“More money for Juan Soto” – Fans HILARIOUSLY react as Rays set to play in Yankees’ spring training ground for 2025 season

The Tampa Bay Rays will play their home games at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training ground of the New York Yankees in the 2025 season.


“More money for Juan Soto” – Fans HILARIOUSLY react as Rays set to play in Yankees’ spring training ground for 2025 season

Steinbrenner Field, the spring training ground of the Yankees (Image via MLB)

On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced a massive decision regarding the 2025 season. The team revealed that they would be playing their home games at the Steinbrenner Field, the Tampa-based spring training ground of the New York Yankees.

This development comes after the Rays home stadium, Tropicana Field suffered massive damage due to Hurricane Milton in early October. A report from the Tampa Bay Times recently revealed $55 million as the total cost to repair the ballpark.

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The Steinbrenner Field, located in northwest Tampa is one of the biggest spring training grounds in MLB with a capacity of 11,000. It is also located down the street from the Raymond James Stadium, the home stadium of NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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As per reports from Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Rays had some other options as well including their own training ground in Port Charlotte, Florida. However, they decided to agree to a deal with the Yankees as this was one of the most major-league-ready option.

Commissioner Rob Manfred would later release a statement regarding this and appreciated the “hard work” and “collaboration” between the two teams.

Given the significant challenges caused by Hurricane Milton, I appreciate the hard work and collaboration between the two teams that allowed the Rays to make the best decision for next season. This outcome meets Major League Baseball’s goals that Rays’ fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families.

Rob Manfred said in a statement

The New York Yankees are set to receive a hefty revenue boost by helping their American League East rivals. According to AP, the Bronx Bombers will gain an additional $15 million in their revenue for the 2025 season following this agreement deal with the Rays.

This has ignited some hilarious reactions on social media with many fans pointing out how this additional $15 million could be valuable in landing Juan Soto back with the Yankees.

Social media reactions to Rays agreeing to play at Yankees spring training ground for 2025 season

Fans on social media were quick to throw in reactions to the announcement of the Tampa Bay Rays. The team’s deal to play in the spring training field of one of their rivals left the fans amused.

Steinbrenner Field
Steinbrenner Field (Image via NY Post)

MLB fans on X added superstar free agent Juan Soto in the mix while laughing at the situation. Soto, whose contract could reach up to $600 million in the offseason, has become a top priority for the Yankees.

Reacting to this development on X one fan wrote, “More money for Soto” while several others had a similar reaction. One fan sarcastically claimed that if the Yankees win the free agency war of Soto by $15 million, then they should “thank climate change.”

Check out them and some more reactions from X below:

The Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and has served as the home stadium of the Rays since their inception in 1998. The Field will be demolished when the construction of a new $1.3 billion ballpark is finished in time for the 2028 season.