ST. PETERSBURG -- After playing deep into October, Rays general manager Erik Neander admits that the team is still playing catch-up when it comes to having an idea of how the roster will look during the 2021 season.

A good opportunity to make up some ground will come this week, despite the fact that the yearly Winter Meetings will look very different. For starters, everything is done through phone calls and on Zoom, though Neander doesn’t think that will affect any moves or conversations completed this week.

“The Winter Meetings serve as a catalyst for conversations, kinda an accelerator of sorts to kind of bring some things to a hedge just by having everybody in one place,” Neander said. “While it’s different, we’re not having a hard time communicating. And honestly, the Winter Meetings have gotten to a spot where any conversation with another club, a lot of it happens by phone anyway, whether we’re in the same place or not.”

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The Rays didn’t complete a single move during last year’s Winter Meetings. This year, Neander admits that the team is engaged in some free-agent and trade talks, but nothing is imminent.

Instead, the priority will be figuring out what the market will look like and getting a better sense of their 40-man roster now that the non-tender deadline passed last week. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from Neander’s Monday Zoom call.

1) The Rays need catchers
When asked about the team’s needs, the current catching situation was an obvious answer for Neander. With Mike Zunino, Kevan Smith and Michael Perez no longer on the team, catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez is the only catcher on the 40-man roster. While Hernandez is widely considered the catcher of the future for the Rays, the 23-year-old hasn’t played above Class A Advanced, meaning Tampa Bay will have to find at least two -- possibly three -- catchers this offseason.

Jason Castro, Robinson Chirinos and Curt Casali are some of the possible targets available via free agency. Zunino and Smith are also still possibilities for Tampa Bay, as Neander said Monday that the club has stayed in touch with both. Zunino would like to return to the Tampa Bay area, but he is also receiving interest from other teams.

“Those are two guys, in their own way last year, that did a nice job for us and filled needs and roles that were critical to our success and for playing as long as we did,” Neander said. “Appreciate both of them, they certainly have their right to explore and see what’s out there, but those are guys that we’re talking to and you want to keep those lines open because of what they meant to our success last year.”

2) Starting pitching depth?
The catching situation will be the priority this offseason, but the Rays will also look to try and add more pitching depth to the organization, mostly because Yonny Chirinos and Jalen Beeks will miss the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Charlie Morton left to the Braves on a free-agent deal.

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However, that pitching depth might come via under-the-radar deals and with an emphasis on multi-inning relievers as opposed to adding starting pitchers. The reason for that? The Rays feel they have a plethora of young starting pitching options. Neander mentioned Joe Ryan, Brent Honeywell Jr., Josh Fleming and Shane McClanahan as potential options to start for the Rays alongside Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough and Blake Snell. Brendan McKay could also fit into that role, health permitting.

The plan could certainly change depending on what happens over the winter. There’s still the possibility that the Rays are looking for a starting pitcher if they trade Snell, though that isn’t expected at this point.

3) Is the outfield still too crowded?
After designating Hunter Renfroe and Brian O’Grady for assignment a few weeks ago, the Rays’ outfield picture became a bit clearer. But despite those moves, the Rays still have a crowded outfield with six outfielders on the projected roster: Kevin Kiermaier, Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot, Randy Arozarena, Brett Phillips and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo.

Neander said the Rays are “happy with the collection of talent” in the outfield, but if rosters stay at 26 players for next season, the club might have to make a difficult decision in the outfield in order to not sacrifice other areas of the roster, particularly the pitching staff. If the Rays feel the need to move an outfielder, Kiermaier or Tsutsugo make the most sense. Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, would be nearly impossible to replace at center field, but is scheduled to make over $23 million over the last two years of his contract.