After having a five-season playoff streak end, then suffering through a hurricane that ravaged their domed stadium, the Tampa Bay Rays begin season No. 28 in new digs when they welcome the Colorado Rockies for Opening Day on Friday afternoon.
Manager Kevin Cash will not man the first-base dugout of Tropicana Field as he has done for the last 10 years. Instead, his new home dugout can be found 22 miles northeast of Tropicana Field as the Rays will be playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field, better known as the spring training residence of the New York Yankees — one of the Rays’ top division rivals.
This one-season solution will take some getting accustomed to.
The stadium holds just over 11,000 fans — insert attendance joke here — and it will be hot and much different playing outdoors. The future is uncertain since the organization has no 2026 plans because they depend on the Trop’s playability.
The schedule is front-loaded with home contests — 19 of the first 22 and 37 of 54 through May 28 will be in Tampa — to avoid rainouts in the state’s wet summers.
“I do think it’s going to be a challenge. … a fun, exciting, good challenge,” Cash said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make the most of it. It’s just going to be a little different being outdoors now.”
In 2024, Cash’s club went 80-82 and finished fourth in the AL East.
If there is to be Tampa Bay success, and the early predictions have not been positive in a perhaps more competitive American League East, Cash’s group will rely on its bevy of strong pitching to cash in.
In place of two-time All-Star Shane McClanahan, who was placed on the injured list with a triceps nerve issue, Ryan Pepiot gets the Opening Day nod after going 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA in 26 starts last year.
Against the Rockies in three appearances (two starts), the right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA, including 26 strikeouts and two walks in 17 innings.
Similarly, the Rockies are not expected to sniff the rarified air of the National League West’s upper crust that consists of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
However, that is how predictions tend to go when a club has posted six consecutive losing seasons and a 120-204 record in the past two campaigns.
On the bright side, the Rockies appear to have a strong middle infield with 2024 Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and second baseman Thairo Estrada, who inked a one-year deal.
Estrada was enjoying a strong spring training – hitting .400 (14 for 35) with a triple and three stolen bases – when he was hit on the right wrist by the Texas Rangers’ Kumar Rocker last week. The ensuing fracture will keep Estrada out for 4-8 weeks, with utilityman Kyle Farmer likely in for Estrada.
The Rockies will rely on their youth: the dynamic Tovar (26 home runs, 78 RBIs), center fielder Brenton Doyle (23 homers, 72 RBIs, 30 stolen bases) and first baseman Michael Toglia (25 homers).
“We are looking for growth from the young kids,” said Colorado general manager Bill Schmidt.
Left-hander Kyle Freeland will make his fourth Opening Day start after posting a 5-8 record and 5.24 ERA over 21 starts last year. He stands 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in one career start against the Rays, a 4-0 loss on April 2, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Starter Austin Gomber (shoulder) will begin the year on the IL, while Tommy John surgery has sidelined rookie reliever Jeff Criswell.
–Field Level Media
