Tampa Bay Rays: 2020 coronavirus pandemic-shortened season outlook

If there’s any team that can take the New York Yankees’ throne in the American League East, it is the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay enters the 2020 season still with an impressive rotation led by Blake Snell and Charlie Morton along with key players like Brandon Lowe, Willy Adames and Austin Meadows.

Snell didn’t exactly have a stellar 2019 season as he was coming off an American League Cy Young award win. He posted a 4.29 ERA with 147 strikeouts in 23 games. Morton was a bit better, recording a 3.05 ERA and a career-high 240 strikeouts. Those two pitchers will be huge during their games against division opponents.

Meadows broke out last season with 33 home runs, a .291 batting average and a .922 OPS. He earned his first All-Star Game appearance and will likely be the anchor of the lineup. Lowe and Adames will be relied upon for keeping their slugging pace up during the season.

The Rays added Hunter Renfroe and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo to the lineup in the offseason.

Tampa Bay will be a threat in the AL East for sure. The Yankees can’t get sloppy given the star power they have in the lineup because the Rays will be lurking.

The team was 37-23 through 60 games in 2019.

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2019 finish: 2nd AL East

2019 record: 96-66

Manager: Kevin Cash

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Projected Starters

C: Mike Zunino

1B: Ji-Man Choi

2B: Brandon Lowe

3B: Yandy Diaz

SS: Willy Adames

OF: Hunter Renfroe

OF: Kevin Kiermaier

OF: Austin Meadows

DH: Yoshi Tsutsugo

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Projected Rotation/Closer

SP: Charlie Morton

SP: Blake Snell

SP: Tyler Glasnow

SP: Yonny Chirinos

SP: Ryan Yarbrough

CL: Nick Anderson

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2020 Schedule