
Diaz, third baseman Junior Caminero, shortstop Taylor Walls and center fielder Jonny DeLuca comprise the quartet that remains from last year’s season opener. DeLuca played only 19 more games in an injury-plagued (shoulder, hamstring) 2025.
Lux fills second base void
Brandon Lowe was the Rays’ longest-tenured player having debuted in 2018, an honor that now belongs to Diaz. The lefty-swinging second baseman was dealt to the Pirates in December and took with him a resume that includes being one of three players in Tampa Bay’s 28-season history with multiple 30-homer seasons.
The trade left the Rays without an everyday second baseman. Richie Palacios was, and remains, a candidate to see some time at the position, though the injury bug has rendered him far from reliable. The 28-year-old lefty bat, who provides versatility, sound defense and speed, played all of 19 games last season due to a knee injury. He is 28-for-29 in stolen bases during a 195-game career.
Brett Wisely, another lefthanded hitter, was drafted by the Rays in 2019 (15th round) and spent three years in the system before he was dealt to San Francisco. He has started 81 games at second base in parts of three MLB seasons, mostly with the Giants. He was acquired from the Braves in November.
The 28-year-old Lux joins an infield that features Jonathan Aranda at first, Caminero at third and, if he is ready for a larger sample size at the big-league level, Carson Williams at short. Otherwise, Taylor Walls, who can also play second, will be at short.
Though the 20th overall selection of the Dodgers in 2015 became a familiar name in Dave Roberts’ lineup, Lux did not live up to the first-round expectation (.252/.326/.383 in all or part of five seasons) before he was dealt to the Reds last winter. Lux, who faced his former team in the NLDS, fared a little better (.269/.350/.374) in his lone season with the Reds. Arbitration was avoided when Cincinnati signed him to a $5.525 million, one-year deal a week before the trade to Tampa Bay.
Lux, whose first game in 2026 will be the 500th of his career, has started at five positions in his career with the majority at second base where he has a .976 career fielding percentage. He was primarily a left fielder and DH in his lone season with the Reds.
Muddled outfield picture
The Rays had five players start at least 57 games in the outfield last season. The trade of Lowe, who is coming off two injury-plagued and largely unproductive seasons since an impressive (.292, 20 HR, 32 SB) first full season of 2023, only adds to the list of outfield questions, including in the power department.
The only returning outfielder among the five is Chandler Simpson, who often sparkled in center and left, but does not have much of an arm. Offensively, any ball on the ground has a good chance of being a base hit. The speed demon hit .295 and stole 44 bases, though only 18 of 122 hits went for extra bases, none of which went over the wall. Hence, the need to provide some pop elsewhere in the outfield.
CLEVELAND: Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles bats during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 22, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
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With Lowe off to Anaheim, candidates to be slotted into right field include lefthanded hitting Jake Fraley, who was signed as a free agent in November nearly a decade after the Rays drafted him (second round) in 2016, though he did not play for the parent club. Fraley started 177 games in right field the past three seasons, mostly with Cincinnati where he was a teammate of Lux’s last year until he was waived in August. Fraley, who was claimed by Atlanta, is a career .248/.333/.402.
Another Tampa Bay free agent signing was a player the team is very familiar with. Cedric Mullins spent seven-plus years with AL East rival Baltimore before he was dealt to the Mets at last season’s trade deadline. The 31-year-old center fielder has some pop in his lefthanded bat having launched at least 15 homers in each of his six full seasons, though he regressed across the board last year (.216/.299/.391) and has not had an OPS north of .305 since 2022.
A healthy DeLuca should be in the mix along with Palacios. Ryan Vilade, another former member of the Reds who the Rays acquired in November, and Justin-Henry Malloy, who arrived from Detroit earlier this month, are righthand hitters who could vie for a roster spot.
With another move or two likely, all of the above could have a different look by the time the Grapefruit League season winds down, if not much sooner.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlayberger/2026/01/16/only-four-players-remain-from-tampa-bay-rays-2025-opening-day-lineup/
