Tampa Bay Rays: mlb FUTURES & BETTING ODDS

TAMPA BAY RAYS 2021 OUTLOOK

It would be hard to blame Rays fans for still having a bitter taste in their mouths for the way the 2020 season ended, despite the club reaching the World Series for the second time in their history. Blake Snell was leading the favored Dodgers 1-0 in Game 6 going into the sixth inning. Snell claims he saw Nick Anderson warming up in the bullpen, and he suddenly worried that he would be pulled from the game. He promptly gave up a hit and was pulled by manager Kevin Cash. Anderson couldn't hold the lead, and the Rays lost the game and the series. 

Snell understood that this was the way the Rays managed ballgames. He then learned how the Rays conduct business, which is to get the most value out of their players on the field and then in the trade market with other teams. Snell was traded to San Diego in the offseason after winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2018 and possibly could've been the World Series MVP last year in a different universe. 

2021 Featured Players

But the Rays' machine keeps on churning. Tyler Glasnow assumes the role as ace, Rich Hill replaces veteran Charlie Morton, Ryan Yarbrough gets promoted from opener to starter, and Chris Archer has returned to the fold on the cheap after the Rays acquired Glasnow from Pittsburgh for Archer's services in 2017. The team also picked up veteran Michael Wacha as a potential innings eater for games where the team uses an opener.

Nick Anderson is back, as the team hopes he resumes his regular season form and not the struggles he showed in October. Pete Fairbanks, Diego Castillo, and Chaz Roe all return from a formidable bullpen that really only lost Jose Alvarado in the offseason.

Offensively, the Rays bring back a lineup that was similar to a year ago. The team hopes that another year of development for Austin Meadows, Brandon Low, Joey Wendle, and Willy Adames will lead to good outcomes. The wild card is Randy Arozarena, the outfielder who took the playoffs by storm in October, setting a single-season playoff record with 10 home runs. If he can provide power consistently from the middle of the lineup, Tampa Bay can become a team more well-known for its offense than its usual strong pitching. 

Bet on the Tampa Bay Rays! Tampa Bay Rays Odds for 2021

The Rays are not favored to repeat as American League East champions, and their World Series odds reflect that. The oddsmakers are predicting a third-place division finish behind the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, so it will be tough to secure a wild card berth finishing third in the division. Their odds to win the World Series are +2500 (25/1) after coming within two games of doing so in 2020. They have the seventh-best odds to win the American League at +1200, and a bet on the Rays to win the AL East will give you a payout of around +450 behind the heavily favored Yankees (-200) and Toronto (+400).

Rays Logo, Uniform & Stadium History

The Rays underwent a massive logo and uniform overhaul prior to the 2008 season, adopting the current navy and light blue look the team uses today. The cap is navy blue with a white interlocking TB. The uniform mainly looks the same—blue piping down the middle with the "RAYS" script across the front in navy blue. Uniform colors include home white, road gray, and alternate navy blue uniforms. The team wears light blue tops at home on Sundays. 

Ironically, the switch from the Devil Rays (which the team was called starting with their inception in 1998) to Rays in 2008 marked the team's first hint of success. Under manager Joe Maddon and with upstarts B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields, and David Price, the Rays had their first winning season in team history in '08 and went all the way to the World Series, losing to the Phillies in five games that year. More regular season success followed, but the team did not win another playoff series under Maddon. The team retooled and rebuilt under Kevin Cash for several seasons before they returned to the playoffs in 2019. This past year's two-game sweep of Toronto in the first round, a five-game win over the Yankees in the ALDS, and a seven-game victory over Houston (where Tampa Bay blew a 3-0 series lead before winning Game 7) were the first postseason series wins for the franchise in 12 years, and they again made it to the World Series before losing to the Dodgers in six games. The series was held at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas due to COVID-19 concerns, and those World Series games were the only ones that fans were able to attend all season. 

The Rays have played their home games in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida since they began play. The quirky indoor stadium is known for its odd ground rules (like when a batted ball hits the roof, for instance), and the team has long been seeking a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area. 

2020 Record: 40-20, First in American League East (Lost World Series to Los Angeles Dodgers)