TAMPA, Fla. – It’s about this time of the baseball season when Major League general managers and decision-makers tug on their gamblers’ visors, roll the dice, and hope their luck at the upcoming July 31 trade deadline can change the fortunes of their club.
Just a few weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Rays, directly in the path of any post-season conversation, quietly went about their business. When manager Kevin Cash told reporters during the Rays’ final home stand before the All-Star game that “we have a very good baseball team,” he expressed confidence for future success. After all, the Rays triumphed through June and were a season-best 11 games over .500 on June 26.
“Over the last road trip (before the All-Star game), we did play our best baseball,” Cash told FanDuel Sports just before the break. “I’d like to see us bounce here when we start against Baltimore (on July 18).”
On July 2, right-hander Ryan Pepiot defeated the Athletics at George Steinbrenner Field and the win put the Rays within one-half game of the AL-East division lead. Since July 4, the team lost eight of 10 games, dipped to 50-47 at the All-Star break and 5.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, the division leaders.
All of which may have changed the dynamics of how Erik Neander, head of the Rays’ baseball operations, looks at the future. From a comfortable position only a few weeks ago to concern, the coming period could test Neander and Cash with challenging decisions.
The question now on their plate centers around the temptation of a successful June That’s when the starting rotation was strong, the lethal bats constantly put up crooked numbers and things fell neatly into place. Now, the Rays seem to revert back to April and May and a protracted period, from earlier this season, of dismay and failure.
When the club was going well, the enticement did not change the dynamics of the team, and the reality to move players. With the trade deadline looming, here are a few possibilities.
BULLPEN – While Cash holds Peter Fairbanks in high esteem, the veteran closer has been less than successful over recent games. Though he carries 2.75 ERA and 15 saves into the second half, Fairbank has a history of inconsistency. On July 11, he surrendered a two-run, walk-off homer to the Red Sox’s Ceddanne Rafalla and Fairbanks’s lack of consistency may have prompted a recent move.
Another believer who could be moved is lefty Garrett Clevinger. Similar to Fairbanks with a low 2.62 ERA at the break, Clevenger is prone to inconsistency as well. He entered the break at 0-4 and in one of his final appearances before the All-Star game, he allowed a bunt single from the Twins’ Brooks Lee into a walk off single.
Toss in again the unpredictability of another reliever, Edwin Uceta, and Cash and Neander draw legitimate concerns from the bullpen.
In early July, the Rays went out and acquired reliever Bryan Baker from Baltimore for a draft pick, and the veteran right-hander would be considered as a closer or short reliever. All of which could offer Fairbanks to other clubs. The Phillies could be a potential landing spot for Fairbanks. To be fair, the Rays may not seek a player considered to assist in a potential stretch run.
That’s because the Tampa offense appears ready to continue its offensive production. Led by the trio of Jonathan Aranda, Yandy Diaz, and Junior Camerino, the Rays await the return of a healthy Brandon Lowe, currently out with an oblique strain.
Through late June, Lowe carried the Rays with a torrid bat, and those behind him dropped the baton.
In the All-Star game, Aranda showed his contribution and was rewarded when manager Aaron Boone selected the Rays’ first baseman as part of their AL trio to compete in the swing-off. Among league leaders, Aranda remains atop the leader board in batting average and exit velocity.
Coming out of the break, the offense will likely pick up momentum. Diaz, who won the AL batting crown just two years ago is a proven hitter, Aranda continues to hit the ball hard, and Josh Lowe is expected to add average and power to the line-up. Once Brandon Lowe returns, the Rays will field a dynamic offensive threat and that will complement a strong starting rotation of Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz, and Pepiot. Any one of these starters could be moved, but given their 2025 production, that is not terribly likely.
RAYS AT THE TRADING DEADLINE – The betting line is Neander and Cash see the season as ebb and flow. Right now, the Rays are in a funk, but proved, earlier this season, they can rebound and draw success. The popular assumption is that the Rays “are not broken,” and given the protracted consequences of a 162 game, six-month schedule, there are numerous ups and down periods. The conversational wisdom holds that the Rays will regain production and remain in a postseason conversation. For that reason, Neander may make a minor deal but nothing to disrupt, which club officials believe is a contingent capable of playing competitive baseball in October.
