November 10, 2026
November 10, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays 2025 Season: Caminero’s Breakout in a Borrowed Ballpark
The Rays’ 2025 season unfolded in a place no one expected. Hurricane Milton had torn through Tropicana Field, leaving the franchise to play an entire year in a spring training park across the bay. Out of that upheaval came a 22-year-old slugger who announced himself as a star, a first half that flirted with contention, and a summer collapse that cost everything. Tampa Bay finished 77-85, fourth in the American League East, with a season defined by what might have been.
Displacement shaped every day of this campaign. In November 2024, the club announced it would play its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring home of the division-rival New York Yankees. The park held just over 10,000 fans and offered no protection from Florida heat or summer storms. Major League Baseball front-loaded the home schedule to avoid the worst of July and August.
The front office still pushed to compete. Tampa Bay signed infielder Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year, $29 million deal, knowing shoulder surgery would delay his arrival. Catcher Danny Jansen joined on a one-year contract. The club exercised Brandon Lowe’s option and extended Drew Rasmussen and Yandy Díaz. Jose Siri went to the Mets, while Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez were sent to the Athletics for pitching depth and a draft pick.
The home opener arrived on March 28 against the Colorado Rockies, pushed back a day so crews could convert the park from Yankees branding. Fireworks and a flyover marked the first outdoor home games in franchise history outside a handful in Orlando.
The early weeks felt like road games played in the club’s own backyard. Tampa Bay struggled badly at Steinbrenner Field, and the crowds often tilted toward the visiting team. Large crowds turned out, yet many of those voices cheered for the opponent. The club closed April at 14-16, searching for an identity in unfamiliar surroundings.
The turning point came at home, of all places. A six-game winning streak at Steinbrenner Field in late May clawed the Rays back to .500 by Memorial Day. May ended at 16-12, and momentum finally belonged to Tampa Bay.
June was the month that made the Rays’ 2025 season feel like a pennant chase. The club ripped off a 17-10 record and climbed into the thick of the division race. On June 28, Tampa Bay reached 47-36, its high-water mark of the season. The lineup produced, the rotation held firm and Kevin Cash’s club looked like a legitimate October threat.
The Rays went on to complete their full home schedule without a single rainout, a remarkable feat for an open-air park in Tampa.
Junior Caminero did more than hit home runs. He seized the franchise as his own. The young third baseman had hoped to reach 30 homers before the season. He blew past that mark and finished with 45, adding 110 RBIs, a .264 average and a .535 slugging percentage.
The numbers placed him in rare company. He became just the fifth player in history to hit 45 home runs before turning 23, joining Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Johnny Bench, Eddie Mathews and Joe DiMaggio. He finished one homer shy of Carlos Peña’s franchise record of 46. Only Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge hit more home runs in the American League. MLB.com chronicled the scope of his historic year, which also included an All-Star selection and a runner-up finish in the Home Run Derby.
Caminero was not alone in Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic. Jonathan Aranda, Brandon Lowe and Drew Rasmussen also earned All-Star nods, giving Tampa Bay four representatives. Aranda authored the season’s quietest breakthrough, hitting .316 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs in 106 games.
Lowe supplied steady power with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs. Díaz remained the lineup’s metronome, batting .300 with 175 hits, 25 homers and 83 RBIs over 150 games. The offense scored 714 runs and hit 182 home runs, a clear step forward for a club often built on run prevention.
Cash, in his 11th season as manager, leaned on a rotation that blended comeback stories and young arms. Rasmussen was the headliner. Back from elbow surgery that had limited him in 2023 and 2024, he went 10-5 with a 2.76 ERA across 150 innings. His All-Star selection rewarded a pitcher many had feared might never regain his form.
Ryan Pepiot provided durability, logging 167 2/3 innings and leading the staff with 11 wins. Shane Baz worked 166 1/3 innings and struck out 176 batters, though his 4.87 ERA reflected an uneven year. Zack Littell held a 3.58 ERA before his midseason departure. Closer Pete Fairbanks converted 27 saves with a 2.83 ERA. The staff finished with a 3.94 team ERA, solid but not dominant enough to cover the coming slide.
The collapse began without warning and refused to stop. Fresh off their best stretch of the year, the Rays dropped game after game in July. They went 7-18 for the month, a skid that erased their entire cushion. The club that stood 11 games above .500 in late June fell below the break-even line by August.
Then came the injury that stung most. On July 31, Aranda collided with Yankees baserunner Giancarlo Stanton and fractured his left wrist. The All-Star went on the injured list while leading the club with a .316 average and a .394 on-base percentage. Tampa Bay lost its most consistent hitter at the exact moment it needed him most.
The front office chose a middle path rather than a full sale, as MLB.com’s breakdown of the deadline detailed. Jansen went to the Milwaukee Brewers, and Nick Fortes arrived from the Miami Marlins to take over behind the plate. Littell was shipped to the Cincinnati Reds. Taj Bradley went to the Minnesota Twins for reliever Griffin Jax, who carried team control through 2027.
The Rays also added veteran starter Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox to fill Littell’s rotation spot. Jose Caballero was traded to the Yankees in the middle of a game for outfielder Everson Pereira. Fairbanks, Díaz and Lowe all stayed.
Kim’s tenure never found its footing. He debuted on July 4, battled calf and back injuries, and hit .214 in 24 games. On September 1, the Atlanta Braves claimed him off waivers. His exit opened the door for top prospect Carson Williams, who had been promoted on August 21 for a late-season audition.
A seven-game winning streak from August 29 to September 4 offered one last flicker of hope. It did not last. The Rays were eliminated on September 19 with a loss to the Boston Red Sox, missing the postseason for a second straight year. They finished 77-85, 17 games behind the division-champion Toronto Blue Jays and 10 games out of the final Wild Card spot.
The home-and-road split told part of the story. Tampa Bay went 41-40 at Steinbrenner Field and 36-45 away from it. The full statistical record lives at Baseball Reference, where the June peak and July freefall stand out on every page.
The Rays’ 2025 season closed a chapter in more ways than one. In September, Stuart Sternberg agreed to sell his majority stake to a group led by Patrick Zalupski, ending an ownership era that began in 2005.
On the field, the campaign belonged to Caminero. His 45 homers gave the franchise a cornerstone to build around for years. Rasmussen’s revival and Aranda’s breakout added reasons for optimism. Yet the July collapse will haunt this group, because a club that stood 11 games over .500 let a real postseason chance slip away. That contrast defined the Rays’ 2025 season, a year of resilience in exile that ended just short of the payoff it seemed to promise.
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