ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays are big-name hunting.
They've had internal conversations, expressed interest, reached out — and all the other relevant buzzwords this time of year — on, in and to just about all the obvious free agents and potential trade candidates you'd expect, plus surely a few others, in the bid to improve their 90-win team enough to make the playoffs.
With money to spend, for a change, given a payroll that could be as low as $32 million and flexibility with their roster, Rays officials are talking in terms of "considering high-end upgrades" and "exploring the top shelf.