The Tampa Bay Rays have been a team that has been able to compete with some of the most powerful teams in the American League East. At times, they have been able to get the best of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. They have been to the World Series twice in their history and lost both times. Despite their surprising on-field success, the Rays has struggled to draw fans and their Tropicana Field was seriously damaged last year during Hurricane Milton and is no longer able to host games.
While the Rays have hopes of building a new home stadium, team owner Stu Sternberg is reportedly being pressured to sell the team by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and several MLB owners.
MLB’s decision to urge Sternberg to sell is detailed in a report by Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The team is not up for sale at this point, but there are multiple prominent business people in the Tampa area who may have an interest in the team, including the family of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr.
The Rays are planning to play their upcoming home schedule at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Steinbrenner Field is the spring training facility of the New York Yankees.
However, the Rays have been seeking a new permanent home stadium for 17 years. They are facing a critical date by the end of the month to firm up plan for the new facility. If Sternberg is unable to secure the deal, Major League Baseball may attempt to take away some of the team’s revenue sharing money.
Rays facing difficult season in 2025 for multiple reasons
The Rays have never had anything close to the fan support of any of their American League East rivals. Tropicana Field often had less than 15,000 fans in attendance for the majority of its games. Steinbrenner Field has a capacity of approximately 11,000, and that means that tiny crowds will be the rule for the Rays until they get a new permanent facility.
The Rays are coming off an 80-82 season last year, and it may be difficult for manager Kevin Cash to come close to matching that figure in 2025. Several of the Rays primary opponents have upgraded their roster in the offseason, while the Rays do not appear to have a more talented team than they did last year.
The Rays were able to sign a couple of minor free agents in shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and catcher Danny Jansen, but those moves are not likely to keep the Rays competitive in the upcoming season.
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