Morrison says Rays don't want to win: 'That's the environment'

Logan Morrison was among the wave of departures from the Tampa Bay Rays this past winter, and was critical of the front office upon his return to Tropicana Field last weekend.

Now a member of the Minnesota Twins, Morrison accused the Rays of not trying to be competitive after trading Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson, Steven Souza, and Jake Odorizzi during the offseason, and allowing Alex Cobb, Lucas Duda, and himself to walk via free agency.

"I see the part of it where players look at it as like, 'All right, do well so I can get traded, so I can get out of here.' It's not like they want to win here, unfortunately," Morrison said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "That's the environment it's created. … I don't think it's a secret."

Morrison hit a career-high 38 home runs for the Rays last season, while Souza, Dickerson, and Longoria each hit at least 20. But rather than trying to improve a core that helped win 80 games, the Rays opted to blow it up. Now through 21 contest in 2018, Tampa's offense has been dismal, ranking 26th in home runs and 22nd in OPS while the team sits with an 8-13 record.

Morrison believes those choices might also prevent younger players from signing extensions in the future, as there's always a threat that the team will be looking to deal.

"The way you have to operate, I guess, here is not a way that's going to be successful long term. It's just not going to happen. You're just not going to win trades over and over and over and over and over again," Morrision said. "And I think players are starting to realize we're not going to be taking those (longer-term, arbitration-avoiding, free-agency delaying) deals you want to offer us anymore. So they know. The writing's on the wall. Now it's like you have six years of control, but by the time they get to their fifth year, they're too expensive.''