2026 Tampa Bay Rays

2026 Tampa Bay Rays / Franchise: Tampa Bay Rays / BR Team Page

Record: , Finished in AL Eastern Division (2026 AL)

Managed by Kevin Cash

Coaches: Corey Dickerson, Tomas Francisco, Kris Goodman, Rick Knapp, Rodney Linares, Jorge Moncada, Chad Mottola, Kyle Snyder, Ozzie Timmons and Brady Williams

Ballpark: Tropicana Field

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2026 Tampa Bay Rays returned to Tropicana Field after a one-year hiatus caused by the extensive damage that the facility received after being struck by Hurricane Milton a few days after the end of the 2024 season. The Rays had been forced to play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL in 2025 while their regular ballpark was undergoing repairs. Their home opener was played on April 6th and resulted in a 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs, after they had opened the season with a nine-game road trip on which they had gone 4-5.

The advantage of playing in the friendly confines of Tropicana Field soon became apparent after they finished April with an excellent record of 18-12, good for second place in the AL East trailing only the New York Yankees, and that by only one and half game. They started May with a six-game homestand, and they won all six of those games to improve to 24-12. Granted, the feat was not so remarkable given one of their opponents were the Toronto Blue Jays who were well known to be complete patsies when playing at the Trop, a status that had been confirmed over many seasons. Still, the three wins over the San Francisco Giants that preceded that predictable sweep were a nice touch. But with all that, the Rays had only managed to gain one game on the Yankees, who had won five of six during that same span by outslugging everyone in sight. One of the major positives for Tampa was the return to form of Shane McClanahan, after missing a season and a half of action due to a string of arm injuries: after 7 starts, he was at 4-2, 2.60, and once again displaying the form of a Cy Young Award contender.

The Rays made it into first place in the AL East on May 10th, taking advantage of a rare slump by the Yankees, and after 40 games on May 11th, their record was 27-13, best in the AL and 2 games ahead of the Bronx Bombers. It was the third best record in franchise history after 40 games, tied with the 2020 edition and trailing only those of 2023 (30-10) and 2010 (29-11). The Rays had played in the postseason all of those previous years, so the strong start was a very encouraging sign. The Rays continued to win after that and on May 19th, their record was 32-15, best in the majors by percentage points over the Atlanta Braves, as they had now won 20 of their last 24 games and eight consecutive series.

Further Reading

• Adam Berry: "'Great American comeback story': Remarkable efforts restore Trop -- and Rays win!", mlb.com, April 6, 2026. [1]
• Adam Berry: "Rays 'setting the bar really high for themselves' with perfect homestand", mlb.com, May 6, 2026. [2]
• Adam Berry: "'Power of friendship' has Rays off to one of their best 40-game starts ever", mlb.com, May 12, 2026. [3]

2026 MLB season by team