How to watch the Rays live: stream the Tampa Bay Rays online from anywhere

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Rays will be quite a different team in 2018 after trading Evan Longoria to the Giants in December. After four straight losing seasons though, it was time to change things up and the team is currently undergoing a major overhaul.  

Will the Rays be able to keep up their four-man rotation the entire season and could this new direction take them to the top of the AL East and maybe even this year's World Series? It seems unlikely, but you can find out by live streaming every game thanks to our guide

If you're a dedicated Rays fan then you know how hard it can be to keep up with the team all season without a premium cable TV subscription and even then you'll still miss out on home games due to MLB network restrictions. We'll show you how to stream the Rays' entire season online so you won't miss a single game whether you live in Tampa or even outside of the US.

How to stream the Rays live online

When it comes to streaming baseball online, your first choice has to be MLB.TV. Not only does it have the most extensive game coverage, but the devices it supports are really varied, too.

You can watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV. Or if you prefer to see the games in HD you can view them on demand. MLB.TV’s out-of-market yearly packages are the best for value and you can choose whether you want to watch all the teams in the league for $115.99 a year or just follow a single team for $89.99 a year.

MLB.TV works on all of the most popular streaming devices including Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and many others so you’ll never miss a game no matter where you are.

Stream the Rays in Tampa, during blackout games and outside the US

If there is no official broadcast option in your country or a game is not playing locally on MLB.TV due to an MLB blackout, you'll need to use a VPN to dial in to a location in the US that does have coverage. A VPN is perfect for this as it allows you to change your IP address so you appear to be in a completely different location. We've tested hundreds of VPNs and can recommend these as the best three VPNs currently available:

1. Express VPN (comes with a 30 day money back guarantee)

1. Express VPN (comes with a 30 day money back guarantee)
This is the #1 rated best VPN in the world right now. You can watch on many devices at once including Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets etc. Check out Express VPN

2. NordVPN: SmartPlay tech makes NordVPN a great choice for streaming.

3. VyprVPN: blazing speeds make VyprVPN a great choice for 4K video

Avoid the MLB blackout with a VPN

If you live in Tampa and don't want to pay for local cable television just to watch some baseball, catching the Rays live is made very difficult for you. Because the MLB agrees exclusive rights for those stations, MLB.TV can't broadcast as the action happens. You have to settle to watch the game 90 minutes after it ends.

But using a VPN is a handy -and legal - way around this. Once you've signed up to an MLB subscription, grab one of our recommended VPNs and log in. Then use a server in another state and watch those Rays rock!

Other ways to watch the Tampa Bay Rays online

MLB.TV won't be for everyone. If you want a paid option that includes other television and sports, then going for a more all-encompassing plan might be better for you. Below are some other options to consider.

But remember that the same applies if you're trying to watch the Rays within Florida or are trying to watch a blackout game - you'll need a VPN to do so, so check out how to do that above.

Facebook

Thanks to a deal between Facebook and Major League Baseball, you can stream 25 afternoon games in the US for free right from the social network. All of the games will take place on weekday afternoons (primarily on Wednesdays) at the MLB Facebook page, but this is a free option that gives you a taste of what it’s like to be able to stream MLB games from your browser.

Twitter

Following in Facebook's footsteps, Twitter has the right to live stream an MLB game every week during the regular season. Again, these will be on weekday afternoons at live.twitter.com/MLB.

ESPN+

ESPN+ offers fans a dynamic lineup of live sports, high-quality original shows and films, exclusive studio programs and an unmatched on-demand library. And it's really cheap, costing only $4.99 per month.

When it comes to MLB, ESPN+ features one MLB game each day, seven days per week throughout the MLB regular season. That means it isn't the most comprehensive option for obsessive Rays fans. But if you’re interested in following the MLB as a whole and want to catch up with other big games, than this service could be a good fit.

The best of the rest for streaming the Rays:

  • DIRECTV NOW $50 per month - DIRECTV NOW gives users all the channels needed to watch MLB online and also comes with some extra channels as well.  If you want a lot of content to choose from and don’t mind watching the games live as the service doesn’t include cloud DVR, then DIRECTV NOW’s 7-day trial will let you test out the platform.
  • Sling TV $40 per month - Sling TV is an inexpensive way to watch baseball though you’ll be missing out on games shown on the MLB Network.  The service splits its content into two different TV packages which does make things cheaper though to stream MLB you’ll need to sign up for both.  Sling TV is compatible with Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, Chromecast as well as lots of other devices and its easy to get started with a 7-day free trial
  • fuboTV $19.99 for the first month - fuboTV has a low introductory price though after that the price goes up to $44.99 a month and includes 70 channels. Unfortunately it does not have ESPN, MLB Network or TBS though it does offer strong local coverage and 30 hours of cloud DVR storage.  fuboTV does has a 7-day trial available so you can test out its functionality for yourself.

Adam Marshall

Adam was formerly the Content Director of Subscriptions and Services at Future, meaning that he oversaw many of the articles TechRadar produces about antivirus software, VPN, TV streaming, broadband and mobile phone contracts - from buying guides and deals news, to industry interest pieces and reviews. Adam has now dusted off his keyboard to write articles for the likes of TechRadar, T3 and Tom's Guide.