{"id":1428,"date":"2024-11-16T15:12:13","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T15:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1428"},"modified":"2024-11-16T15:12:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T15:12:13","slug":"yankees-can-use-rays-rent-to-pay-juan-sotos-contract-like-a-greedy-landlord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1428","title":{"rendered":"Yankees can use Rays rent to pay Juan Soto\u2019s contract like a greedy landlord"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New York is letting a division rival use its Minor League facility in 2025, but at a cost.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Philadelphia Phillies v New York Yankees \/ Mike Ehrmann\/GettyImages<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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While certainly not the most significant impact of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton on the state of Florida, damage from the storms left the Tampa Bay Rays wondering where they’d be able to play their home games for the 2025\u00a0MLB\u00a0season. Tropicana Field was\u00a0left in tatters\u00a0in their wake, wind ripping the roof off of the dome and leaving the field and stands vulnerable to the elements.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately, the team announced that it wouldn’t be able to play next season at the Trop, eying a return in 2026 after significant repairs. What they might do in the meantime was an open question, one without a ton of good answers; short of picking the team up and moving to a different state \u2014 bringing with it a host of logistical issues, not to mention the optics of leaving a fan base that was just hammered by two different hurricanes \u2014 the only option would be to play in one of the many Minor League stadiums on the Gulf Coast of Florida.<\/p>\n

And sure enough, that’s exactly what the Rays have decided to do, announcing on Thursday that the team will play its 2025 home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa \u2014 otherwise known as the\u00a0New York Yankees’ spring training facility.<\/p>\n

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