The Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners made the first major trade of the offseason early Friday morning, sending All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Pacific Northwest in exchange for two prospects. and a player to be named later. (You can read our full analysis of the trade by clicking here.) Then they did a second big trade hours later, sending right-hander Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles for three more players. On Sunday morning, they he sent reliever Jason Adam to the Padres for three chances then he flipped Isaac Paredes to the Cubs that afternoon. It’s clear the Rays are open to trading — at least to some extent — before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Tampa Bay’s entry into the market as a retailer is a surprising development. Although the Rays’ odds suggest they are worse than their record indicates, their roster has plenty of attractive trade prospects. With that in mind, here are some Rays that teams may be talking about before the July 30 deadline. (Note that this piece originally had Eflin at No. 1. We think you can count that as a hit.)
Lowe’s business value is hard to beat. When he’s healthy, he’s still a top-tier player with a lot of emotional points (even if he’s playing a milestone since 2023). The problem is that Lowe is not healthy for long. If he played in every game left on the Rays’ schedule, he would finish the year with 114 games — and that would represent the second most of his career. Lowe’s contract includes team options for the next two seasons. We suspect the Rays won’t be the team making the call for at least the second of those two years.
Littell, one of last year’s big surprises, hasn’t had the same success this year. The Rays may still feel compelled to move him, however, because he is slated to become a free agent after the 2025 campaign. Littell lives in and around the area and is very good at drawing punches using the force. led by his slide and a piece. (His four-yard home run is now his third home run.) He’s always been hit harder than the average right-handed pitcher, and that hit rate is the only thing in him. interfere with being a league player. A team that hopes he can find an answer to those problems from then on might consider him a better investment than a hired hand.
3. 1B Yandy Díaz
Díaz, 33, comes in early August, with one guaranteed season remaining on his contract. In general, he is still the same player as always: he controls the batting area; hits the ball very hard, often into the wood; and is a threat to record his first 400 percent slugging season since 2021. Sometime between now and Isaac Xavier’s debut, the Rays need to figure out what they have in Curtis Mead . Moving Díaz on time would give them an immediate reason to begin the process.
It’s been a tough year for Fairbanks (and his family) in important ways. If that affected his performance… well, yes, he’s human and it makes sense. However, we feel compelled to note that he’s still throwing slower (though still hitting 97.2 mph) and missing fewer at-bats, and that he’s striking out less batters. for the first time in his career. Fairbanks, who is under contract through at least next season, has a solid track record as a top-flight reliever. We’ve seen teams prepare for what they believe to be a low-cost acquisition opportunity.
We’ll finish with Rosario, an incoming free agent who continues to offer a career-best OPS+. This initial success has not been matched by a transition to normality. He still doesn’t walk or hit the ball hard; instead, he excels at hitting them where they aren’t, showing off his line drives and ground balls. You can look up and down his Statcast page, and you won’t find a metric that fully explains why he can make it work when so many similar players can’t. A team that can live with the mystery (and his below-average glove) could get him some tools.
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