The Tampa Bay Rays limped into the All-Star break. A four-game sweep at the hands of the division rival Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park is cause for concern. Now, media outlets that cover baseball are starting to rank the Rays outside of the top 10 in their team power rankings. There’s no doubt the last few weeks have been turbulent, but is this an overreaction to a small sample of the regular season?
MLB.com has the Rays at No. 13, a fall from No. 9 just last week. In fact, that drop-off is the largest of any team in their rankings. Bleacher Report was even more harsh, placing the Rays at No. 16, down from No. 10 in the last rankings. The Rays now find themselves 5 1/2 games behind in the division and 1 1/2 games behind the last wild card spot. So, is there any reason to panic? And what is going on with this baseball team?
After a strong first half, the @Tigers continue their reign at the top of the Team Power Rankings ?
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— MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2025
Rays Sliding in Some Recent Power Rankings
The Opposite Ends Of The Pitching Staff
The Rays’ bullpen is hitting the skids at an inopportune time, even though they haven’t been asked to pitch as much this season. In fact, the 540 2/3 innings pitched by the starters is second to the Philadelphia Phillies. No matter, as the Rays have flushed leads in all kinds of fashion. New reliever Bryan Baker‘s first appearance against the Red Sox was emblematic of how anything that could go wrong does go wrong. Here’s a guy making his appearance the same day he got traded, and the results were predictable, yet incredibly frustrating. Two hits, three runs, and two walks feel like a mountain to overcome right now.
The starting pitching is once again carrying this team. They are phenomenal and can be dangerous in a playoff series. All of that is happening amidst the backdrop of trade rumors surrounding a couple of arms. Taj Bradley‘s name has come up recently, but the Rays have to be careful about trading too many arms. Yes, Shane McClanahan is coming back from a nerve issue, but pitching is a scarce commodity in today’s game, and the Rays have plenty of talented guys. All-Star Drew Rasmussen, with his team-leading 2.86 ERA, is generating a ton of buzz.
The Offense is Doing Its Part
The Rays sent three position-player All-Stars to Atlanta. Between Jonathan Aranda, Brandon Lowe, and Junior Caminero, the Rays aren’t starving for breakout seasons from talented players. The offense is playing to expectations by ranking ninth in runs scored, 13th in OPS, 3rd in batting average, and first in stolen bases. No one would be shocked by any of this if you made those predictions before the season started. ESPN noted this when they said, “We’re used to seeing the Rays being led by their pitching, but they’ve been a total gas to watch on offense this year, with Junior Caminero (still just 22), Brandon Lowe and, especially, Jonathan Aranda, who, seemingly overnight, has turned into a star.”
Caminero’s 23 home runs and Lowe’s 19 bombs are certainly giving fans reasons to be excited. Bottom line, the doctor is examining the Rays’ offense and seeing nothing fundamentally wrong. Can they be better against left-handed pitching? Sure, but a lot of teams are in that boat. The front office brass will thank their lucky stars if this run of good fortune continues.
Reason For Concern?
The Tampa Bay Rays have played an unbalanced schedule in terms of home and away contests. They are currently 22-22 on the road and 28-25 at home. The schedule is about to become a lot more unforgiving. They will be playing 18 road games and 8 home games in August, including 10 games in 14 days across four different cities. In other words, fans will know about this team’s toughness when the month of September rolls around.
While they have played better at their adopted home of Steinbrenner Field, the play on the road has deteriorated recently, perhaps serving as an indicator of things to come. The massacre in Boston was preceded by series losses in Minnesota, Detroit, and Baltimore. Truthfully, it feels like the string of series after the All-Star break against the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees could go a long way to determining just how aggressive this team will or won’t be at the trade deadline.
The Last Word
The Rays are still in a really good position as the club moves into the dog days of summer. They have loads of talent, and there’s a genuine belief they can compete at a high level. The group has battled a healthy dose of adversity, which should benefit them as they move forward. They have played games in which they rallied late (or early) and others in which they led from the start. They have a handful of walk-off victories on the resumé.
The bullpen should straighten out in due time. The offense has been a pleasant surprise this season. The starting pitching is putting its best foot forward. The spotlight now shifts to what this team does at the trade deadline. To what extent will they lean in either the buy or sell direction? How does the prospect of new ownership factor into these decisions? We’ve seen the Rays make a big splash for Nelson Cruz at the deadline a few summers ago and a more muted splash at last summer’s trade deadline. All in all, it’s a fun time to be a Rays fan, and there is still a lot more baseball to be played.
Main Photo Credit: © Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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