The Tampa Bay Rays have announced adjustments to their home game schedule to prevent conflicts with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These changes impact their series against the St. Louis Cardinals as well as a game against the Boston Red Sox. The goal is to ensure that games don’t overlap with the Buccaneers’ events, which take place nearby.
Specifically, the Cardinals-Rays game originally scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, has been moved up to 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, August 21. This change helps avoid a direct clash with the Buccaneers’ preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, which happens right across the street. Meanwhile, the Rays’ game against the Red Sox on Sunday, September 21, has been pushed from a 12:10 p.m. start to 7:35 p.m. that evening, preventing an overlap with the Buccaneers’ 1 p.m. home opener against the New York Jets.
Rays Shift Game Times to Avoid NFL Conflicts as Stadium Repairs Continue at Temporary Home
Ticket holders are able to use their original tickets for the new game dates or exchange them for tickets to another regular-season home game in 2025. This policy offers fans flexibility and helps maintain attendance despite the rescheduling. The Rays are making these changes while they continue to play their home games away from their usual stadium.
Due to hurricane damage to their home stadium, the Rays are currently playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ spring training complex. Repairs on their stadium are still underway, so this temporary location arrangement remains in place as they adjust their schedule to accommodate other local sports events.
Infielder Taylor Walls and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.4 million on Wednesday.
Contract Details
Walls will earn a salary of $1.35 million this year. The Rays also have a $2.45 million option for 2026, with a $50,000 buyout. If Walls gets 450 plate appearances in 2025, the option price will increase to $2.5 million.
Arbitration Negotiations
When the Rays and Walls exchanged salary proposals on January 9, Walls requested a raise from $757,300 to $1,575,000, while the Rays offered $1.3 million.
Taylor Walls throws the ball to the first base
Walls’ Performance
Walls, 28, had a .183 batting average last season, hitting one home run, driving in 14 RBIs, and stealing 16 bases out of 20 attempts. In his career, he has a .188 batting average with 18 home runs, 98 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases from 62 attempts over four seasons, all with the Rays.
Remaining Arbitration Cases
Thirteen players are still set for arbitration hearings, which will begin on Monday.
MLB Adjusts 2025 Schedule Amid Rays' Relocation to Steinbrenner Field and Reveals New Rule Changes
Major League Baseball (MLB) announced changes to the 2025 master schedule due to the Tampa Bay Rays’ need to relocate their home games to George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. This relocation is necessitated by damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton. The adjustments aim to optimize game conditions for the Rays, who will now play in an outdoor stadium. The modifications reflect efforts to ensure favorable weather and accommodate the logistical challenges posed by the change in venue.
One key change involves the Rays’ series against the Los Angeles Angels. Originally set to occur at Angel Stadium from April 7–9, the series will now be hosted at Steinbrenner Field from April 8–10. Conversely, the second series between the two teams, initially scheduled in Tampa from August 5–7, will now be played at Angel Stadium from August 4–6. These changes highlight MLB’s efforts to balance the schedule between venues while accommodating the Rays’ temporary home.
MLB Adjusts 2025 Schedule Amid Rays’ Relocation to Steinbrenner Field and Reveals New Rule Changes
Further adjustments include the Rays’ series against the Minnesota Twins. The games initially planned for Target Field in Minnesota from May 26–28 will now take place at Steinbrenner Field on the same dates. Additionally, the series that was supposed to be held in Tampa from July 4–6 has been moved to Target Field. These shifts allow for equitable scheduling between teams while adapting to the Rays’ temporary relocation.
MLB’s schedule adjustments reflect careful planning to minimize disruption caused by the Rays’ move to an outdoor ballpark. By optimizing venues and dates for better weather conditions, MLB seeks to ensure a smooth season for all teams involved while accommodating the unique challenges faced by the Rays in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
MLB Adjusts 2025 Schedule After Rays' Relocation Due to Hurricane Milton Damage at Tropicana Field
Major League Baseball has made adjustments to the 2025 schedule after the Tampa Bay Rays were forced to relocate their home games to George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. This change comes in response to the severe damage caused to Tropicana Field by Hurricane Milton. The revised schedule aims to provide the Rays with the best possible playing conditions as they shift to an outdoor ballpark for the upcoming season.
One notable adjustment involves the Rays’ series against the Los Angeles Angels. The original dates for the series at Angel Stadium, set for April 7th through 9th, will now be held at Steinbrenner Field from April 8th to 10th. Additionally, the second series between these two teams, which was scheduled for Tampa Bay from August 5th to 7th, will now be moved to Angel Stadium from August 4th to 6th.
MLB Adjusts 2025 Schedule After Rays’ Relocation Due to Hurricane Milton Damage at Tropicana Field
In another scheduling shift, the Rays’ series against the Minnesota Twins will no longer be held at Target Field in Minneapolis as originally planned. Instead, the games will take place at Steinbrenner Field from May 26th to 28th. The series originally set to be hosted by the Rays in Tampa from July 4th to 6th will now be played at Target Field in Minneapolis.
These changes to the 2025 MLB schedule are part of a broader effort to adapt to the challenges posed by the damage to Tropicana Field. The alterations ensure that the Rays can still host their games in a suitable venue while maintaining the integrity of the season. MLB’s proactive approach to rescheduling provides a solution that keeps the games on track and ensures the teams play under the best possible conditions.
After two delays, the Pinellas County Commission is set to vote on Tuesday regarding its part of the funding for a new $1.3 billion ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays. Rays officials are optimistic that approval will happen this time.
The overall plan was approved earlier this year by the county commission and St. Petersburg city officials, but the votes on the funding had been delayed. Earlier in the month, the St. Petersburg City Council approved its share of the bonds needed to build the new 30,000-seat ballpark.
Now, the county must decide whether to issue the bonds, which would be funded by tourist taxes that cannot be used for other purposes like hurricane recovery.
Under the agreement, the city and county would cover about half the cost, while the Rays would pay the rest, including any additional costs.
“We’re upholding our part of the bargain,” said City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders. “We said we were going to do this. We’re doing it. Now what you got?”
This proposal ends years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, which included talks about moving the team to Tampa, Nashville, Tennessee, or even splitting home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, a plan Major League Baseball rejected.
Tampa Bay Rays players celebrates after the win
According to the stadium deal, the Rays will stay in St. Petersburg for another 30 years. However, this season the team will play in Tampa at the New York Yankees’ spring training site, Steinbrenner Field, because of hurricane damage to Tropicana Field.
The proposed stadium is a key part of a $6.5 billion revitalization project called the Historic Gas Plant District, which is named after a mostly Black neighborhood that was displaced by the construction of Tropicana Field and a nearby highway.
Supporters of the project believe it would transform the 86-acre site in downtown St. Petersburg, with plans to build a Black history museum, affordable housing, entertainment venues, and office and retail spaces, creating thousands of jobs.
“This is much, much bigger than a stadium,” said Pinellas County Commission Chair Kathleen Peters. “It’s about the investment we can make and the return on that investment that can guarantee we can keep our taxes low.”
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash looks on from the dugout before a baseball game
Rays manager Kevin Cash returned to Tampa Bay the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the Florida coast in October. He saw the severe damage to the roof of Tropicana Field, the team’s home stadium.
“Like many people, I didn’t think it was real,” Cash said at the winter meetings in Dallas on Tuesday. “Your mind just starts racing and wondering what is going to take place.”
Cash quickly understood the impact this would have on home games in 2025.
The Rays decided to play the upcoming season at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training facility of the New York Yankees in Tampa, Florida. The future of the dome stadium in St. Petersburg and the plans for a new stadium remain unclear.
The Rays’ season opener was pushed back a day to March 28 to allow more time to prepare the temporary stadium. The Yankees’ final spring training game will be five days earlier.
Tampa Bay Rays players in the 4th inning
“I do think it’s going to be a challenge. But I think it’s going to be a fun, exciting, good challenge,” Cash said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make the most of it. It’s just going to be a little different being outdoors now.”
Rain and heat are the main concerns, but the Rays have an advantage. They were the first team to use “openers” as starting pitchers, which could be helpful if rain interrupts games early.
“We’ve done that here recently,” Cash said. “If we’re in Baltimore, we’re in Boston, and we think there’s a chance of rain or we’re going to have a delay, call it 45 minutes to an hour in a ballgame, we kicked that idea around. We haven’t started having those conversations, but I think everything will be on the table for us to discuss.”
As for the heat, Cash mentioned the Rays’ past experience in hot cities like Cleveland, Baltimore, and Atlanta.
Average temperatures in Florida aren’t as extreme as in other places, but humidity can be a bigger problem.
“You’re in the summer playing on the road, you see how teams manage their workload, shave off batting practice,” Cash said. “First and foremost, you have to listen to your players. We try to work really hard and try to do that really, really well.”
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli, who spent seven of his eight playing years with Tampa Bay from 2003-2010, was saddened by the image of Tropicana Field’s damaged roof.
“It was an incredibly sad picture,” Baldelli said. “I didn’t really have any words for it. That was my home in baseball for a long time. Part of me still feels that way.”
Randy Arozarena hits an RBI single
The Rays signed catcher Danny Jansen this offseason. He was with the Blue Jays when they played all their 2020 home games at their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. They then played some 2021 home games in Buffalo, Toronto, and their spring training site in Dunedin, Florida.
“I don’t think that we’re going to be as challenged as maybe they were because of playing out of their country without their fans,” Cash said. “We’re going to have our fans. I’d like to think a lot of them are there showing up for us.”
Although Cash quickly rejected comparisons to the COVID-19 days, he mentioned that those experiences could be useful.
The Rays made it to the neutral-site 2020 World Series at the Texas Rangers’ stadium but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
“We did a really good job embracing that, and I think we can pull from maybe some of those experiences,” Cash said. “Is it ideal? Is it perfect? Probably not. It’s not going to be, but we still can make the most of a tough situation.”
