For team on field, new Rays Tampa ballpark could be ‘transformative'
With the Rays' latest stadium quest heading toward conclusion later this month via key votes on funding by the Hillsborough County Commission (now likely May 20) and then the Tampa City Council, there is understandably ample talk about important elements such as bond costs, interest rates and tax bases.
Erik Neander doesn't keep up with all the specifics or the politics, but as the Rays president of baseball operations he is a most interested party to the process.
That's because if the stadium is approved, and if the surrounding live/work/learn/play development planned by his bosses is as big a hit as they project, the amount of additional revenue generated will have a significant impact on how he builds contending Rays teams.
In a word?
"Transformative," Neander said.
Having more money doesn't guarantee success. There are teams every year that spend big and don't win, with the Mets, Phillies and Red Sox current examples.
But it obviously can help.
After balling on a budget for so long - winning the third most regular-season games since 2008 despite typically having a bottom-five payroll - Neander said a significant boost in revenues can allow the Rays to pursue success differently and be better positioned to reach the ultimate goal of a World Series championship and build the fan base along the way.
That can show up in many different ways.
Most obvious, having more opportunity to pursue bigger-name additions.
"There's more shopping aisles that can be opened up for consideration," Neander said.
The Rays made a legit offer in March 2022 to sign Freddie Freeman, but most of their other talks about pursuing big-name players - Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani in trade - came with asterisks, such as trying to tie in sponsorships or stadium naming-rights deals.
Neander said he doesn't know yet how much the Rays payroll could jump, or how soon it would rise if the stadium is approved.
But even a jump to the middle tier - say, from this season's opening day $85 million to $180 million - could make a huge difference.
(Of note, in the wild-card era, since 1995, only one bottom-10 payroll team, the 2003 Marlins, has won a championship.)
That boost would not just help in acquiring more talented players but also those who are, as Neander said, "more seasoned" - peak-level veterans who can perform well on the biggest stage, and thus are more capable of winning that elusive championship.
"You see over time that money doesn't guarantee anything," he said. "But I do think the right mix of talent and seasoning and experience - life experience and professional experience - you see where it matters, when the stakes reach their highest and the stresses reach their highest."
Plus, Neander said, the new stadium would offer clarity and certainty about the team's future, "a real potential benefit" in the recruiting process of free agents, who want to know where they'll be living and playing over the term of a contract.
A larger payroll would also allow the Rays to address what has been a major complaint, the constant churning of the roster. Rather than dealing away players who perform well, become popular with fans, then get traded because they are deemed too expensive, they could sign them to multiyear extensions. Junior Caminero would be atop that current list of candidates.
"It's perfectly natural and reasonable for our fans, and for ourselves, to think about what could be if we don't have to make so many difficult choices in the name of trying to squeeze every last bit out of our roster," Neander said.
Those buy-low/sell-high deals are tough, crushing and even tear-inducing for team officials as well, he said, adding that saying goodbye to players when it's "most painful" even "hollows out" some of the wins that have followed.
Ideally, Neander said, would be the opportunity for "winning with meaning" - for the players, staff, fans and community.
"That's what's critical," he said. "Meaning in terms of the wins having purpose and consequence for teams and the community in growing a fan base, the attachment, and all that comes with it. Having certainty about our future in a ballpark that's second to none in terms of its amenities and something our community can be proud of to the talent retention and all the other things we talked about.
"We've won a lot of games, but there's an opportunity in front of us that would allow us to do with significantly more meaning and satisfaction and pride that I think is the real aspect of this that becomes transformative."
Cleveland rocks
Rays.TV reporter Ryan Bass' kind gesture in Cleveland, delivering baseballs to a sister and brother in the stands after an adult grabbed a home run ball garnered much social media attention. The Guardians are also rewarding the family, with an invite to meet Daniel Schneemann (who hit the homer), get some signed items and be on the field for batting practice. The adult fan, Max Quinn, went on TV to apologize, saying he was "so utterly sorry" for "a lot of bad decisions" during "a heat-of-the-moment thing." His business, the Uncover Vintage store, got blasted with one-star Google reviews. And the family said they forgave him.
Rays rumblings
A group of Rays took their team bonding to the water on Thursday's off day, as Shane McClanahan arranged a fishing expedition and invited Caminero (who said he had never fished before), Nick Martinez, Ryan Vilade and Ben Williamson. Martinez said they had a fishing "grand slam," landing redfish, snook, trout and a tarpon. … When Vilade's dad, James, was coaching the Rangers' Double-A Frisco team, one of the pitchers was Martinez - and Ryan was the bat boy at times. "Kind of full circle there," Ryan said. ... MLB Network reimagined its "G-Ray-pes of Wrath" wine-themed segment with the team's recent success, adding the "Chander Simpson-del," "Junior Cabarnero" and "SauvignJon Blanc" for Jonathan Aranda. … Triple-A manager Morgan Ensberg and adviser Brandon Hyde made The Atheltic's list of potential candidates for future mangerial openings. ... TV pregame/postgame analyst Grant Balfour was invited to fellow Australian Travis Bazzana's Tuesday debut in Cleveland, having known the 2024 top draft pick since he was a teenager.
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This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 8:12 AM.