Who Will Make the Rays 2025 Opening Day Roster?
The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a disappointing season, missing the playoffs after making it five years in a row, including a trip to the World Series. They ended up trading players like Randy Arozarena and Zach Eflin at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline, showing fans they are wasting no time trying to turn this team around. During this year's free agency, the Rays added Danny Jansen from the Red Sox, providing a position battle for the catcher position with Ben Rortvedt. Ha-Seong Kim, a shortstop from the Padres, is working his way back from a right shoulder injury suffered towards the end of last year. Here is what I predict the lineup and rotation will look like to start the season.
Lineup
Yandy Diaz, 1B
Brandon Lowe, 2B
Junior Caminero, 3B
Josh Lowe, RF
Danny Jansen, C
Jonathan Aranda, DH
Jonny DeLuca, CF
Taylor Walls, SS
The five through seven spots can change as the season goes on, depending on how the hitters are doing, while the other spots seem to be pretty solid. We will see Kim in the lineup at some point in the year, as he is already ramping up the injury process. It is a very similar lineup to the one that the Rays ended with last year, apart from the addition of Jansen. They will be tinkering with this lineup throughout the season with trades and even letting more of the young guys take control. Players like Caminero, who is only 21 years old, and even the number nine overall-rated prospect Carson Williams, who already has high remarks from manager Kevin Cash, could get called up at some point in 2025.
Rotation
Shane McClanahan, LHP
Ryan Pepiot, RHP
Drew Rasmussen, RHP
Taj Bradley, RHP
Shane Baz, RHP
Zack Littell, RHP*
If they stay healthy, this pitching rotation can be one of the most competitive in the league. McClanahan has the number one spot locked up, while spots two through five are all up for grabs. There is a position battle happening between the pitchers, with Cash making it clear he doesn't want a six-man rotation. The Rays signed Rasmussen to an extension in January to be a key part of the rotation, making it look like he is locked into the rotation too. With how it has been looking, that final spot will most likely come down to Baz, Littell, or Bradley. Whoever ends up being that odd man out could still be a big piece to the rotation because it can change at any point for injury or even just to shake things up like they can in the batting lineup if they don't end up getting moved via trade.
