The winter months of the year mark the offseason of the MLB and they have not been kind to the Tampa Bay Rays. Their offseason this year has been hugely disappointing and their lineup still looks off balance.
The host of “The JP Peterson Show” and Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, JP Peterson, spoke in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda. He expressed his thoughts on the Tampa Bay Rays offseason and thinks that they haven’t done enough.
He said:
“They’ve had an awful offseason, they needed to add offense and they’ve added nothing, nothing. In fact, their general manager literally said at the beginning of the offseason, we can’t stand pat, we got to go out and get some hitters we got to go out and get a left-handed hitter or more. And they added nothing from a position players standpoint, they added Zach Kaplan and a pitcher there. You can’t win in this league like that.”
Peterson cited the Rays’ high injury rate last season and believes they will rely on younger players to avoid it this year.
He added:
“No wonder Franco was hurt last year. He’s a huge part of what they’re doing. Brandon lowe was hurt last year, he only played 60. Some games, they had a lot of injuries last year, guys underperformed. So they feel like some of their younger guys will be better.” “I don’t think so. Their offense is awful.”
Peterson looks at some potential trades for the Tampa Bay Rays which may be sensible
JP Peterson believes that the Tampa Bay Rays will still be looking to make trades and add in key areas before the start of the season. He gave his opinion on the sensible options for the Rays:
“So they’ll be in the hunt, and I also think they’re going to do something, I think they’ll make a move before the season starts. They’re very pitching heavy, you have to lose some.
He continued:
The team will lose a big time pitcher, and they’ll come knocking on the raise door, and they’ll make a deal. And I don’t think trading Tyler Glasnow was out of the question. He’s one of the top five pitchers in my mind at the American League, they’ve signed up to a two year deal, $6 million this year, $25 million next year. I can tell you this, the Rays aren’t paying him 25 million next year. That’s not what they do.”
Only time will tell what moves the Tampa Bay Rays will make and what their lineup will look like when they face the Detroit Tigers on the opening day of the 2023 MLB season.
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