With the trade deadline closing in, the Tampa Bay Rays don’t need to hunt for a luxury piece. They need help where it matters most: the rotation.
That’s the read from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who identified starting pitching as Tampa Bay’s biggest deadline need. And after Shane McClanahan left Thursday’s start early, two batters into the fourth inning because of back tightness, the point only got sharper. McClanahan was placed on the 10-day Injured List on Friday.
The Rays have managed that No. 5 spot by leaning on an opener, with Ian Seymour and Casey Legumina handling most of those starts. It’s a workable patch, but it’s still a patch. Tampa Bay would be better served by bringing in a true starter and sliding Seymour and Legumina back into relief roles.
Even with the injury concerns, the rotation has been a strength. The Rays’ 3.49 starter ERA going into Friday ranked fourth in baseball and second in the American League, just behind the Detroit Tigers at 3.48.
That’s a strong base. The idea now is to reinforce it before the deadline turns into a sprint.
Feinsand floated a couple of names that could fit the bill. One is veteran Michael Wacha, now with the Kansas City Royals.
Wacha has posted a 3.60 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 21 starts in 2026. He also has a prior Tampa Bay connection, having spent one season with the Rays in 2021, when he went 3-5 with a 5.05 ERA across 29 appearances, 23 of them starts.
The bigger swing would be Tarik Skubal, if Detroit were willing to make him available. The reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner has kept rolling despite dealing with a left elbow injury that required surgery to remove loose bodies. In 16 starts this season, the left-hander is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA and 116 strikeouts.
Chad Jennings of The Athletic also raised another possibility: a reunion with Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan. Tampa Bay traded Ryan away in 2021 as part of the deal that brought back Nelson Cruz.
Since then, Ryan has settled in as a steady starter, putting together a 3.52 ERA in 22 starts this year while going 6-7 with 25 walks, 135 strikeouts and a .235 batting average against. Over six seasons with Minnesota, he is 52-43 with a 3.75 ERA in 137 games, all but one of them starts, along with a 10.09 K/9 and a .224 BAA.
The need was already clear. McClanahan’s injury just made it impossible to ignore.
In Other News...
Rays Linked To An All-Star Bat Who Could Change Everything
A familiar trade-market name is starting to surface again, and it makes sense for a Rays club always looking for ways to squeeze more offense out of its roster. According to USA Todays Bob Nightengale, Tampa Bay is viewed as the heavy favorite to land a three-time batting champion from San Francisco, with the Giants expected to sell and several contenders monitoring the situation.
The appeal is obvious for a Rays team that values contact, versatility and run creation in the margins. Philadelphia, Boston and Texas are also said to be in the mix, so Tampa Bay is not alone here, but any move that adds that kind of bat would reshape the conversation around the lineup in a hurry. For now, it is a matter of whether the Rays can turn a strong position into an actual deal. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Catching Picture Just Got A Lot More Interesting
The Rays have been busy reshaping the roster, and their latest move adds another layer to a catching mix that already had some intrigue. According to MLB insider Jeff Passan, Tampa Bay has landed Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins, continuing a stretch of aggression that also brought in starter Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets.
Hicks is expected to give the Rays more flexibility behind the plate and in the defensive alignment, while also adding some offense to a lineup that can always use another productive bat. For a club that has spent the week making clear it wants more depth and more options, this is the kind of move that could matter in more ways than one, especially once the full catching picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Just Missed On A Deadline Target That Could Sting
The trade deadline brought another aggressive move in Philadelphia, where the Phillies continued adding to their roster by landing second baseman Luis Arraez and reliever Caleb Kilian from the Giants for starting pitcher Ramon Marquez and reliever Marty Gair. They also separately added pitcher Brooks Raley from the Mets, underscoring how active they were in the final stretch before the deadline and how quickly the market can move when contenders start picking off available talent.
For the Rays, the larger takeaway may be less about what the Phillies gained than where this particular player ended up. Arraez had been a name on Tampa Bays radar, and for a while the club looked like it had a real shot to bring him in before the deal swung in another direction. In a deadline market built on thin margins and fast decisions, missing on a target like that can linger, especially when the player fits so neatly into the kind of lineup the Rays like to build. [Read more 🡒]