The Rays are among the many extra fascinating bubble groups with the deadline eight days off. Tampa Bay entered right this moment’s collection finale with the Yankees at 50-49. They dropped the sport 9-1, placing them again to .500.
At this time’s loss knocked Tampa Bay 5 video games behind the Royals, who maintain the ultimate Wild Card spot within the American League. The Purple 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 definitely Wild Card or bust. A five-game deficit definitely isn’t insurmountable, but it surely’s not a straightforward hole to shut both (particularly with a number of groups to leap).
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweeted final night time 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 that 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 aware of making an attempt to strike that steadiness as they give the impression of being to stay yearly aggressive regardless of backside 5 participant payrolls.
The Rays don’t have any scarcity of veterans who’d generate curiosity. The Rays had 5 gamers on MLBTR’s preliminary listing of High 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 hear on Paredes, although there’s nothing to recommend that’s greater than the group’s normal openness to speaking about each participant.
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz are every making between $8MM and $9MM and can be interesting targets in a light-weight 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 presents multi-positional versatility and plus contact expertise from the fitting facet. Nearly each contender may squeeze him onto the roster and of their payroll ledger.
Tampa Bay definitely 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 not less than transfer one or two veterans. Rosario, as their solely impending free agent of observe, is the obvious candidate. The entrance workplace is clearly keen to deal some gamers below crew 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 this morning that the Rays might 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 observe, however The Athletic writes that the Rays may 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 attainable 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 residence on the West Coast and got here along side 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 ($11MM), Lowe ($8.75MM) and Díaz ($8MM) have the best salaries amongst gamers on multi-year offers. Arozarena’s $8.1MM wage is by far the best of Tampa Bay’s group of gamers on arbitration offers. Eflin will make $18MM subsequent yr within the remaining season of his backloaded contract. Díaz is ready to make $10MM subsequent season on a deal that has a $12MM crew possibility for 2026. The Rays maintain membership choices on Lowe (valued at $10.5MM and $11.5MM, respectively) for the subsequent two seasons.
Arozarena is ready to undergo arbitration twice extra, whereas Paredes is eligible for arbitration via the ’27 marketing campaign. He’ll definitely be in line for a lofty elevate on this yr’s $3.4MM wage. Fairbanks, Adam, Rosario and Littell are all on modest salaries; Fairbanks’ $3.666MM determine is the best of the bunch. All however Rosario are below contract or membership management for not less than one other season.
If the Rays in the end 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 may 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 may 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 listing stints in Triple-A this yr due to quad points.
Tampa Bay doesn’t have as a lot long-term stability within the outfield, notably in the event that they transfer Arozarena in some unspecified time in the future. At catcher, they’ve gotten good manufacturing this yr out of Ben Rortvedt however may nonetheless search for a clearer long-term reply. Tampa Bay’s sometimes wonderful bullpen has been an sudden difficulty this season, in order that’s one other space the place the Rays might look so as to add.