ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays will leave Tropicana Field after Sunday’s game against the Guardians, and by the time they play there again July 26 against the Reds, their roster could look quite different.
That’s because their early poor play and recent improved performance have put them into the grayest of areas heading into the July 30 trade deadline.
Does baseball operations president Erik Neander concede and trade higher-priced players, such as Zach Eflin, Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, All-Star Isaac Paredes and/or Pete Fairbanks, and start looking to 2025?
Does he double down and find a couple of bats (one being a right-handed-hitting catcher), a top starter and/or a power bullpen arm to fuel a run at a sixth straight playoff berth?
Or does he find a Rays-like way to split the difference, trading one or two of his chips while also filling a couple of holes and remaining a contender?
Manager Kevin Cash is confident the Rays (47-47 entering Saturday) are good enough as they are to play into October. But he also acknowledges the reality of the standings.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to be mindful of both situations, getting into the postseason or not,” manager Kevin Cash said. “So, Erik’s got a hard job.”
Eflin is likely to be the hottest Rays name in trade-deadline rumors during the next two weeks, given his high level of performance and rising salary. He will get $18 million in 2025 in the final season of a three-year deal.
Eflin, who said he refreshingly dropped off social media in the spring, doesn’t plan to pay too much attention, dismissing the veracity of most reports.
“I have a theory that everything you see on the internet is an opinion, and it’s not very believable to me. There’s a lot of fake stuff out there,” he said. “The only thing you can control is the day you have in the present. … I don’t like worrying about other things, hearsay and whatnot.”
Plus, he believes the players can drive Neander’s decision-making.
“Show up every day trying to win and doing everything we can, because if we win we stay together as a team,” he said. “And if we don’t win, some things could happen. So, control what we can control.”
If the Rays were to trade Eflin, they would seem to have enough starters, with Jeffrey Springs a couple of rehab starts from joining Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell and Ryan Pepiot. Drew Rasmussen, who also could be used as a reliever, will start rehab soon. There also is some depth, though not a lot, at Triple A.
Arozarena also has been the subject of much speculation, given his recently improved play and increasing salary ($8.1 million, two more years of arbitration eligibility and unlikely to do a multiyear deal before 2027 free agency). But if the Rays don’t get an outfielder back in a deal, he seems the toughest player to replace.
Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter
We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.
Loading...
You’re all signedup!
Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Let’sgetstarted.
Explore all your optionsIf the Rays trade one of their infielders, top prospect Junior Caminero, who is completing a rehab from a late May quad strain, should be ready to step in at third base. The team could shuffle the others accordingly.
The Rays have been reshaping their roster over the past month, parting ways with three of their eight highest-paid players.
They ate most of what was left on outfielder/DH Harold Ramirez’s (eighth-highest) $3.8 million contract but saved a couple million in dealing both starter Aaron Civale (No. 7, $4.9 million) and reliever Phil Maton (No. 5, $6.25 million). Neander, however, said the trades were made to open deserved spots for Baz and reliever Manuel Rodriguez.
“Without Shane, without Manny, we probably don’t make these decisions right now and we’re continuing forward as we (were),” Neander said.
Now it’s a matter of seeing what they do next.
Consequential matters
The decisive votes by the St. Petersburg City Council on the Rays’ proposed new stadium and redevelopment plan are set for Thursday, likely mid- to late afternoon, with the meeting starting at 11 a.m. The final step, a vote by the Pinellas County Commission, looks to be July 30, awkwardly the same day as the trade deadline. … After paying Wander Franco half of his $2 million salary for the first three-plus months of the season, the Rays were quick to halt that by shifting him to MLB’s restricted list once he was formally charged by Dominican Republic prosecutors with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor, and human trafficking. The move seemed premised on the idea that, given the magnitude of the charges, Franco could not get a visa to enter the United States and thus not report to work. ... With a preliminary hearing in the multi-layered Dominican legal process on Aug. 14, resolution on Franco’s legal case still could be at least months away. It would be followed by an MLB investigation and potential discipline, which could impact the remaining $172 million the team owes him.
Rays rumblings
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) July 12, 2024"Unlike Dez, he caught it."
Wisconsin native Pete Fairbanks describing the catch by Jose Caballero to end the game tonight 😂 pic.twitter.com/YffNH1AVKk
Nice try by ESPN connecting Fairbanks’ reference to Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant in his Thursday postgame comments to being a Packers fan based on his Milwaukee birthplace. But the Fairbanks family moved to Missouri when Pete was about 1, he’s a Bucs fan, and his aim was to troll Cowboys fans, such as teammate Colin Poche. … For whatever reason, “baseball’s going to baseball” has become a popular phrase among Rays players in explaining bad breaks. … David Price was the ninth-best top overall pick in MLB history, per a ranking by Bleacher Report. The Rays did not fare as well with Josh Hamilton (16th), Delmon Young (32nd) and Tim Beckham (45th). … According to the relatively new “stuff+” metric based on the physical characteristics of pitches, Pepiot ranks seventh (tied with, of all people, Tyler Glasnow) and Bradley 13th among MLB starters; Jason Adam is tied for 16th among relievers. … T-shirt sales and an online auction are available to support Pete and Lydia Fairbanks’ Strikeouts for Ellis (the baby they lost during the offseason) campaign supporting the Turner Syndrome Foundation in advance of the July 28 game event. … Per foxsports.com, Bradley was the Rays’ biggest All-Star snub. ... Nice touch by the Rays holding a moment of silence for longtime Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who died Thursday. … Fairbanks also took aim at the volume inside the Rangers’ Globe Life Field, referring to it as “that concert venue.”
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
