2025 MLB Future Market Remains Skeptical About Tampa Bay Rays

2025 MLB Future Market Remains Skeptical About Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays never get massive support on the future market, but they draw their share of support from bargain hunters and sharps. The public ignores them for the power brands such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Yet Tampa Bay often finishes ahead of those teams. However, for 2024, a lackluster offseason has turned off gamblers. Although the Tampa Bay Rays have made the baseball betting odds playoffs in five of the last six seasons. Also, they have one American League pennant. Thus, their failure to qualify in 2024 was a disappointment.

2025 Tampa Bay Rays MLB Betting Information

World Series Championship OddsClick Here

Bet Now on MLB

2025 Tampa Bay Rays Manager and Key Players

Kevin Cash has been the Rays manager since 2015. Before 2024, he produced five consecutive playoff sportsbook seasons and a 2020 AL pennant.

Shane McClanahan is the #1 starter on the Rays. Last year he was 11-2 with a 3.29 earned run average and 1.18 WHIP. He was a 2022 and 2023 All-Star.

Namely, 2B Brandon Lowe is a 2019 All-Star and had another productive 2023. Low scored 58 runs with 21 home runs and 68 runs batted in with a .231 average and .771 OPS. In 2024, Lowe produced 56 runs, 19 doubles, 21 home runs, and 58 runs batted in with an average of .244 and an OPS of .784. He played in 107 games.

2025 Tampa Bay Rays Team Overview

Tampa Bay has been a consistent winner, even though they have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Tampa Bay has little in the way of fan support or revenue. But they are managed exceptionally well. Nobody in baseball does more with less than the Tampa Bay Rays.

2025 Offseason Major moves: Signed C Danny Jansen to a 1-year deal, Signed INF Ha-Seong Kim to a 2-year deal.

The Rays do this every winter, it seems: Trade away established players getting closer to free agency. Sign one or two middle-tier free agents to short-term deals. And then acquire a platoon of under-the-radar relievers on minor-league deals. Rinse, repeat.

Regarding baseball operations, it has been a boring offseason in Tampa. Still, that’s probably a good thing, considering all the turmoil swirling around their stadium plans.

For the first time since 2018, the Rays face the challenge of rebounding from a sub-.500 season. As usual, the Rays haven’t made many notable additions. So improvement will have to come from within. That’s certainly possible, given the team’s strong farm system and talented players returning from injury, such as ace Shane McClanahan.

Underneath the MLB odds concern about Tampa Bay’s home ballpark, the big league team is having a typical offseason: To show, the Rays have traded away some of their more accomplished players in return for inexpensive depth. They once again look like a team that will contend for a wild-card spot.

In 2024, the Tampa Bay Rays had a record of 80-82 and was 4th in the American League East Division. Offensively, Tampa Bay ranked 28th for runs scored, 26th for batting average, 28th for OPS, 27th for home runs, and 4th for stolen bases. In comparison, defensively, Tampa Bay ranked 7th for earned run average, 3rd for WHIP, 24th for strikeouts, 25th for quality starts, 24th for fewest errors, and 10th for bullpen ERA.

Tampa Bay ranks 26th for MLB payroll.