Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images Here are the most popular articles on the site in what was a dramatic year for the Rays and their fans. It’s been a wild ride for Rays fans and for...
Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Here are the most popular articles on the site in what was a dramatic year for the Rays and their fans.
It’s been a wild ride for Rays fans and for our coverage of the team in 2023. Before breaking down the top-ten articles of 2023, there are a few honarable mentions I’d like to get out of the way, that were close to the top 10 overall:
Should the Rays trade Tyler Glasnow or Randy Arozarena?
This tongue in cheek question was a lengthy response to the beginning of the Tyler Glasnow trade saga. In this article, I suggested the Rays would be better served to compete by trading from their infield depth instead of the depleted rotation.
Is Brandon Lowe the worst playoff performer in MLB history?
After the Rays sorely missed one of their ten best offensive players in franchise history during this year’s post-season, Adam Sanford made some shocking discoveries about Brandon Lowe’s track record in the fall...
At the conclusion of the Winter Meetings, I laid out three to-do’s for the Rays: complete the Glasnow trade, figure out the catching situation, and sign a veteran starter. So far, only one is complete.
OK, let’s get into it! Here were the top ten articles in terms of page views at DRaysBay in 2023:
10. Revisiting the Blake Snell trade after his second Cy Young season
Do the Rays lose trades? Yes. Yes they do. And if you want to re-live the pain of this cost saving maneuver, it’s here for you.
9. Is it time to discuss Rays attendance?
The 2023 Rays had the worst postseason attendance figures in 104 years. We wrote about the sad reality.
8. Rays Trade Deadline Roundup: Tampa Bay adds four players in atypically busy deadline
The Rays made four moves at the deadline this year, but it was quantity over quality, as only one of the players acquired (SP Aaron Civale) would have an impact on the 2023 Rays.
7. Rays set 26-man roster: Outfielders round out the Tampa Bay bench
The 2023 Rays had a big shakeup following the departures of Corey Kluber, Ji-Man Choi, David Peralta, Brooks Raley, and Ryan Yarbrough. This article explained how they’d been replaced.
6. Randy Arozarena is stealing the show with Team Mexico
Randy Arozarena transcended his star status in this year’s Winter Baseball Classic to become one of the biggest names in baseball. He went on to have quite the season, placing second in the Home Run Derby with an all-time performance, and concluding the year as one of GQ’s Men of the Year.
5. Rumor: Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot to be traded to Dodgers
A difficult pill to swallow. The Rays cleared $35 million in salary commitments in a deal for two similar but unproven players from the Dodgers. Once the trade was official, we had three key articles reacting to the news:
Analysis: Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot traded to Los Angeles Dodgers On Losing Tyler Glasnow Mar-gone for Good What can we learn from Tyler Glasnow’s contract extension with the Dodgers?4. Wander Franco placed on the Restricted List
The most shocking news of the season is surprisingly not atop this list. Most recently, Franco failed to appear for a summons by the Attorney General’s office on Thursday for questioning in the Dominican Republic.
3. Rays and Seattle Mariners are discussing Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes
Who doesn’t love a healthy trade rumor during the Winter Meetings? Nothing materialized of this one, yet, but keep an eye on Paredes the rest of this winter.
2. Rays drop eight players from 40-man roster through trades, waives
After the 2023 season concluded, the Rays had a major shake up of the roster, including the departure of multiple catchers on the 40-man roster.
1. The Rays Stadium Saga
The Rays and their development partner Hines announced a new stadium deal at the end of the season, and we had coverage leading up to and through that announcement. This was, understandably, the top news of the season!
After many years of staying major league baseball was untenable in St. Petersburg, the Rays immediately changed their mind once money was on the table. Here are our top articles on the stadium saga this year:
Where are the Rays stadium updates? (June 2023) Rays reach $1.3 billion stadium deal with St. Petersburg (Sept 2023) St. Petersburg baseball forever: A new stadium roundtable (Sept 2023)Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year to all Rays fans!