Tampa Bay Rays

ST. PETERSBURG — Former Rays player and coach Ozzie Timmons is rejoining his hometown team in a development role, working with young coaches and players. Timmons, 54, attended Brandon High and the University of Tampa and had a short stint with the 2000 Devil Rays during a 16-year playing career. He then spent 15 years coaching for the Rays, including 2018-21 in the big leagues. He left for a ...

The Tampa Bay Rays have produced plenty of dynamic infielders over the years, and they seemingly have another one coming down the pipeline. In the leadup to their fully-updated rankings across the league, MLB.com is revealing their top 10 prospects at each position. MLB Pipeline reporter Sam Dykstra dove into third basemen on Monday, including Tampa Bay's 2023 first round pick on his list. Brayden Taylor was ranked as the No. 4 third base prospect entering 2025, coming in behind Coby Mayo of the Baltimore Orioles, Matt Shaw of the Chicago Cubs and Cam Smith of the Houston Astros.

In an offseason featuring challenging stadium issues and few notable roster improvements, there actually has been some encouraging news for the Rays. Third baseman Junior Caminero is putting on quite a show in the Dominican league, hitting .440 through his first 24 games and piling up praise. Most notably from his Escogido manager, who knows a bit about hitting — Albert Pujols.

On Thursday, the New York Mets agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Jesse Winker. Winker ended the season with New York in 2024 after a mid-season trade from the Washington Nationals. After getting to the NLCS last season, the Mets appear stacked on paper after adding Juan Soto, Winker, and Frankie Montas.

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez for a one-year deal with a club option for 2026.

The Tampa Bay Rays are gearing up for a peculiar 2025 campaign, where they won't be playing their home games at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay has signed right-handed relief pitcher Andrew Wantz to a two-year minor league contract, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It does not come with an invite to spring training, as Wantz is still making his way back from elbow surgery.

The race to land Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki is nearing its boiling point, and one elite talent on the

Brandon Lowe has been slowly rebuilding his reputation over the past few years, and the Tampa Bay Rays veteran's resurgence at the plate is starting to pay off. MLB Network continued its annual "Top 10 Players Right Now" series on Thursday, moving on to second basemen. Past performance, advanced metrics, traditional stats and input from the MLB Network research team were all taken into account, and it was Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte who wound up atop the list. After missing out on a top 10 spot in 2024, Lowe was ranked No. 7 this time around.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, New York Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio was among the very best prospects

For the third year in a row, the Rays' top international signee was a young, multitooled, athletic outfielder from the Dominican Republic. Seeing him take the major-league field in a few years alongside their top signees from the past two years, Leonardo Pineda (2024) and Brailer Guerrero (2023). “I just saw Brailer and Pineda two days ago in the (team's Dominican Republic) complex, and those guys are monsters,” Rays international scouting director Steve Miller said.

The Seattle Mariners have acquired utility player Miles Mastrobuoni in a trade with the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.

Yandy Díaz may be the second highest-paid player on the Tampa Bay Rays' payroll heading into 2025, but his contract is still being held up as one of the best deals in baseball. FOX Sports' Rowan Kavner compiled a list of the 25 biggest bargains across MLB on Tuesday, highlighted by Ronald Acuña Jr., Yordan Álvarez and other superstars. The Rays initially acquired Díaz via trade in the 2019 offseason, but he didn't become an everyday member of their lineup until 2021.

The reliever gets a $9 million salary this year and the agreement includes a $9 million team option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout. Kittredge can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for games and $250,000 for games finished: $50,000 each for 35, 40. Kittredge gets a hotel suite on road trips. The 34-year-old right-hander went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA and one save last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, striking out 67 and walking 20 in 70 2/3 innings.

With Tropicana Field’s roof destroyed, the Tampa Bay Rays will hold this year’s Fan Fest at the St. Pete Pier on Feb. 15. The event will run from 1-5 p.m. and will be free, though a ticket is required from raysbaseball.com/fanfest. Activities will include opportunities to interact with players, as well as games, mascot appearances, a stage show, a Bargain Beach version of the annual charity ...

The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday morning that there would be an expansion of access to Spring Training games on TV. According to a press release, 26 of 30 Spring Training games will be viewable in some form this spring. These platforms include local television, cable, or streaming. The first game available to watch will be the Spring Training home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, Feb. 23. FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally), the Braves regional sports network, will broadcast seven Braves Spring Training games. These games will air on cable, satellite and virtual streaming providers, as well as be available to stream on the FanDuel Sports Network app, either by authenticating

Marty DeMerritt had a huge impact as a pitching coach during a career that spanned more than 40 years, the last 23 in the Rays' minor-league system. And he may have been an even better storyteller. “When he started, you’d sit down and you’d listen and you’d wonder if all of it really happened,” said former Rays pitcher/current broadcaster Doug Waechter. “The reality was, it did. The stories ...

Jan. 12—ROCHESTER — Mac Horvath has the ideal makeup for baseball, a roller coaster of a game for most players with its individual ups and downs and emotional swings galore. Consider Horvath's even-keeled and tempered approach midway through this past Arizona Fall League schedule. That's when the Tampa Bay Rays minor-league utility man went chasing a ball along the third baseline and wound up ...

ST. PETERSBURG — Remember the 2022-23 offseason, when the Rays talked openly about the need to improve their offense, pursued several free-agent/trade options but couldn’t find the right fit and instead made their only big deal the signing of starter Zach Eflin? That actually worked out pretty well. The returning younger players and others coming off down years delivered in a big way as they ...

The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed catcher Rene Pinto off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, the club announced. Arizona's 40-man roster is at 39 players, and Pinto is the fourth catcher along with Gabriel Moreno, Adrian Del Castillo and Jose Herrera. Pinto, 28, has spent the past 12 years in the Tampa Bay Rays' organization with 82 MLB games played over the past three years. The Orioles claimed him off waivers from Tampa Bay earlier this offseason. In 154 plate appearances over the past two years, Pinto produced a batting line of .241/.275/.448 with eight home runs and six doubles. In 53 games for Triple-A Durham last year, he slashed .191/.257/.373. René Pinto spent eight seasons in

The Tampa Bay Rays avoided salary arbitration with all seven of their eligible players ahead of Thursday afternoon's deadline, including starting pitcher Zack Littell. According to FanSided's Robert Murray, Littell will make $5.72 million in 2025 – quite the step up from his $1.85 million salary in 2024. MLB Trade Rumors had projected him to earn $4.8 million at the start of the offseason, so Littell outperformed expectations on that front. Littell has been one of Tampa Bay's most dependable pitchers since getting claimed off waivers in 2023.

The New York Yankees have made many impact moves after losing Juan Soto. The Yankees let Gleyber Torres walk in free agency. DJ LeMahieu is an option, but perhaps a risk. CBS Sports' Mike Axisa noted that Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe could be a fit in the Bronx next season.

Thanks in large part to his record-breaking 2023 and 2024 campaigns, Tampa Bay Rays prospect Chandler Simpson has earned some high praise heading into 2025. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo recently conducted a poll across the league, gathering executives and scouts' thoughts on the game's most intriguing young players. Unsurprisingly, Simpson lapped the competition by picking up 48.8% of the vote. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. came in second with 17.1%, followed by Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford in third with 14.6%, then Detroit Tigers outfielder Max Clark and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Konnor Griffin tied for fourth with 4.9% each.

FILE -Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Amed Rosario throws to first base after fielding a ground ball during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File0(AP/PME) FILE -Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Amed Rosario throws to first base after fielding a ground ball during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File0(AP/PME) WASHINGTON (AP) — Infielder Amed Rosario and the Washington Nationals agreed Wednesday to a $2 million, one-year contract. Rosario, 29, hit .280 with 18 doubles, three triples,

Five Rays remain eligible for arbitration: Right-handers Shane Baz and Zack Littell, left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, catcher Ben Rortvedt and shortstop Taylor Walls.

Former top prospect Luis Patino has re-signed with the San Diego Padres on a minor league contract. The Padres have brought back #OldFriend RHP Luis Patiño on a minor league deal. As the post states, Patino is no longer on the 40-man roster. A native of Colombia, Patino was a Top-50 prospect in baseball for three straight years from 2019-2021.

The Tampa Bay Rays are no longer interested in getting out of their lease to play in their hurricane-damaged ballpark, stating instead their clear preference is to start the 2026 season in a rebuilt Tropicana Field, according to an email from team president Matt Silverman to public officials. Tropicana Field's roof was torn apart when Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Tampa on Oct. 9. It has been estimated that the stadium, in St. Petersburg, will need about $56 million in renovations. In the ongoing discussions about how to accomplish such repairs, the Rays previously had considered an option where the city of St. Petersburg would buy out the team's contractual obligation to rebuild the

Detroit Tigers left-hander Dietrich Enns has pitched a total of 26⅓ innings throughout his MLB career, but he spent the past three seasons in Asia.

DALLAS — As the father of three young kids and manager of 26 players and dozens of staff from different backgrounds, Rocco Baldelli typically has plenty of thoughts and words racing through his head. But seeing videos and photos of Tropicana Field ravaged by Hurricane Milton in early October left the former longtime Rays player and coach speechless. “That was an incredibly sad picture, and I ...

Eloy Jiménez was once one of the top prospects in all of baseball coming up through the White Sox system, regarded as a foundational piece for a core of would-be White Sox future stars. On Monday, he signed a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to MLB.com. Jiménez, who rose as high as No. […]