NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays will debut new road gray jerseys Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, restoring “Tampa Bay” across the chest of their primary road uniform for the first time since 2007 — and doing so with a chance to clinch the American League East title on the same night.
The club announced the uniform change Monday morning, ending a four-year absence of gray road jerseys that began after the 2022 season. The new look draws directly from the original Devil Rays road grays worn from 1998 to 2000, updated with modern Rays navy blue largely replacing the black from that era’s color scheme.
“These uniforms celebrate our long-term commitment to Tampa Bay,” Rays chief executive officer Ken Babby said in a statement. “As our team travels the country, we do so with tremendous admiration for our home. Tampa Bay is always in our hearts and that’s why we will wear it across our chest.”
The return of “Tampa Bay” to a primary road jersey is a deliberate signal from the Rays’ new ownership group, which has moved to anchor the franchise in the region with a planned “Forever Home” ballpark in Tampa. The team last featured “Tampa Bay” on a primary jersey in 2007, when the club dropped “Devil” from its name during a full rebrand. The City Connect uniforms introduced in 2024 also carry “Tampa Bay” on the chest but are worn only on select occasions.
The new jerseys replace the current Columbia blue road jerseys featuring the club’s “burst” logo, as well as the navy jerseys the Rays have also worn on the road. Design details include a repositioned ray graphic moved closer to the lettering for a cleaner look, and a front gradient meant to mirror the color scheme of the original Devil Rays home uniforms — a style the Rays reintroduced into their permanent rotation in 2023 to mark the franchise’s 25th anniversary.
Fan input shaped the final design. The Rays posted polls on their social media channels on March 6 presenting four different designs and asked followers to weigh in. The jersey fans selected is the one the team chose.
“We are particularly proud that our fans helped choose this design,” Babby said, “and we love the fact they want the baseball world to see ‘Tampa Bay’ when we play on the road.”
The new jerseys will make their on-field debut in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, where Tampa Bay needs just one win to clinch its first American League East championship since 2021. Fans can place preorders for the new jersey at the Bay Republic Team Store at Tropicana Field beginning Monday.