This was Marc Topkin’s question in the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday. He offers a good overview of the disappointments of this seasonIncluding topics such as the terrible record of Tampa Bay in One-Run Games.
However, there is one striking omission from the article that cannot be ignored: the fire sale of 2024.
In the midst of a losing season in 2024, the Front Office of Rays shed two of the best bats of the team in Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes, and replaced those players with outfielder Dylan Carlson and the positive Christopher Morel.
On the way to the 2025 season, the schedule of Paredes was adopted by potential All-Star Junior Caminero-Wiens 45 homeruns a shortage in binding the franchise record of Carlos Pena from 2007 and Christopher Morel, who would take over the left role of Randy Arozarena.
Christopher Morel contributed 190 PA in the 2025 season and eventually lost his starting role to Kameron Misner and Chandler Simpson, while already contributing to a 59 WRC+ and -0.8 war. Only six Rays players have achieved such meager achievements while picking up so many record performances in franchise history, with the only others in the last two decades Jesus Sucre (2018), Mikie Mahtook (2016) and Reid Brignac (2011).
In the meantime, Randy Arozarena has delivered for the Playoff Bound Bound Seattle Mariners, who set up his fifth consecutive 20 Homerun / 20 stolen basic season. Only 21 players in the history of the Major League have reached five 20/20 seasons, and only ten have done this six or more times.
- Barry Bonds: 10 seasons (1987–1998)
- Bobby Bonds: 10 seasons (1969–1979)
- Bobby Abreu: 9 seasons (1999–2010)
- José Ramírez: 7 seasons (2018–2025)
- Carlos Beltrán: 7 seasons (1999–2008)
- Eric Davis: 7 Seasons (1986–1996)
- Álex rodríguez: 6 seasons (1997–2007)
- Raúl Mondesí: 6 seasons (1995–2003)
- Henry Aaron: 6 seasons (1961–1968)
- Willie Mays: 6 Seasons (1955–1960)
- Randy Arozarena: 5 seasons (2021–2025)
- Francisco Lindor: 5 seasons (2018–2025)
- Ian Desmond: 5 seasons (2012–2018)
- Mike Forel: 5 seasons (2012–2018)
- Hanley Ramírez: 5 seasons (2007–2012)
- Mike Cameron: 5 seasons (1999–2006)
- Ray Lankford: 5 Seasons (1992–1998)
- Howard Johnson: 5 Seasons (1987–1991)
- Joe Carter: 5 Seasons (1986–1991)
- Kirk Gibson: 5 Seasons (1984–1988)
- Darryl Strawberry: 5 Seasons (1984–1988)
Arozarena is only one player, and one who had his own “struggles” at the end of this year. Despite a 120 WRC+ of the season and a 167 WRC+ in July, he struggled with an 89 WRC+ that yielded its war contributions to a neutral 0.0 for the last two months.
In honesty, we rarely know with certainty what a profession will prove to be. Whether a player succeeds or fails or even gets injured to play for one or the other franchise is impossible to tell. Randy had a slow start of his time with the Mariners last season, was that a similar malaise in the late season, or was it related to the difficult reality to be traded on a new club on the opposite corner of the map? The human element is important in all things.
How else can the rays look with Arozarena and Paredes on this schedule? It is a bit of an uncomfortable fit, that’s for sure.
It is easy to imagine that Caminero is promoted to a middle infield role with paredes that is still on the roster, so that Brandon Lowe or Jose Caballero sends to an outfield corner. Arozarena then holds the other corner position of the corner, while Deluca and then Mangum (as the injury replacement) patrol center field and the constantly struggling Josh Lowe from the starting line -up.
- Randy Arozarena (R) – LF or RF
- Yandy Diaz (R) – DH
- Brandon Lowe (L) – 2B or LF
- Junior Caminero (R) – SS or 2B
- Isaac Paredes (R) – 3B
- Jonathan Aranda (L) – 1B
- Jose Caballero (R) – SS of RF
- Jake Mangum (s) – CF
- Danny Jansen (R) – C
Now I am not here to say that two players solve everything for the rays, the team eventually missed the post season with ten victories; Nevertheless, the Pythagorean wins of the team was already 84 victories, and if you think having paredes and arozarena even makes this team better four victories, it is not difficult to imagine that there is a little more punch for the Rays Offense Laat in Games, or that one Run results are much more often more often.
There are many reasons why the rays were not successful in 2025 – again, the article from Topkin has many reasons why you should consider – but let’s not forget the mess that was made before the season ever started.
#ray #season #wrong