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TAMPA — The Rays’ offseason goals aren’t exactly a secret at this point.
“The outfield is three spots we’ve got to get right. The others are single spots,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas. “I’d probably lean toward the outfield being the area that we’re spending the most time and energy, just trying to make sense of how to best put it together for next year.”
It’s an interesting situation, because the Rays are not lacking for options in the outfield at this point. They have plenty.
That’s why the first step to improvement is not necessarily addition, but evaluation.
“The actual results and output of that unit on both sides of the ball, offense and defensively, is not as a collective where it needed to be,” Neander told Feinsand. “The first part of that is really assessing the players we have and who’s most likely to contribute more than that moving forward. And then, certainly, in addition to that, it’s looking to see if there’s anything outside the walls of our organization that could help us further.
“We’re never going to solve challenges by looking outside the walls of our organization in full. That’s just not going to work. We don’t have that capacity. So, a lot of it is going to be based on the development and the growth of the players we have.”
Neander mentioned counting on better health from certain players, like DeLuca (their best defensive center fielder) and Palacios; continued development from some, like Mangum and Simpson; and better performance from others, namely Lowe, who is two full years removed from his standout 2023 season.
“Two years ago, it was injury; this year, he just couldn’t quite get it synced up. But [he’s] doing some things a little bit differently this offseason,” Neander said of Lowe. “You’re banking on the group you have — a little better health, a little more performance, and then maybe it’s supplemented from the outside.”
First, though, the Rays must decide what to make of the outfielders they have. That’s why it’s a front-burner issue for them early in the offseason.
Here are a few other thoughts Neander shared with Feinsand during his availability at the GM Meetings.
On Taylor Walls: “We appreciate [Walls] greatly. I often think players that are exceptional on the bases and certainly exceptional defensively, especially at a premium position, they’re most appreciated when they’re gone. That was the case. … There was a greater appreciation for what he provides once he wasn’t available. So, he’s going to be in the mix. He’ll be fully healthy coming into camp.”
On shortstop: “I could see us kind of looking around this offseason to see if that’s a position we can just have a little bit stronger competition than we do now as well.”
On catchers Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia: “Nick [is strong] on the defensive side, has some Major League experience. Hunter was someone that was kind of stuck behind one of the greatest catchers of our current generation [the Dodgers’ Will Smith], in addition to some other talent, and didn’t show his best with us, but [we] still think there’s some ingredients there.”
On their catching situation: “If we can find a way to be better at that position, we will, but those are two guys we appreciate. If we roll into next year and that’s where we are — a lot of players, we’re counting on development from where they were, and that certainly applies to those two and [we] think that they can give us more than they did this year. But a longstanding challenge of ours we’re still looking to figure out.”
