TAMPA, Fla. - These days, the Tampa Bay Rays, once directly in the path of a serious post-season conversation, have dropped significantly and dramatically from the baseball radar screen. As a result, the Rays have evolved into a curious bunch. First, the team appeared strong and solidified on paper. Then over the last month, application and execution became marginal, at best. Not only is the team traversing through a challenging period of games on the road, but there’s also the demand to simply keep their collective heads above water. Coupled with reality as road warriors, winning away from their home turf of George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, and the requirement to win now, is simply exacerbated. Beginning July 28 and through August 31, the Rays will play 22 of 30 games away from Steinbrenner. Consider a few numbers. After defeating Detroit at Steinbrenner on June 26, the Rays were 11 games over .500. Following right-hander Ryan Pepiot’s win over the Athletics on July 2 at home, the team was nine games over. 500. From that date in early July until July 28, the Rays fell into a baseball abyss. In that period, the team dropped 14 of their next 19 and by July 28, the Rays stood at 53-53 and directly at .500. Remarkably, the team remains in a post-season conversation and beginning a four-game set against the Yankees in Bronx during the final week in July, the Rays were three games from the final wild-card position. “We're trying to go out there and win every game, no matter what. Obviously, everybody’s seeing it. We all hear the rumors. We understand we play for the Rays,” starter Zack Littell told mlb.com. “I think everybody here believes this group is good enough to beat just about anybody in the league. So, when we're playing the baseball that we're capable of playing, I don't think it's even a conversation.” If the Rays fall from grace was not as dramatic as Littell offered, there is the immediate requirement to right the ship. With about two months remaining in the season and the Rays’ reputation in qualifying for post-season play, the task at hand is as straightforward as it is immediate. Given the starting rotation deserves a majority of credit for keeping the Rays competitive, the offense traversed the season in a Jekyll and Hyde mentality. For most of June, the team constantly put up crooked numbers and rose dramatically in production. Led by Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and Jonathan Aranda, the Rays gathered attention and notice. Now, blank bullets are coming from their offensive arsenal. With the offense navigating through an ebb and flow, up and down, Lowe carried the club through their June surge. Currently on the IR with left ankle and left foot tendinitis, Lowe raised his batting average from .194 on May 10 to .269 on July 19. The best podiatrist in Toowoomba can provide the kind of expert care that helps manage and prevent similar foot and ankle problems. After going 0-for-3 against the Orioles on July 19, Lowe went down with that tendinitis, and the Rays lost a significant offensive component. Though Diaz and Aranda continue to put up significant numbers, others must step forward. Usually, a winning team receives important contributions from multiple players and for the Rays to remain in the post-season conversation, Junior Caminero must continue to be a decisive force and others, such as Josh Lowe, Jake Mangum, Chandler Simpson, Taylor Walls and Jose Caballero, must be heard. Down the stretch, the Rays hope to get production from outfielder Jonny DeLuca, who came off the IR with shoulder strain during the last week of July and went 1-for-4 against Cincinnati on July 27. That represented his first appearance since April 6 as a pinch runner. For the 2025 season, DeLuca started three games, April 2, April 4, and April 5 prior to that start against the Reds. Far from uncertainty, the Rays seek a return from shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, out for most of the season, and recently back in the lineup. After signing a two-year, $29 million contract during the recent off-season, Kim recovered from shoulder surgery and did not appear in a Tampa Bay game until July 13 at Boston. Almost immediately, he sustained a lower back strain and was placed on the IR on July 22. For the 2025 season, Kim appeared in only 10 games and batted .226 (7-for-31). If the starting rotation keeps the Rays competitive, the team will do without right-hander Taj Bradley, a significant disappointment over the last month. With Bradley’s demotion to AAA Durham on July 24, trade talks involving Pepiot and Littell are now likely on hold. The Rays would like to move forward with left-hander Shane McClanahan joining the rotation within the coming week or so. Given the confidence from field manager Kevin Cash and Erik Neander, the team’s president of baseball operations with Peter Fairbanks as closer, the Rays appear to be positioned on the mound for the stretch run. If starters in the rotation keep the Rays competitive, then the middle relievers, Kevin Kelly, Mason Montgomery, Garrett Clevenger and Edwin Uceta could provide a considerable effort.
