{"id":108297,"date":"2025-10-14T00:45:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T04:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108297"},"modified":"2025-10-14T00:45:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T04:45:37","slug":"rays-linked-to-ex-yankees-outfielder-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/14\/rays-linked-to-ex-yankees-outfielder-in-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays Linked to Ex-Yankees Outfielder in Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Tampa Bay Rays should be looking to beef up their outfield production next season. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/simpsch01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chandler Simpson<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowejo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Lowe<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/manguja01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Mangum<\/a> represent a competent floor, but the Rays could look to add more outfielders. The priority should be finding a player who provides a big bat and passable defense. Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter <a  href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25257826-each-mlb-teams-biggest-roster-hole-fix-2025-26-offseason\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">named<\/a> the Rays as a potential suitor for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/slateau01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Austin Slater<\/a> in free agency.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_108375\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108375\" style=\"width: 801px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-108375\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Slater could be one outfield target for the Rays this offseason.\" width=\"801\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/USATSI_26749212_168400885_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 801px) 100vw, 801px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-108375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jul 31, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Austin Slater (29) runs in from the outfield after the top of the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Rays Could Scoop Up Ex-Yankee Austin Slater for Outfield Help<\/h2>\n<p>Slater, 32, slashed .216\/.270\/.372 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 65 games between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. The Yankees acquired the native Floridian at the trade deadline while they were missing the services of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/judgeaa01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Judge<\/a> due to an injury. He was acquired as a part-time player who would need to bash left-handed pitching in order to play every day in the lineup. True to form, Slater basically never started and contributed nothing except as a defensive replacement late in games, although that did include taking the mound.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Austin Slater pitched like he was trying to lightly bounce a baseball off a turtle <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rZ93VROLiE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/rZ93VROLiE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Talkin&#8217; Yanks (@TalkinYanks) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TalkinYanks\/status\/1966585591765647613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Reuter bluntly stated that the Rays should be looking for outfield upgrades this winter. He further illuminated his thoughts when he wrote, &#8220;A low-cost platoon bat with defensive value from the bargain bin is their most likely target.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Rays Brass is On Board<\/h3>\n<p>The Rays must find a way to add more punch to their lineup in 2026. Pitching is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/03\/tampa-bay-rays-pitching-out-of-their-minds\/\" target=\"_self\">great<\/a>, but the Rays were almost too healthy from a starting rotation perspective. It would be ridiculous to expect continued health, and the Rays must find other ways to win ballgames. Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander was asked about the composition of the club&#8217;s outfield and seemed to identify the outfield grass as something that needs improvement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;When you look at our outfield production in total, that&#8217;s something, by championship-caliber standards, that we need to find a way to certainly create more power and run production out of that group,&#8221; Neander said at a season-ending press conference in late September.<\/p>\n<h3>The Current Fit<\/h3>\n<p>The cleanest fit could be substituting <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/morelch01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christoper Morel<\/a> for Slater. Morel has <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/30\/reasons-behind-christopher-morel-season\/\" target=\"_self\">struggled<\/a> mightily in a Rays uniform and could benefit from a change of scenery. He&#8217;s arbitration-eligible and seems like an obvious non-tender candidate this winter. Morel only hit .221 in 159 plate appearances against lefties this season and doesn&#8217;t offer the cleanest defensive profile. Lowe was another disappointing outfielder, especially his numbers against southpaws. Will the Rays really pay Lowe as a platoon guy at this stage?<\/p>\n<p>The Rays also need more power from their outfield, and it seems highly doubtful that Slater can provide that. Maybe someone like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/refsnro01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rob Refsnyder<\/a> could be a better fit. Refsnyder, 34, has spent the past four seasons bashing left-handed pitching for the Boston Red Sox. He hit over .300 against southpaws this season, along with plenty of power from that side of the plate. Refsnyder is a team-first guy who should be able to provide the leadership that the younger players in the clubhouse are seeking. The Rays should take a shot on players like Refsnyder in order to round out their overall offensive contribution in the outfield.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tampa Bay Rays should be looking to beef up their outfield production next season. Chandler Simpson, Josh Lowe, and Jake Mangum represent a competent floor, but the Rays could look to add more outfielders. The priority should be finding a player who provides a big bat and passable defense. Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5546,"featured_media":108376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1071,35],"tags":[1372,28945,6192,3943,3367,6370],"class_list":["post-108297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rays","category-mlb","category-news","tag-austin-slater","tag-chandler-simpson","tag-christopher-morel","tag-jake-mangum","tag-josh-lowe","tag-rob-refsnyder"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108297"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108377,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108297\/revisions\/108377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}