The Rays made a significant trade last month, shipping Shane Baz in Baltimore again Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh that day. The Baz move probably means they will go back to free agency for a cheap starter after signing. Steven Matz on a two-year contract. It’s unclear what they have planned at second base, a position Lowe has held down (if healthy) for the past seven years.
Free agency doesn’t offer much excitement. It seems safe to assume that radiation does not signal Bo Bichette. More open market options include Willi Castro, Ramón Urías again Luis Rengifo. The biggest changes they can take are in the commercial market.
Tampa Bay has never been more prominently assembled Brendan Donovan. They have had discussions with the Diamondbacks about it Ketel Marte back to the Winter Meetings. Those first talks involved both Baz and Ryan Pepiot. That draft is clearly no longer an option, and while the Rays could make a compelling package that includes Pepiot and manageable relief, Arizona GM Mike Hazen indicated earlier this week that they could completely cut off talks regarding Marte. Each of the Jake Cronenworth, Nico Hoerner again Jazz Chisholm Jr. they feel like they are going to trade for a long shot.
If the rays do not find a clear answer outside the organization, where can they turn the keystone?
Richie Palacios
Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times wrote last month that Palacios could be the top internal option. Acquired from the Cardinals in the 2023-24 offseason, the left-handed hitter posted a .223/.346/.318 line over 316 plate appearances in his first season with the club. He hit .333 with a .396 on-base percentage last year but was limited to 17 games. Palacios broke his right ring finger during Spring Training and started the season on the injured list. He returned in April but soon suffered an injury to his right knee which kept him out until September.
Palacios had missed two months late in the ’24 campaign with a similar knee sprain. He has played more than a third of the team’s games over the past two seasons. “(He’s) a player we value a lot, but he has to show up healthy,” baseball president Erik Neander told Topkin in December. “He’s definitely an internal candidate, but we’re going to take a little time to sort that out.”
At his best, Palacios shows a bat structure that is likely to have a high OBP. He takes many pitches and has good communication skills and strong line driving standards. Palacios doesn’t have much power but has a .370 percentage over five Triple-A seasons. Although the Rays didn’t give him a chance to play in the big leagues, he has managed to hold his own in his limited opportunities.
Taylor’s Walls
Walls are a very popular product. The 29-year-old has a .195/.286/.298 batting line in over 1500 plate appearances. He will not produce at the plate. The Rays like Walls as a top defensive player. Social metrics are incredibly divided by his work. Statcast’s Outs Above Average ranks him below average, but Defensive Runs Saved every year makes him a Gold Glove-caliber infielder.
Internal radiological evaluation should be more consistent with the DRS concept. They wouldn’t have continued to bring Walls back through arbitration if they didn’t consider him a defensive asset. He will play next season with a $2.45MM salary and is controlled through 2027 with a $3.1MM team option. Walls will get more coverage in the middle of the field, but he will likely start the season on the left side of the bag.
Tampa Bay quit Ha-Seong Kim in August and used a rookie Carson Williams as their shortstop for the final month of the 2025 season. The 22-year-old pitched evenly, struck out 44 times and hit .172 in 32 games. Williams also hit over 34% in his Triple-A plate appearances. He has power and is a defensive shortstop but will likely return to Triple-A to continue working on getting his contact rate down to a manageable level.
That would leave Walls as the only real option to play shortstop early in the season. The free agency and trade market is very thin when it comes to second base. Walls could move to second base in the middle of the season if Williams plays his way back to the majors.
Position Change Hypotheticals
While the Rays generally have a lot of players at multiple positions, that’s not much of a strength for the current lineup. Jonathan Aranda he came on as a second baseman but stepped down for defensive reasons. He has only played 141 innings in the big leagues and was a full-time first-rounder last year. Aranda is a below-average player and runner who probably doesn’t back down on the defensive spectrum.
Chandler Simpson was a middle infielder in college but has been a full-time outfielder since being drafted in 2022. Topkin notes that the 25-year-old did some pre-game testing late in the season, though it’s unclear if the Rays will continue next year. Despite being one of the fastest players in the sport, Simpson is not a gifted defensive outfielder. Perhaps that will lead the coaching staff to reconsider testing him on the dirt in 2026. Simpson stole 44 bases while hitting .295/.326/.345 with zero home runs in 109 games as a rookie.
