The Rays have long been one of the standard bearers for small-market baseball — a near-perennial contender that has overcome bottom-of-the-barrel payrolls thanks to savvy trades and one of the best player development groups in the industry. A look through all the front offices and dugout staffs around the league will reveal dozens of execs and coaches with prominent ties to the Rays organization, as owners from other clubs try to emulate Tampa Bay’s remarkable run of success despite sub-$100MM payrolls.
The notion of this same Rays group being able to spend at even league-average levels is probably a frightening one for fans and rival clubs, but the recent approval of the Rays’ proposed stadium in Tampa could make that a reality. The City of Tampa and Hillsborough County both approved a $2.3 billion mixed-use development near Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus last week — walking distance from Raymond James Stadium (the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Ground is expected to break soon, and the Rays are targeting Opening Day 2029 for their new home venue. With it, ownership seems intent on ratcheting up its spending.
“We believe with the new ballpark and the new development around the ballpark we should be able to drive into the top-15 circle, maybe even top 10,” new majority owner Patrick Zalupski said this week (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). “Tampa’s the No. 11 media market in the country, with 3 1/2 million residents. There’s nothing holding it back.”
Zalupski and a group of investors are less than one year into their ownership tenure. Former owner Stuart Sternberg agreed to sell to Zalupski’s group last July in a deal reportedly valued at $1.7 billion. The new ownership group was approved by the other 29 teams about two months later, in September, and the sale officially closed on Sept. 30 of last year.
To an extent, comments of this nature can be taken with a grain of salt. The Rays’ new stadium is years down the road. There’s no indication they’re expected to dramatically boost payroll in the immediate future, and there could well be elements of the next collective bargaining agreement that impact the extent to which Tampa Bay spends. It’s also in Zalupski’s best interest, as a new owner who just ostensibly secured a new stadium deal after the organizaiton’s decades-long pursuit, to say the right things to encourage the fan base and drum up support.
That said, there’s nowhere for the Rays’ payroll to go but up. As can be seen in MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker, Tampa Bay is currently 26th in cash payroll at $98,516,804 and 27th in CBT (luxury tax) payroll at $116,208,358. That comes only after adding Freddy Peralta ($8MM salary) and Tyler Wells ($2.445MM) ahead of the 2026 trade deadline. The Rays opened the season ahead of only the Guardians and Marlins in terms of 2026 payroll. They have only have $25.5MM in guaranteed money on next year’s books, and about one-fifth of that comes in the form of mutual option buyouts for Nick Martinez and Cedric Mullins.
Still, to get to the top half of the league in terms of cash payroll, the Rays would need to nearly double their current levels of spending. The Angels presently rank 15th in the sport at just shy of $180MM in 2026 spending. The 14th-ranked Diamondbacks are at $191,667,936. Zalupski’s mention of a top-10 payroll would mean pushing north of $200MM, by today’s standards. That number could grow by the time the Rays cut the ribbon at their forthcoming new stadium.
It’s still a somewhat notable comment. Not all new owners come in with big promises of this nature. New Padres owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones broadcast an “all-in” message at their recent introductory press conference but also spoke of spending “within their means.” Ownership changes in Kansas City (from David Glass to John Sherman), Miami (from Jeffrey Loria to Bruce Sherman) and in Cleveland (where David Blitzer is increasing his stake yearly until overtaking the majority stake in 2028) have not led to meaningful payroll hikes. The Royals did push their 2026 payroll north of $140MM for the first time since their franchise-record levels in 2017, but they’ve also run multiple sub-$100MM payrolls in Sherman’s tenure.
For now, Zalupski’s comments stand as something to keep in mind down the road, more than anything else. Extensions for star corner infielders Junior Caminero (controlled through 2030) and Jonathan Aranda (controlled through 2029) and oft-injured but excellent lefty Shane McClanahan (controlled only though 2027) could further signal commitment to increased spending down the road, but it remains to be seen whether the Rays will seriously pursue such possibilities this winter.
Readers are encouraged to check out Topkin’s Zalupski interview in full, as the first-year Rays owner provides details on his group’s vision for the mixed-use development that will surround the new stadium, his thoughts on president of baseball ops Erik Neander and skipper Kevin Cash being “best in class at their respective roles” and quite a bit more. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald and Anthony Franco also did a deep dive on the approval of the stadium proposal and what it could mean for the Rays in the long-term on the latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, which just dropped this morning.
