It seems like only a few months ago the Oakland Las Vegas Sacramento — well, they’re just going by The Athletics at the moment, but you know the team — anyway it seemed like they would be the ones playing major league baseball in a minor league park.

But after a hurricane removed the roof of Tropicana Field the Rays were forced to find a new home ASAP.

The plans for the Rays‘ new stadium and/or repairs to The Top have been anything, but, smooth.

So for 2025 (and beyond? Who can say) they’ll be playing their games in the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees: George M. Steinbrenner Field. Which will mean…what exactly? Well, we don’t quite know yet. Though if this does become an extended stay MLB teams will have reams of data to pour over for 2026 and beyond.

We do know the dimensions of the field because the Yankees, like the Red Sox sometimes do with various Green Monsters, want their spring park to be familiar.

GMS Field’s dimensions are identical to those of Yankee Stadium, a famously homer-friendly venue.

But dimensions aren’t everything (the linked piece gets into more details) and Coors field isn’t a tiny field — it’s the air up there. Which might teach us something.

GMS Field is likely to have thinner air than the Sacramento park, ranking closer to the top of the league in average air density. Even though the park is only a couple dozen feet above sea level, the average temperatures during game time would have been five degrees warmer than any other stadium in the sample; the average humidity would’ve ranked third. It’s going to be hot and humid, and the ball is going to fly.

While looking at seven factors (outfield fences, foul territory, batter’s eye and lighting, temperature, humidity, wind, and altitude) that influence stadium play, ESPN’s Todd Zola hypothesized:

…a left-handed batter projected to hit 30 homers for the season while playing 81 games at Tropicana Field would be expected to hit 33.9 homers with Steinbrenner Field as his home field.

So what does this all mean? Well, it’s a bit like Yankee Stadium in ways The Trop was not. But also it’s not a series in the summer heat – which MLB tried to avoid a bit by shaking up the Rays schedule.

With a Red Sox pitching staff that’s already battered and depleted, try to keep an eye on the Rays’ lefty bats. But hey, Boston has some lefties too…maybe it’ll be an offensive outburst? You know how much we’d all like that!

Probable Pitching Matchups

Monday April 14: Tanner Houck (4.41 ERA / 5.62 FIP) vs. Shane Baz (1.38 ERA / 2.45 FIP)

Tuesday April 15: Walker Buehler (5.74 ERA / 4.46 FIP) vs. Ryan Pepiot (3.38 ERA / 5.74 FIP)

Wednesday April 16: TBD vs. Zach Littell (6.88 ERA / 5.69 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Monday April 14: 7:05 PM ET on NESN

Tuesday April 15: 7:05 PM ET on NESN

Wednesday April 16: 7:05 PM ET on ESPN