Rays get worrisome offseason grade despite Cedric Mullins, Gavin Lux additions

The Tampa Bay Rays will play their home games at the renovated Tropicana Field in 2025, but there's no promise the club will improve with a return to its home ballpark. 

They've made several additions to the roster this winter, but how impactful will they be? The Athletic's Jim Bowden sees them as a last-place team in the AL East and gave them a C+ grade for their offseason moves. 

"The Rays made more trades than almost any other team, but it seemed like they acquired more quantity than quality...The Rays’ new ownership group made it clear, through the club’s actions, that they didn’t want to add significant salary to the payroll this offseason, instead emphasizing their efforts to get a new stadium," Bowden wrote Monday. 

How the Rays can spend more on payroll in the future 

Tampa Bay has signed three free agents with less than two weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Outfielders Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins signed one-year deals for $3 and $7 million, respectively, and left-hander Steven Matz agreed to a two-year contract worth $15 million. 

Second baseman Gavin Lux was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team trade, one of nine trades the Rays made this offseason. 

As Bowden writes, the burning question for the Rays is whether a move to a new stadium can help them increase revenue. In turn, the organization would have more financial flexibility to use in free agency. For now, the front office seems poised to stick to a tight budget. 

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