How They Were Acquired: The Tampa Bay Rays’ ALDS Roster
The Rays’ path to building a 96-win playoff team is about as unconventional as you can imagine. They aren’t active in free agency, although both of their offseason signings worked out great. They don’t have a lot of homegrown players, but one is a former Cy Young Award winner and another was an All-Star as a rookie in 2019. They’ve filled out nearly 70% of their roster through trades that mostly didn’t include top prospects going elsewhere. While the constant turnover might not help in growing their fan base — they averaged fewer than 15,000 per home game this season — it’s been a recipe for success on the field.
Here’s how every member of the Rays’ 2019 ALDS roster was originally acquired. The team’s full RosterResource Depth Chart and Payroll pages are also available as a resource.
Homegrown (6)
- Kevin Kiermaier, CF: Drafted 31st Round 2010
- Blake Snell, SP: Drafted First Round (52) 2011
- Yonny Chirinos, RP: Amateur Free Agent (Venezuela) June 2012
- Diego Castillo, RP: Amateur Free Agent (Dominican Republic) March 2014
- Brandon Lowe, INF/OF: Drafted Third Round 2015
- Brendan McKay, RP: Drafted First Round (4) 2017
Total WAR: 10.0
Signed in Free Agency (2)
- Charlie Morton, RP: December 2018 (HOU) — Signed to two-year, $30 million contract ($15 million vesting option in 2021).
- Avisaíl García, OF: January 2019 (CHW) — Signed to one-year, $3.5 million contract.