The Tampa Bay Rays entered 2026 projected as an AL East basement team but finished 98-64 with the American League's No. 1 seed. After starting 19th in Bleacher Report's MLB power rankings, Kevin Cash and Erik Neander's Rays finished No. 3 as they prepare for the ALDS.
No doubt that the Tampa Bay Rays were overlooked heading into the 2026 season.
In fact, almost every single national analyst projected the Tampa Bay Rays to finish last in the American League East after the spending spree that took place among the other four teams inside the division.
However, they forgot one thing.
They are the Tampa Bay Rays.
Erik Neander and Kevin Cash have done magical things over the past couple of seasons, and although they missed the playoffs the past couple of years, it was obvious that they were due for a step in the right direction.
And they did exactly that.
And instead of being a basement team in the American League East, they finished with the top record in the junior circuit at 98-64. And with the regular season coming to an end, the team sits on a bye, waiting for either the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox for Saturday's American League Division Series opening game.
With the regular season over, Bleacher Report released its final 2026 power rankings before the postseason begins. The Tampa Bay Rays began the year at 19th on the list, an obvious non-playoff contender. But where they finished matters most.
The Rays found themselves third in all of MLB and, of course, the top team in the American League in the final power ranking poll.
"While the other four AL East teams combined to spend a little more than $887M in free agency—not to mention traded for Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Shane Baz, Ryan Weathers, Taylor Ward, Jesús Sánchez and more—the Rays became everybody's pick to finish in dead last in the division," said B/R Kerry Miller. "Little did any of us know that the Rays were going to become the MLBPA's Exhibit A in this offseason's heated arguments about a salary cap, becoming the AL's No. 1 seed for the third time in the past seven years."
What's wild is that most still believe that their small early success was possibly a fluke, especially when their major slump came in the summer. However, the Tampa Bay Rays continued to be resilient and found themselves at the top of the American League when it mattered most at the end of the year.
Miller continued by saying exactly this. "Early on, it felt like smoke and mirrors. They finished April at 18-12, but with a negative run differential."
And look, he's not wrong. Not many people believed in this team or in this many players on the roster to step up in big ways. Nobody expected Chandler Simpson to push for one of the best batting averages in baseball, Yandy Diaz and his consistent bats, or Junior Caminero for another 40-plus home run season. Of course, adding in all of the success of the pitching rotation, you have the best team in the American League, but nobody expected it in spring.
However, Tampa Bay now moves on to fight for their first-ever World Series title, and they have a very good chance at doing just that.
