PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Avert your eyes. Ignore the stats.

If you were worried about Tampa Bay’s offense coming into the spring, this is probably not the story you want to read. While the news was positive Sunday, the bigger picture is still more bleak than you would prefer.

To set the stage:

The Rays began Sunday morning with at least mild concern about the offensive production of their outfielders. Between them, Jonny DeLuca, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel and Richie Palacios had 114 spring at-bats and no home runs. At that point, they had combined for a .211 batting average, a .286 on-base percentage and a .263 slugging percentage.

Sure, it’s a relatively small sample size and spring training stats are not to be trusted. Yet, it wasn’t the start the Rays were hoping for, considering they are coming off their worst offensive season in franchise history.

That’s why Sunday’s split-squad games against the Yankees (a 7-5 loss) and the Nationals (an 11-5 win) took on an outsized importance. Lowe started the turnaround with his first homer of the spring in West Palm Beach and, not too long afterward, Morel followed with his first home run in Port Charlotte. By the end of the day, DeLuca, Lowe, Morel and Palacios had combined to go 6 for 13 with two walks, a double and the two home runs.

“Incredibly encouraging,” said manager Kevin Cash, who was managing the Port Charlotte game. “I heard about Josh’s, and I’m happy for him, and I watched Morel. That was probably a little bit of relief for him. He’s been grinding through some at-bats.

“It’s always good to get into a ball like that. (Hitting coach Chad Mottola) had said his last two days of BP had gone well for him. And so it’s nice to see some results in the game.”

And it was necessary to keep the performance of the outfielders from becoming a louder conversation. Because, a little more than a week from opening day, it feels like a lot more hope than verifiable evidence that the Rays will get enough production from the outfield to provide a league-average offense.

It’s not just the spring numbers. There’s not a lot of history, not a lot of consistency and, prior to Sunday, not a lot of reason for enthusiasm.

A year ago, the Rays broke camp with the makings of a fast, powerful, emerging group of outfielders. Lowe, Randy Arozarena and Jose Siri were coming off a season when the three Tampa Bay outfielders had averaged 23 homers and 22 stolen bases apiece.

Instead of inching toward 30/30 seasons, all three took a step backward. In Lowe’s case, it began with a series of injuries. For Arozarena, it was an inexplicable decline. And for Siri, it was the same up-and-down type of tease that had led Houston to give up on him. All of Tampa Bay’s outfielders ended up combining for a .658 OPS, which was 26th in the league

And so, by the end of 2024, Arozarena had been traded to Seattle, Siri was dealt to the Mets and the Rays were envisioning a new-look outfield.

Morel had been acquired in a midseason trade with the Cubs — where he had averaged a home run every 17 at-bats since 2023 — and promptly went into a tailspin with the Rays. DeLuca had arrived the previous offseason from the Dodgers and finished 2024 with a solid final two months after a challenging first half.

There was an element of blind faith when it came to handing starting jobs to both of them, and the previous few weeks of spring had not done a lot to assure the Rays that they had made the correct move. Morel was the biggest concern, considering his power potential. And, after striking out in 29.5% of his at-bats for the Rays last year, he began the spring with a 44.8% strikeout rate in his first 29 at-bats.

“It’s a mental thing, no doubt about it,” Cash said. “That’s our job as a staff to make sure we’re continuing with the positive reinforcement. Even after (Saturday’s) game, there was some (outward) frustration during the game, but I heard (Mottola) say, ‘Hey, we had a huge step in the right direction.’ (Saturday), Morel didn’t get the results. Got a good result (Sunday).”

Maybe it sounds harsh to bring this up just before opening day. But those three positions really could determine how Tampa Bay’s season goes. The Rays potentially have an elite starting rotation, a top-notch bullpen and enough defense and speed to contend in the American League East.

Getting more production from the outfielders is going to be imperative for this offense.

The Rays better hope Sunday was a turning point.

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