The Tampa Bay Rays offer a ray of hope for the Cincinnati Reds.
It's how Reds fans should view the undefeated Rays, who on Thursday tied the record for best start in baseball's modern era.
For Reds ownership, there should be a big takeaway from the Rays' rousing success with a low-budget roster: Stay the course on the rebuild. Tampa Bay's 13-0 start should reinforce to the Reds' front office it made the right decision last year to gut the payroll and stockpile prospects.
The Rays are the model for small-market teams in baseball's haves-vs.-have-nots economic system. They are who the Reds must become in order for baseball's oldest franchise to remain relevant in Cincinnati.
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Tampa Bay is an efficient and creative organization, with a philosophy rooted in top-notch scouting and home-grown talent. The Rays avoid the allure of big contracts by not getting emotionally attached to players when it comes time for them to become free agents.
They thank those players and send them on their way to the riches of a big market. Meanwhile, the Rays have another prospect ready to step up to the big leagues. It's a fine-tuned system.
Rinse. Repeat. Playoffs.
So what if you can't name one player on the Rays' roster. Winning is more marketable than having a couple of high-priced superstars.
The Rays don't have $25 million tied up in one player like the Reds do in first baseman Joey Votto. The Rays' payroll ranks 28th among the 30 major-league teams. Their $74.5 million payroll is $13 million less what the Reds are paying their players this season.
Tampa Bay's highest-paid player is some fella named Manual Margot, who'll make $7 million this season. And Margot is only batting .194 with 4 RBI. The Rays have a bunch of guys in their late 20s and early 30s in the prime of their careers making $5 million or less.
The Reds are on the right track. I keep saying that. You may not believe it, and I don't blame you after the Reds had one foot in and one foot out of the commitment-to-win pool for a decade. The Reds may never start a season 13-0, but the Rays offer a glimpse at what the 2025 or 2026 Cincinnati club could be.
The Reds are where the Rays were in 2004, when Wall Street investor Stuart Sternberg bought the sputtering franchise. Well, the Reds aren't quite where the Rays were then. Cincinnati at least has a nice stadium and a strong fanbase, unlike the Rays.
Sternberg is a smart business guy. The Rays stopped the cycle of wasting money on washed-up former superstars coming to Tampa as a retirement job. They went all in on building up the farm system and developing their own players.
It was the only way to compete long-term with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East. In 2006, the Rays lost 101 games. Two years later, they made it to the World Series.
Since 2008, Tampa Bay has had 11 winning seasons. The Rays have gone to the playoffs eight times. They went back to the World Series in 2020 and won 100 games the following year.
They've stuck to the same plan through it all.
Take note, Reds.
Contact columnist Jason Williams by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.
