Rays' acclimation to Trop begins early

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla -- There are 80 players on the Rays’ Spring Training roster, and every single one has dreamed at one point or another about playing in the Major Leagues during the regular season.

For some portion of that 80, that dream may never come true. But beginning with Thursday’s game against the Twins and continuing over the next handful of weeks, those players will all be able to see themselves on a big league field.

Thursday marked the first of 13 spring games inside Tropicana Field for the Rays, who were left without a viable spring home after the impact of Hurricane Ian in South Florida. The crowd was smaller than usual -- a reported 2,531 -- and the result, a 4-2 Twins victory, ultimately held little consequence. But after a couple of weeks at a makeshift spring home at the ESPN Wild World of Sports complex near Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, the benefits of playing in their actual home five weeks before the regular-season opener here March 30 vs. the Tigers were not lost on the Rays.

“It feels good. I’m excited to be here,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Thrilled with how Disney turned out, but hopefully everyone has taken the mindset that it’s nice to get to spend an extra month in your ballpark and in your own bed.”

Right-hander Zach Eflin had previously made two appearances at Tropicana Field, most recently in 2021 with the Phillies. But Thursday marked his first time atop his new home mound after signing a three-year, $40 million contract in the offseason, the largest free-agent deal in franchise history. And he looked very comfortable in his Rays debut, striking out three of the four hitters he faced on 19 pitches. The only batter who made contact, third baseman Matt Wallner, mustered only a soft fly ball to left field.

“I was looking forward to it,” Eflin said about Thursday’s start. “It was nice to be able to throw on our home field and get used to the mound. … It was nice to get out and be competitive.”

Eflin, a seven-year MLB veteran, was followed an inning later by a player who is looking forward to making Tropicana Field his future MLB home. Left-hander Mason Montgomery, Tampa Bay’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is just 22 years old and has thrown only 54 1/3 innings above High-A. He isn’t expected to make an impact at this level until 2024. But Thursday allowed him to grasp exactly what to expect when the big day comes.

“You definitely have nerves, regardless of if there’s people in the crowd or not, especially when you’re in a big league stadium,” Montgomery said. “It is kind of nice to get that first home game out of the way and kind of know what it’s going to feel like.

“It was a really cool experience.”

Montgomery allowed one run off two walks and an RBI single by Jose Miranda. His outing would have been worse if Randy Arozarena hadn’t made a couple of fantastic catches near the left-field wall off some loud contact.

It wasn’t a perfect outing for Montgomery, but it was one he likely won’t forget soon. Throughout the rest of the month, other young arms will take the hill at Tropicana Field in a Rays jersey for the first time. Even if it’s only Spring Training, there’s value in that reality, according to ace Tyler Glasnow.

“Just to have the opportunity to play in a big league stadium is not something that everyone gets to do, so it’s an awesome experience,” he said. “Odds are not every single person here will make the big leagues. As true as that is, this is a nice experience to have when you can have it.”