PORT CHARLOTTE (WDAE) -- The Tampa Bay Rays welcomed pitchers and catcher officially to Spring Training Tuesday, with players reporting to their facility at Charlotte Sports Park. The team comes off a 2018 campaign that saw them win 90 games, but miss the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. However, the coaches and front office feel they're now in a position to contend again to play beyond the end of the regular season.
For the Rays, getting back into the playoffs comes with capitalizing on their strengths, which the coaches and front office believes starts with their ability to be flexible on the field.
"We've got a lot of guys that can play different roles on our club," manager Kevin Cash said. "They can hit in different parts of the lineup, and we showed last year we've got a pretty special pitching staff that can pitch in different parts of the ball game, and we're going to utilize that again."
General manager Erik Neander knows the team can't hang their hat on 2018's success, but they're ready to build off that foundation.
"When you have a young club that just won 90 games, it's easy to have a lot of optimism on what's ahead, but it's also hard to win 90 games," Neander said. "A lot of things went our way last year that helped us get there. I think this group will stay humble. They'll be motivated to come out and prove last year and certainly the last couple of months of the [2018] season weren't a fluke, and they're ready to rock."
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE: The Rays will hold their first scheduled workout for pitchers and catchers Wednesday at their Spring Training facility in Port Charlotte. The workout will begin at 11:00, and will last about 90 minutes. Admission and parking are free.
Listen to the Spring Training opening press conference below!