Editor\u2019s note: Baseball is back and Yahoo Sports is previewing all 30 teams over the next month. This year\u2019s previews will focus on fantasy and reality, as our MLB news staff and our fantasy baseball crew come together to assess each team before opening day. Next up, the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/em><\/p>\n Popularizing the \u201copener”<\/a>\u00a0is going to follow the\u00a0Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>\u00a0for a while, which is probably a badge of honor for one of baseball\u2019s most forward-thinking franchises. The Rays, who have never been big spenders, continually find interesting ways to compete with the likes of the\u00a0New York Yankees<\/a>\u00a0and Boston Red Sox<\/a>\u00a0in the AL East.<\/p>\n The problem is, every year seems like a new challenge. Every year is an opportunity to ask, \u201cCan they really do it again<\/em>?\u201d For their sake, let\u2019s hope for the opener strategy has a longer shelf-life than the Wildcat offense had in the NFL.<\/p>\n The Rays, who won 90 games last year, have managed to find success despite having a lot of moving parts. Heck,\u00a0they traded Chris Archer<\/a>\u00a0at the deadline last year. Of course, they had the\u00a0eventual AL Cy Young winner<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Blake Snell<\/a>, so that sure helps.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always a sum-of-the-parts type strategy in Tampa Bay. This year\u2019s parts may not blow you away on paper \u2014 besides Snell, there\u2019s not really a must-have fantasy player, for instance \u2014 but that\u2019s kind of how the Rays do it. They have players loaded with potential (Austin Meadows<\/a>?\u00a0Tyler Glasnow<\/a>?) and guys who will often surprise you.<\/p>\n Which makes them always a sneaky team to keep an eye on, whether you\u2019re the Red Sox and Yankees or someone trying to populate a fantasy roster. – Mike Oz<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0biggest prize of the Rays offseason<\/a>\u00a0is veteran starter\u00a0Charlie Morton<\/a>, whose name may not ring out like\u00a0Bryce Harper<\/a>, but he\u2019s been mighty good the last two years for the\u00a0Houston Astros<\/a>. He gives the Rays a solid second starter behind Snell, and another good arm to bridge the gap between the front of the rotation and the openers.<\/p>\nRays\u2019 offseason grade<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Tampa](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/BA2iUinkhi1lQpdC047RWQ--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5c891ed524000093024b9005.jpeg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/g\/images\/spaceball.gif\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/yVkeptUluYYqAoD2pDjRWQ--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5c889c8e24000093024b8fcd.jpeg\")