On this episode of Dirt From The Dugout, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil sit down with Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander on the eve of the playoffs, with Tampa Bay sitting atop the American League. 

Neander traces his rise from a Cal Ripken-loving kid near Cooperstown to an unpaid internship that had him sleeping in a coworker's walk-in closet for four months. He breaks down how the Rays blend scouting and analytics, why the Randy Arozarena trade showed the value of trusting your own evaluation, and how fatherhood has shaped the way he leads.

Check out our 2026 Playoff Merch Collection! 

On this episode of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-from-the-dugout/id1895617382">Dirt From The Dugout</a>, Karl Ravech and Justin Musil sit down with Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander on the eve of the playoffs, with Tampa Bay sitting atop the American League.&nbsp;
Neander traces his rise from a Cal Ripken-loving kid near Cooperstown to an unpaid internship that had him sleeping in a coworker's walk-in closet for four months. He breaks down how the Rays blend scouting and analytics, why the Randy Arozarena trade showed the value of trusting your own evaluation, and how fatherhood has shaped the way he leads.
<a href="https://foulterritoryshop.com/">Check out our 2026 Playoff Merch Collection!</a>&nbsp;

Baseball the way it should be covered and exclusive interviews with MLB studs #FTLive hosted by AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz, Todd Frazier, Kevin Pillar, Trevor May, Jason Kipnis, Jonathan Papelbon, Scott Braun, insider Ken Rosenthal and PTBNL. The world is our clubhouse.

Baseball the way it should be covered and exclusive interviews with MLB studs #FTLive hosted by AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz, Todd Frazier, Kevin Pillar, Trevor May, Jason Kipnis, Jonathan Papelbon, Scott Braun, insider Ken Rosenthal and PTBNL. The world is our clubhouse.

Foul Territory

Baseball the way it should be covered and exclusive interviews with MLB studs #FTLive hosted by AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz, Todd Frazier, Cameron Maybin, Trevor May, Jason Kipnis, Jonathan Papelbon, Scott Braun, insider Ken Rosenthal and PTBNL. The world is our clubhouse.

Rays President of Baseball Ops Erik Neander joins Karl Ravech's Dirt From The Dugout Ahead of the ALDS

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ab99d4e7-7820-49ba-a62f-b4d70103cf17/transcript