The Rays are among the many extra fascinating bubble groups with the deadline eight days off. Tampa Bay entered Monday’s sequence finale with the Yankees at 50-49. They dropped the sport 9-1, placing them again to .500.
Monday’s loss knocked Tampa Bay 5 video games behind the Royals, who maintain the ultimate Wild Card spot within the American League. The Crimson Sox and Mariners additionally sit between the Rays and the final playoff spot. They’re 10.5 again with three groups to leap within the AL East, so it’s virtually actually Wild Card or bust. A five-game deficit actually isn’t insurmountable, nevertheless it’s not a simple hole to shut both (particularly with a number of groups to leap).
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweeted final evening that the Rays are anticipated to each purchase and promote on the deadline. Presumably, that’d take the type of purchasing gamers on dearer salaries and/or a dwindling management window whereas exploring acquisitions of MLB-ready expertise who might support the Rays in an extended shot playoff push this season and contribute to the 2025 roster. Tampa Bay’s entrance workplace is lots conversant in attempting to strike that steadiness as they give the impression of being to stay yearly aggressive regardless of backside 5 participant payrolls.
The Rays haven’t any scarcity of veterans who’d generate curiosity. The Rays had 5 gamers on MLBTR’s preliminary checklist of Prime 50 commerce candidates final week: Zack Littell, Zach Eflin, Pete Fairbanks, Randy Arozarena and Jason Adam. There’d be a ton of curiosity in Isaac Paredes if the Rays genuinely thought-about transferring their All-Star third baseman. SNY’s Andy Martino wrote final week that the Rays are keen to pay attention on Paredes, although there’s nothing to counsel that’s greater than the group’s customary openness to speaking about each participant.
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz are every making between $8M and $9M and can be interesting targets in a lightweight infield market. Amed Rosario has had a pleasant rebound season after signing a surprisingly low $1.5MM free agent deal. He’s headed again to free company subsequent winter and gives multi-positional versatility and plus contact abilities from the proper facet. Nearly each contender might squeeze him onto the roster and of their payroll ledger.
Tampa Bay actually isn’t going to commerce everybody from that group. The Rays have by no means been eager on fully tearing down the roster and embarking on multi-year rebuilds. They’re not far sufficient from the playoff combine to make that advisable regardless. But it’d be shocking if the Rays didn’t a minimum of transfer one or two veterans. Rosario, as their solely impending free agent of be aware, is the obvious candidate. The entrance workplace is clearly keen to deal some gamers beneath staff management past this season, as evidenced by their commerce of starter Aaron Civale (who’s eligible for arbitration for the ultimate time subsequent winter) to Milwaukee.
Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of the Athletic wrote Monday that the Rays could possibly be extra apt to commerce gamers who’re going yearly via arbitration than to deal these taking part in on assured contracts. Arozarena, Paredes, Littell and Adam fall into the primary bucket. Fairbanks, Díaz and Lowe have signed extensions, whereas Eflin joined Tampa Bay on a three-year free agent deal. There’s not a lot distinction between gamers on assured contracts versus arbitration salaries in apply, however The Athletic writes that the Rays might really feel extra of an obligation to carry the gamers who’ve dedicated to the franchise for a number of seasons.
Whereas that’s a doable issue, it’d be shocking if the Rays drew too inflexible a distinction. Tampa Bay traded Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot — every of whom had signed an extension — to the Dodgers final winter. Glasnow’s deal despatched him near house on the West Coast and got here along with one other extension with L.A.; the Dodgers flipped Margot to Minnesota inside a couple of weeks. Tampa Bay traded Blake Snell inside two years of signing him to a five-year extension again in December 2020.
Eflin ($11M), Lowe ($8.75M) and Díaz ($8M) have the very best salaries amongst gamers on multi-year offers. Arozarena’s $8.1M wage is by far the very best of Tampa Bay’s group of gamers on arbitration offers. Eflin will make $18M subsequent yr within the last season of his backloaded contract. Díaz is ready to make $10M subsequent season on a deal that has a $12M staff choice for 2026. The Rays maintain membership choices on Lowe (valued at $10.5M and $11.5M, respectively) for the subsequent two seasons.
Arozarena is ready to undergo arbitration twice extra, whereas Paredes is eligible for arbitration via the 2027 marketing campaign. He’ll actually be in line for a lofty elevate on this yr’s $3.4M wage. Fairbanks, Adam, Rosario and Littell are all on modest salaries; Fairbanks’ $3.666M determine is the very best of the bunch. All however Rosario are beneath contract or membership management for a minimum of one other season.
If the Rays finally straddle the road between shopping for and promoting, they’re pretty properly positioned to deal from their rotation and infield. Shane Baz’s return from Tommy John surgical procedure was one motive for the Civale commerce. The Rays might welcome again Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen over the subsequent couple months and can get Shane McClanahan again in 2025 — maybe lessening the sting of a deal involving Eflin or Littell. Higher stage infielders like Curtis Mead and prime prospect Junior Caminero might make it simpler to half with Lowe. That’s arguably additionally true of Paredes, though it’d have been a neater promote if Caminero hadn’t had two prolonged injured checklist stints in Triple-A this yr due to quad points.
Tampa Bay doesn’t have as a lot long-term stability within the outfield, significantly if it strikes Arozarena sooner or later. At catcher, it has gotten good manufacturing this yr out of Ben Rortvedt however might nonetheless search for a clearer long-term reply. Tampa Bay’s sometimes glorious bullpen has been an surprising concern this season, in order that’s one other space the place the Rays might look so as to add.
