If it seems like the Rays are always wheeling and dealing, that's because they are. Such is life for Tampa Bay, where combating the realities of playing in baseball's smallest market remains a constant challenge.
That often means finding creative ways to churn the roster, mine others across the Majors for potential value and, generally, make moves. Lots of them. Some will be out-of-the-box. Some will be complicated. Some are bound to surprise.
With this as a backdrop, MLB.com is taking a look back at the 10 most impactful trades in Rays history.
1) Delmon Young for pieces
Rays got from Twins: RHP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett, RHP Eddie Morlan
Rays gave up: OF Delmon Young, IF Brendan Harris, OF Jason Pridle
Date: Nov. 28, 2007
Four years after drafting Young No. 1 overall in the 2003 Draft, the Rays flipped the outfielder after another last-place finish. The pieces they received fueled one of the most dramatic turnarounds in baseball history, as Garza and Bartlett became part of a core that led the Rays to the World Series a year later. Garza spent three seasons as a mainstay near the top of Tampa Bay's rotation, while Bartlett manned shortstop for three (including a highly productive All-Star campaign in 2009). Young never turned into the star he was projected to be. He always hit, but bounced between five teams before finishing an unspectacular -- and, at times, controversial -- career. And so began one of the most fruitful trade trees in modern baseball history.
2) Garza for Archer
Rays got from Cubs: RHP Chris Archer, C Robinson Chirinos, OF Samuel Fuld, OF Brandon Guyer
Rays gave up: RHP Matt Garza, LHP Zachary Rosscup, OF Fernando Perez
Date: Jan. 8, 2011
The small-market limitations Tampa Bay has to operate in forced then-GM Andrew Friedman to consistently find creative ways to churn the roster, while balancing both the short- and long-term implications of those moves. That's what made this deal vintage Friedman -- by trading Garza at the height of his value, Friedman turned a rotation stalwart into a future ace in Archer. And the Delmon Young trade tree grew a few more branches.
3) The Ben Zobrist deal
Rays got from Astros: UTL Ben Zobrist, RHP Mitch Talbot
Rays gave up: 1B Aubrey Huff
Date: July 12, 2006
Knowing they were unlikely to resign Huff in free agency, the Rays flipped the productive slugger to the Astros for two unheralded prospects in Talbot and Zobrist. Zobrist turned into one of the best players in club history, and came to personify the club's organizational ethos of positional versatility. Houston fell short of the postseason in 2006, and though Huff went on to have some productive seasons for the Orioles and Giants, he left his best days in Tampa Bay.
4) Archer for a haul
Rays got from Pirates: OF Austin Meadows, RHP Tyler Glasnow, RHP Shane Baz
Rays gave up: RHP Chris Archer
Date: July 31, 2018
After trade rumors swirled around Archer for years, the Rays finally flipped their ace in a Garza-like deal with the Pirates in July 2018. Tampa Bay was praised in the industry for the haul it received in return, a package full of high-upside prospects ready to contribute immediately at the big league level. Archer left Tampa Bay among the franchise leaders in nearly every major pitching category, and the Rays have since traded all three parts of their return for younger talent, turning the Delmon Young trade tree into a perpetual motion machine of roster retooling.
5) A postseason hero’s welcome
Rays got from Cardinals: OF Randy Arozarena, OF/DH José Martínez, 2020 supplemental first-round Draft pick
Rays gave up: LHP Matthew Liberatore, C Edgardo Rodriguez, 2020 supplemental second-round Draft pick
Date: Jan. 9, 2020
At the time of this trade, most of the attention actually went to Liberatore -- then one of the game’s top pitching prospects -- and Martínez, the hard-hitting outfielder with more of a track record. But, of course, the real prize of the deal was Arozarena, once a speedy center-field prospect who packed on muscle during the pandemic and emerged as a legitimate middle-of-the-order slugger for the Rays down the stretch of the abbreviated 2020 season. He put together a historic postseason that carried the Rays to the World Series, returned as the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year and became an international icon (through his exploits for Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic) and fan favorite, even turning Tropicana Field’s left-field seats into “Randy Land.” His tenure was brief, however, as he was dealt to Seattle in 2024 for a trio of prospects.
6) The Kazmir Heist
Rays got from Mets: LHP Scott Kazmir, RHP Jose Diaz
Rays gave up: RHP Victor Zambrano, RHP Bartolome Fortunato
Date: July 30, 2004
Remembered as a panic (and foolish) move in New York for the way Zambrano flamed out with the Mets, the Rays in return netted Kazmir, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball at the time. The left-hander made two All-Star appearances and pitched to a 3.92 ERA across six seasons with Tampa Bay, before the Rays sent him (and nearly $25 million remaining on his contract) to the Angels in 2009. That deal laid the groundwork for the one that brought John Forsythe, Brad Boxberger and Matt Andriese to the Rays in '14.
7) The Evan Longoria deal
Rays got from Giants: IF Christian Arroyo, OF Denard Span, LHP Matt Krook, RHP Stephen Woods
Rays gave up: 3B Evan Longoria
Date: Dec. 20, 2017
This deal will always be remembered for the departure of Longoria, the longtime face of the franchise. He left Tampa Bay as the club's all-time leader in games, home runs and RBIs, and with five years (plus a team option) and $88 million remaining on the 10-year extension he signed in 2012. Rays GM Erik Neander called dealing Longoria "in the best long-term interest of our franchise" at the time. The return didn’t amount to much, but it signaled the boldness that would get the club out of a mini-slump of losing seasons.
8) Introducing Yandy Díaz
Rays got from Cleveland: INF Yandy Díaz, RHP Cole Sulser
Rays gave up: 1B Jake Bauers, cash
Date: Dec. 13, 2018
This was actually a three-team deal, and Díaz didn’t check in anywhere near the top of the marquee. Edwin Encarnación and a Draft pick went from Cleveland to Seattle. Carlos Santana and cash went from the Mariners to the Guardians. Bauers, then a touted Tampa Bay prospect, went to Cleveland. And the Rays, meanwhile, landed a muscular third baseman in Díaz and Sulser, a Minor League reliever. Díaz had a reputation for hitting the ball hard, but on the ground, and to that point he had a .283 average and a .727 OPS in the Majors while being blocked by Cleveland’s infield stars. That wouldn’t be the case in Tampa Bay, where Díaz became one of the most productive position players in franchise history, a key part of the lineup during five straight trips to the postseason, an All-Star, a Silver Slugger and a batting champion in 2023.
9) Wil Myers Part 1
Rays got from Royals: OF Wil Myers, RHP Jake Odorizzi, LHP Mike Montgomery, IF/OF Patrick Leonard
Rays gave up: RHP James Shields, RHP Wade Davis
Date: Dec. 9, 2012
The perception of this deal has evolved over time. At first, Myers, one of the top prospects in baseball, was billed as the prize. He went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2013, but his impact with Tampa Bay paled compared to those made in Kansas City by Shields and Davis, who helped the Royals to multiple postseason appearances. A failed starter at the time of the deal, Davis turned into an indispensable reliever for Kansas City's 2015 club that won the World Series.
10) Call him Junior
Rays got from Guardians: 3B Junior Caminero
Rays gave up: RHP Tobias Myers
Date: Nov. 19, 2021
Not every big trade generates a lot of attention. Myers was dealt to Cleveland because Tampa Bay couldn’t fit him on the 40-man roster and didn’t want to lose him for nothing in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. Caminero was, at the time, an unranked 18-year-old prospect who had only played 43 games in the Dominican Summer League. But the Rays liked what they saw in his powerful bat, so they made the move. Caminero quickly soared up prospect lists, made his way to the Majors in September 2023 and fully arrived as one of the game’s brightest young stars in 2025, when he slugged 45 homers and drove in 110 runs for the Rays.