The Tampa Bay Rays are expected to be busy ahead of the MLB trade deadline, and catcher looks like one of the spots they’re targeting.
With the American League looking wide open and Tampa Bay already sitting on the best record, the club has every reason to chase help that can tighten up the roster for the stretch run. Catcher has been one of the positions under the microscope, and Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins is one name the Rays have been watching closely. The New York Yankees have had their eyes on him too, with a scout sent to see him recently.
Another name that has come up in trade chatter is Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles, but a move to Tampa Bay never sounded likely. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote that even before Rutschman’s latest injury, a deal within the division was a long shot.
“Rutschman during All-Star week told The Athletic he was open to such a deal. But that was before he went down again.
He never was likely to be traded within the division to the Yankees or Rays. Now it appears his future with the team will remain uncertain, through the deadline and beyond,” Rosenthal wrote.
Rosenthal’s note centers on Rutschman’s openness to working toward a long-term extension with Baltimore. The Orioles recently reached one of those deals with starting pitcher Kyle Bradish, who agreed to a five-year, $90 million extension.
Still, Baltimore already has Samuel Basallo locked in on a long-term deal from last year, right after he made his MLB debut, and that makes the path to extending Rutschman even murkier. His injury only pushes the odds lower.
There’s also the matter of the Orioles and Rays having done business before. Baltimore sent relief pitcher Bryan Baker to Tampa Bay last year in exchange for a draft pick, and a few months later that draft pick plus a group of prospects went back to the Rays in a deal for starting pitcher Shane Baz, who later agreed to an extension with Baltimore.
So while there’s no rule saying the Orioles won’t trade with Tampa Bay, a Rutschman deal never seemed to have much traction. For the Rays, the more realistic answer behind the plate appears to be a short-term fix, especially with plenty of catching talent working its way up through the minor leagues.
In Other News...
Rays May Have One Trade Answer To Their Biggest Lineup Concern
With the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, Tampa Bay is still looking at ways to fortify a roster that has stayed in the AL East race and enters the stretch holding a slim lead over the Yankees. One area that has stood out is the middle infield, where the Rays have gotten very little offense from Richie Palacios, Ben Williamson and Taylor Walls, leaving the lineup thinner than they would like for a team trying to protect first place.
That is why one speculative trade idea has started to make the rounds, with the fit centered on a bat that could change the shape of the order and give Kevin Cash more flexibility at the top. The concept would let Tampa Bay add a contact-driven presence in the middle infield and potentially shuffle Yandy Diaz into a different run-producing spot, but for now it remains exactly what it is, an analysis-driven answer to a very real lineup concern. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Mesa Jr Is Giving The Rays More To Think About
Victor Mesa Jr. had a different kind of return to Rogers Centre this time, one that came with a major league uniform, a lineup spot and a reminder of how far he has come since a 2015 visit to Toronto as a 14-year-old for the Pan American Games. Acquired by the Rays in a minor February deal with the Marlins, Mesa has quickly become more than a depth piece, giving Tampa Bay a left-handed bat it can use in the outfield while injuries have thinned the options around him.
Mesa added another reason for the Rays to keep watching in their recent game against the Blue Jays, when he sent a solo homer to center and kept his run of power going for a third straight game. For a player who arrived with little fanfare, the timing matters as much as the production, because Tampa Bay keeps needing answers in the corners and Mesa keeps making the case that he belongs in the conversation for more than a temporary fill-in role. [Read more 🡒]