Brandon Lowe, Shane Baz, Mason Montgomery, and Jake Mangum were all traded away this past Friday, bringing back a total of six players and a 2026 draft pick in two separate deals.
The two trades significantly altered the Rays current roster projection. Most notably there is now a massive opening at second base and in the middle of the lineup. The Rays have to find an everyday second baseman, and also replace Lowe’s power bat.
Since the start of the 2019 season, Brandon Lowe has played second base in 54% of the Rays games; the only players on the current 40-man roster to have played the position for Tampa Bay are Taylor Walls (73 games), Richie Palacios (39 games), Jonathan Aranda (23 games), Junior Caminero (1 game), and Yandy Diaz (1 game).
As Walls is likely to be playing shortstop (unless the Rays want to go with Carson Williams from the start of the season),Richie Palacios might be the leading option right now. Palacios has performed well for the Rays when healthy, but he has struggled to stay on the field the past two years. Since joining the Rays, Palacios has hit .239/.353/.337 with 6 HR, registering a 106 wRC+ over 364 plate appearances (only 48 of those came this past season due to multiple injuries).
Jonathan Aranda spent the majority of his minor league career as a second baseman but after 23 games in the big leagues playing the position, the Rays made the decision to make him their primary first baseman. The 27-year old is now an All-Star as he has excelled offensively and defensively; he was among the league leaders with 7 DRS despite several weeks of the season with an injury. Should the Rays decide to move Aranda back to second base, then they’ll be in need of either a first baseman or designated hitter depending on if they move Yandy Diaz.
Chandler Simpson spent his entire collegiate career playing up the middle for Georgia Tech. When the Rays selected him in the 2022 draft, they immediately pushed him into the outfield as they believed, like most everyone else, that with his speed he would become a plus defender. However, after several years Simpson is still well below average — albeit with the occasional jaw dropping play. There have been mixed reports on whether Simpson is capable of playing second base in the big leagues, but with the Rays in need of a second baseman and Simpson now blocked in the outfield, they could try it out.
Ryan Vilade was claimed off waivers early on in the offseason. The soon to be 27-year old only has 28 games of big league experience and the Rays will potentially be the 5th team he has suited up for in the Majors. A versatile defender, Vilade has played all over the diamond throughout his minor league career but has mostly been an outfielder at the big league level. Still, the Rays may decide to give him a look up the middle.
Those are the 40-man roster options but there is also Logan Davidson, a former first round draft pick whom the Rays have signed to a minor league deal and given an invite to spring training. Raynel Delgado is another minor league signing who has spent a lot of time at second base but doesn’t have any big league experience.
The Rays could always look to fill the position externally and we know the team has been talking with the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding Ketel Marte, who is considered among the best second baseman in all of baseball. However, to acquire him, the Rays would have to pay a steep price to Arizona, which has already turned away other suitors who would not meet their asking price.
There are still several weeks remaining this offseason before players begin reporting to Spring Training in mid-February so the Rays have plenty of time to address their roster needs.
