Tipsheet: Tampa Bay Rays churn roster, again, yet they remain in chase (2024)

No major league team churns its roster more frequently or effectively than the Tampa Bay Rays.

The franchise has been consistently adept at locating bargains in the marketplace, squeezing maximum value from players, and then selling them off for maximum return.

The Rays have sustained their small-market success despite losing one stalwart executive after another to rival franchises. They have stayed in the chase season after season despite running small payrolls.

Perhaps the franchise’s operating model will finally change once it settles into the new stadium it will finally build. But for now, the Rays keep doing what they do best.

Cardinals fans will get a closer look at their resourceful operation this week when the Rays come to town for a three-game series.

Ahead of this deadline they made wholesale moves, including giving star-crossed outfielder Dylan Carlson his much-needed fresh start in a trade with the Cardinals.

The Rays shipped reliever Shawn Armstrong and expiring contract to St. Louis in that move. Other moves included trading former Cardinals prospect Randy Arozarena, third baseman Isaac Paredes and pitcher Zach Eflin.

They got a bunch of young veterans and an impressive prospect haul in that process. Despite all of that activity, the Rays still have mathematical life in the American League wild card race.

“I think this team is in a position to go out and compete and stay in this, and that's our goal,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “We feel like we've strengthened our future competitiveness considerably, and that's something that we're always trying to accomplish.”

Writing for MLB.com, Mark Feinsand summed up the industry view of the Rays:

One team caught the attention of front-office types more than any other: the Rays. Tampa Bay made eight trades in July, adding 16 players to the organizationwhile dealing away players including Arozarena, Paredes, Eflin, Jason Adam and Aaron Civale.

Unlike years past when teams still in contention decided to sell – think of the 1997 White Sox and their infamous “White Flag” trade and the 2015 Tigers, who traded David Price to the Blue Jays, two teams that stood just 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot – the Rays’ choice to sell off a number of pieces despite being only five games out of a Wild Card spot was not met with skepticism. In fact, most executives believe Tampa Bay did a masterful job of navigating the market.

“What stood out most to me was the willingness of the Rays to move so many players while still seemingly staying focused on competing now and in the immediate future,” an NL executive said. “That is a really tough needle to thread and I thought they did a tremendous job.”

And they always do. Say, did you see that Carlson finally hit a home run the other day?

TALKIN’ BASEBALL

Here is what folks are writing about Our National Pastime:

David Schoenfield, ESPN.com: “Given the struggles of (Paul) Goldschmidt and (Nolan) Arenado, it's pretty remarkable the Cardinals are in this spot to begin with. In one sense, they've overachieved to even get over .500, as they've been outscored by 42 runs. Fedde was a needed addition, although his first start didn't go well (five runs, two home runs). Like the Diamondbacks, Padres and Mets, the Cardinals have also played better after a 15-24 start. The schedule toughens up starting with Monday's makeup game against the Mets, with 28 of the Cardinals' next 31 games against teams currently over .500. Look, they have too much history of winning to bet against them, and this year does feel like one of those seasons that has "St. Louis" written all over it, with the Cardinals slipping into the playoffs with a mediocre team. Still, the offense is just 13th in the NL in runs and I don't think they're as good as the teams above them. Unless Goldschmidt and Arenado can turn back the clock, I think they fall short.”

Jake Mailhot, FanGraphs: “The Royals went 6-1 last week to expand their lead to 2.5 games over the Red Sox for the final playoff berth in the AL Wild Card standings, and they’ll have a chance to widen that gap some more with a three-game series at home against Boston to begin this week. Following theirsurprises successover the first four months of the season, the Royals were buyers at the trade deadline, bringing in a handful of pitchers to providesome depthto an overworked staff. It does feel like Kansas City will go as far asBobby Witt Jr.and its starting rotation will carry it. The superstar shortstop is coming off a ridiculous July, when he had a hit in all but one game during the month. That works out to an absolutely bonkers .489/.520/.833 slash line across his 100 July plate appearances —good for a 269 wRC+.”

Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com: “Are thePhilliesfalling apart or is this just a temporary rough patch? The team that has spent more time at No. 1 this season in the official Power Rankings than any other is in a bad, bad way right now. When they lost two of three to the A's to conclude the first half, it was deservedly met with a collective shoulder shrug. After all, they had just come off a sweep of theDodgers. No harm in a slight blip. Then they lost two of three to the Pirates coming out of the break. Again, on its own, that isn't the biggest deal in the world. Nor would it have been a huge deal to lose two of three to the Twins or Guardians. Stringing all these together, though, meant the Phillies were in a slump. Then they got swept by theYankeesandMariners. They broke their six-game losing streak Sunday and have gone 5-13 since sweeping the Dodgers.It's funny the extended stretches teams can go through in the same season in this sport. From April 15 through May 23, the Phillies went 29-6. Before Sunday, you could've said ‘they look like they're never gonna win again.’ As I've mentioned in here for years, the roller coaster that baseball fans must ride is the toughest in sports.”

Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “The Toronto Blue Jays, who didn’t hide their intentions ahead of the deadline, certainly delivered They traded their impending free agents in Yusei Kikuchi, infielder/DH Justin Turner, outfielder Kevin Kiemaier, catcher Danny Jansen and relievers Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards. And kept first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., shortstop Bo Bichette, starter Chris Bassitt, and relievers Chad Green and Jordan Romano, who are all under control for one more year. They likely will make changes in the dugout, and perhaps front office too, but vow to make one more run at it in 2025, while hoping to at least sign Guerrero to a long-term contract. If the Blue Jays struggle next year, they could the epicenter of the 2025 trade deadline.”

Daniel R. Epstein, Baseball Prospectus: “Professional athletes are amazing—that needs to be stated because it’s so easy to take their talent for granted when we watch them compete against each other every day. Players learn new positions all the time, but usually, they get some advance notice—or even a whole offseason and spring training to pick up the nuances. (Jazz) Chisholm’s foray into playing third base is a better test of pure athleticism than we usually get to observe. He was a minor-league shortstop and mostly played second base early in his time with the Marlins, but he was exclusively a center fielder in 2023 and 2024, with the exception of 22 ‘showcase’ innings at second a few weeks ago. His training as a middle infielder helped him make the transition, but the ball gets on you a lot quicker at third base, especially after having barely played anywhere other than the outfield in a year and a half. The Yankees had a backup plan if he couldn’t hack it at third. They would’ve been content to use him in center and a little at second base for the rest of the season, but third base is their biggest hole, and he’s the only position player they acquired at the deadline. They took a gamble on his athletic acumen transferring to a foreign position. It’s way, way too early in this experiment for any defensive metrics to have meaning, but he doesn’t have to beBrooks Robinson. He just needs to be good enough not to ruin too many innings.”

Ray Ratto, The Defector: “Since we are now clear of the gravity-mocking Simone Biles, the $100 million speed yacht of Katie Ledecky, and our nanosecond of flirtation with the pommel horse, there is a small but visible window for the White Sox to now catch the nation's attention. The last time a baseball team lost 20 or more, the 1988 Baltimore Orioles did it right at the start of the season when everyone else had hope of a good season, and doubled down on the attention by firing Cal Ripken's dad as manager after only six games, merging local outrage with non-achievement.”

MEGAPHONE

“It's 21 in a row. It sucks. It's not fun, it's painful, it hurts, you name it. However you want to describe it. Like I said, it's not for lack of effort. Nobody wants to come out here and lose. We've just got to put a good game together and put this behind us.”

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, on his team’s historic failure.