The Tampa Bay Rays didn't finish their 2022 campaign the way they wanted to, as they were swept out of the playoffs in the Wild Card round by the Cleveland Guardians. Both squads had a similar formula, focusing on defense and pitching because their lineups weren't very strong, but Cleveland was ultimately able to get the better of the Rays.
Tampa Bay has built themselves into a consistent winner, despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the MLB. They have developed guys such as Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena, and Shane McClanahan, which has been great, but they have struggled to retain them for long periods of time.
Due to the low payroll the Rays find themselves with, some players decided to take their talents elsewhere this offseason, such as Corey Kluber, Mike Zunino, and Kevin Kiermaier. Those losses will be difficult for the Rays to absorb, but they still have a great farm system led by Taj Bradley and Curtis Mead. That's important for the Rays, because their lone major-league free agent signing was Zach Eflin.
As the Rays continue developing their young core, it will be important for some of the key players currently on their roster to have bounce back campaigns in 2023. Let's take a look at three players who need to bounce back this season in order for the Rays to win, and see why that's the case.
Colin Poche
Colin Poche went through a rigorous arbitration case this offseason, and he was disappointed by the outcome. Poche's 2022 campaign marked his return to the mound after missing the entire 2020 and 2021 campaigns due to several different injuries. Poche managed to lower his ERA to 3.99 compared to 4.70 from his rookie season, but that's still pretty high for the middle reliever from Tampa Bay.
Poche surrendered six blown saves in 2022, which may have been magnified by his subpar performance. However, the organization and fanbase must emphasize his 16 vital holds in 58.2 innings pitched. As he enters his third season in the majors, Poche must continue being that lethal threat in the middle innings, while also potentially closing out some contests, for the Rays moving forward.
Ryan Thompson
Another reliever on the list is Ryan Thompson. His 2021 performance was great, as he pitched 34 innings and allowed only nine earned runs, good for a pretty 2.38 ERA. Rays manager Kevin Cash's unorthodox approach with his relievers makes Thompson an interesting weapon, but the main problem was he wasn't nearly as effective in 2022.
Thompson's earned runs tally doubled, and his strikeout rate decreased, despite pitching more innings in 2022. Like Poche, he endured a messy arbitration case and expressed his displeasure with the outcome on social media. He claimed that certain metrics were brought up by the arbitrators, such as blown saves and lack of usage against lefty batters, that were used against. But that's in the past now; Thompson has a chance to prove the Rays wrong, and he's going to have to find his 2021 form in order for the team to succeed.
Tyler Glasnow
Tyler Glasnow‘s career has been full of injuries, and he's already suffered an oblique injury that will hold him out for the next six-to-eight weeks. Glasnow just finished recovering from Tommy John surgery towards the end of 2022, which limited him to just three total starts (including playoffs) on the season. Tampa Bay was hoping this would be the season where they would have a healthy and formidable rotation, but Glasnow's injury has already ensured that won't be the case.
Glasnow will need to flourish with the Rays instantly this season once he returns to the mound. If that does not occur, the likelihood of Glasnow getting traded will increase immensely, as the Rays don't exactly like to hand out big contracts, especially to injury prone pitchers. Glasnow will need to pitch nearly 100 innings and strike out over 100 batters, or else his tenure with the Rays could be coming to an end sooner rather than later.
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