Rays ready to win now but forced to always build for future

In just a few weeks, the Tampa Bay Rays will be heading to Port Charlotte for the start of spring training and whatever lies ahead.

Most people believe they'll be in the hunt for a playoff spot, even in the high-rent district of the American League East. Certainly, no one with the Rays is conceding anything to the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

If anything, it's just the opposite.

With the possibility of an extreme roster makeover for 2011 increasing every day, this becomes something of an "all in" season for the Rays - to borrow poker parlance. These Rays are built to win now, especially when one considers that it could be the final season in a Tampa Bay uniform for Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena (among several others).

"I agree with that. You always have to consider those other components, of course. Obviously, everything does point to this season. Who knows what the future will hold, whether we're going to be able to keep these people or not," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

"They're still young and they have many more good years to come, but they are Rays right now. Still, you have to be pragmatic and understand the economics of it and what potentially can happen. So for us, yeah, this is a big year for us."

Crawford and Pena can be free agents next year, along with Pat Burrell, and new closer Rafael Soriano. The Rays also hold a club option on reliever Dan Wheeler for 2011, plus catcher Dioner Navarro and reliever Grant Balfour are operating on one-year deals.

With the payroll expected to reach about $70 million this season or beyond, pending some possible late moves before the start of camp, the Rays are already beyond what owner Stu Sternberg says they can reasonably afford. Of course, the potential subtractions of Crawford, Pena, Burrell and Soriano could take $36 million from the payroll after this season.

You can already look through the organization and get an idea what next year and beyond might look like. Last week, the Rays had a number of top prospects in town for orientation and a meet-and-greet. Among them was Desmond Jennings, an outfielder considered the top prospect in the system.

Get to know him. He could well be the starting left fielder next season, assuming Crawford is wearing Yankee pinstripes by then.

Actually, those who take their baseball seriously have been watching Jennings for a while. They like what they see. Baseball America says he has "a lethal combination of speed and power" and calls him "a true game-changer."

They rave about his defensive skills in the outfield. They talk about the speed that helped him to 52 stolen bases in 59 tries last season, splitting time between Montgomery and Durham in the Rays' minor-league system. His combined .401 on-base percentage - he had 158 hits in 132 games - all but shouts "future leadoff man!"

"He can go get 'em in the outfield, and he has a great eye at the plate," Rays farm director Mitch Lukevics said. "The power is coming; he can steal bases and do things you need him to do to fit in with our offense. He has some seasoning to go through, but for him to do what he did on the Double-A and Triple-A level in his first full season has been really awesome."

That's the way the Rays have to do it.

They will never have the luxury of holding onto their players at any price, even a talent and cornerstone like Crawford. It's all about planning ahead for this organization, preparing for the day when the superstars that were developed here become too expensive to keep.

We know about the pitching being developed throughout this organization, so when decisions have to be made on the likes of James Shields and Matt Garza in a few years, there will be young arms ready to replace them if they leave.

We saw the impact shortstop Jason Bartlett had on the infield when he arrived in 2008, but former No. 1 draft pick Tim Beckham is learning his craft in the minors so he can be ready if needed down the road. The Scott Kazmir trade last August brought second baseman Sean Rodriguez, with the potential for power and flexibility.

For as much grief as executive vice president Andrew Friedman took last year for the trade that sent pitcher Edwin Jackson to Detroit for outfielder Matt Joyce, consider this: Jackson was recently traded again to Arizona, partly because the Tigers were looking to trim payroll. Jackson has filed for salary arbitration with the Diamondbacks and could be looking at a rapidly escalating salary, far beyond what his production would merit from a team like the Rays.

The Rays, meanwhile, expect Joyce to at least platoon in right field this year with increasing impact beyond that.

The fact that they have a plan to deal with mass departures won't make it any easier if Crawford and Pena do eventually leave, of course. That's the way the Rays have to play it, though.

Like Maddon said, though, they're still here for now and about to start a season that has a sense or urgency like no other for this team.