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Prominent MLB Insider Says "There's No Easy Answers" For Tampa Bay Rays Ballpark Issues

With Tropicana Field appearing to be unplayable early in 2025, what exactly could the Rays do?

Brady Farkas

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) high-fives first baseman Jonathan Aranda (62) after a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sept 28.
Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) high-fives first baseman Jonathan Aranda (62) after a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sept 28. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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According to Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic' there are "no easy answers" when it comes to how the Tampa Bay Rays handle the upcoming 2025 season.

He made these comments on the "Foul Territory" podcast on Thursday and you can hear him below:

According to recent reports, it seems highly unlikely (if not downright impossible) that Tropicana Field will be ready by Opening Day (March 27, 2025). The roof was blown nearly entirely off during recent Hurricane Milton and there is damage to the interior of the structure as well.

As a result, there are a number of options potentially on the table for Tampa Bay, but they all come with a degree of risk of some uncomfortable issues.

First off, fixing Tropicana Field is going to cost several millions of dollars (maybe even $100 million). Do the team and city want to foot that bill, especially when there are other more necessary things to be done in town? Furthermore, do they want to foot that bill knowing that the Rays are going to be playing in a new ballpark in 2028?

The Rays could play in a minor league stadium nearby, but there are issues about weather (Florida has notorious summer rains), schedules (other teams already play there) and seating capacity. Furthermore, as Rosenthal points out, the idea of both the A's and Rays playing in minor league stadiums is not an appealing one to Major League Baseball.

The Rays could try to play in Miami and share the stadium with the Marlins, but fan support and schedules create problems there too.

This is just one of many big questions that baseball needs to answer this offseason.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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