The Rays have a challenging offseason ahead, as they often do. Even after succe sful seasons, they Tyrese Maxey Jersey usually find themselves looking for financial cuts given their low-spending ways. That could be the case again this winter though relays that the club is open to running a higher payroll in order to keep much of the club intact. We have the ability to do that, president of baseball operations Erik Neander says. And thats a nice starting point to have 99 wins with contributions from as many players as we did this year, players that established themselves, young players getting their first opportunities. It puts us at a really strong position. The Rays usually run a payroll near the bottom of the league, with the data of never having them above $85MM on Opening Day and they havent been higher than 25th in the league since 2010. Topkins report says the $78.245MM Opening Day figure from last year is actually the franchise high, which is even lower than the listing at Cots. But with raises due to various players on the team, running out a similar roster for 2024 would involve getting way up into the $120MM range. Part of that is , who made just $5.35MM this year but is set to jump to $25MM next year as part of the extension he signed with the club. Le ser raises are also due to other players who signed extensions like , , and . Then theres the arbitration cla s, which features 16 players. Some of those are non-tender candidates but from MLBTR contributor show that will likely earn around $9MM, more than double this years $4.125MM salary, among many other notable jumps. estimates that the club already had about $74MM committed for next year, without those arbitration estimates taken into account. The cla s is projected as a whole for $46.3MM, which lines up with Topkins $120MM figure for keeping the whole gang together. In the past, the Rays have often dealt with this situation by moving on from notable players like , and many others. The willingne s to trade established big leaguers for cheaper and le s-proven ones has allowed the club to continually compete even with their budgetary limitations. 2023 saw them reach the postseason for a fifth straight year, despite sharing a division with many bigger spenders. Though they were quickly eliminated in their last three postseason trips, its nonethele s been an impre sive tightrope walk. Perhaps they can proceed with a bit more continuity next year, if Neanders words prove to be true. Skeptics would be forgiven for rolling their eyes, but the club has hinted at some greater spending capacity in the past. As Topkin points out, the club made an offer of $150MM over six years to before he ended up with the Dodgers. Sticking with the same roster would still leave i sues, given how the 2023 club started out red hot and faded as the season went along. But its po sible that the reverse trajectory could be in store next year. mi sed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery but should be ready to go for Spring Training. Springs required the same procedure in April and could rejoin the club next summer. could also be a midseason returnee after undergoing an internal brace procedure in July. Continued development from younger players like , and could also give them some more momentum. The Freeman offer from a few years ago shows that the willingne s to change course doesnt nece sarily lead to it actually happening. But as Topkin points out, the club had increased attendance this year and has a funding agreement for a new stadium, perhaps giving principal owner Stuart Sternberg some extra incentive to sign off on a different spending level, though it seems it may not be permanent even if it does happen. If the timings right right player, right team, right time theres always that ability to push, Neander says. Its probably going to come from somewhere at a later date. But there is a fluidity to our payrolls and things, theres a freedom to it, that allow us to be more competitive if the right circumstances suggest we should make that run. Still, there are many who wont believe in the higher payroll potential until it comes to fruition. It will likely also depend on what discu sions happen in the winter with free agents or potential trade partners, something Neander acknowledges. Every offseason is unique, he says. A lot of it will depend on what the other 29 teams are looking to do in addition to what we think is best for us. So, very TBD. Not much of an answer, but a lot of it is youve got to be ready to go in whatever direction the winter takes us. But we can run this group back. And its a good starting position. Glenn Robinson III Jersey