This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ST. PETERSBURG -- We are a week away from the Trade Deadline, and it probably can’t come soon enough for the Rays.
Knocked out of first place in the American League East after a 4-14 start to the month, with a lineup hardly resembling the group that slugged and sped through the first few months of the season, Tampa Bay is playing like a team in need of the spark that a big move can sometimes provide.
The Rays are still in position to make the postseason, and they’re only 2 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the AL East standings. They’ve been willing to be aggressive in years past when the division title was in play. Will that be the case again now?
Here are five questions the Rays will answer over the next week.
1. Will they trade for a fifth starter?
As discussed last week, this feels like the Rays’ most likely and logical move before the Trade Deadline. They need someone to fill out their rotation behind Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin and Taj Bradley. They’re skipping that spot this time around, thanks to a pair of off-days around a two-game Marlins series, and may use converted reliever Zack Littell again next time.
Fortunately, there are plenty of potential candidates out there, from White Sox starter Lucas Giolito and the Tigers’ Michael Lorenzen to the Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery, among others.
There will be plenty of competition for the handful of quality veteran arms capable of holding down a starting job for the rest of the season, but this seems like a need the Rays will find a way to address.
2. Wait, don’t they need a bat?
Tampa Bay’s recent performance would certainly say so. The club is averaging 3.39 runs per game while slashing .208/.277/.360 this month, having scored three runs or fewer in 11 of its last 18 games. That is not going to get the Rays where they want to go.
They’ll keep an eye out for upgrades, but what they really need is for their top hitters to return to form. Wander Franco entered Tuesday with a .570 OPS this month. Randy Arozarena is at .557, while Harold Ramírez is at .523. Josh Lowe and Manuel Margot own a .508 OPS. The only active batters hitting better than .220 this month are Isaac Paredes (.244/.326/.634) and Yandy Díaz (.321/.387/.482).
The Rays can’t replace their whole lineup at the Deadline. Some of their stars need to bounce back and perform like they did earlier this year.
3. Can they improve the bullpen?
Tampa Bay’s bullpen has been better over the last two months, and 2021 All-Star Andrew Kittredge will be a massive addition when he returns from the injured list relatively soon. But you can never have enough bullpen depth, especially in October, so the Rays will keep their options open on this front.
There should be a bunch of proven relievers on the move over the next week, including the Royals’ Scott Barlow, the Cardinals’ Jordan Hicks, as well as former Rays/current Mets David Robertson and Brooks Raley. The biggest name to think about, if the Padres become sellers, is Josh Hader.
4. Will they add another catcher?
Francisco Mejía’s recent knee injury made this need a bit more glaring, but it was already a position the Rays might have been looking to upgrade. Their catchers have combined to put up the ninth-worst OPS in the Majors this season. As much as they like the defense of Christian Bethancourt and René Pinto, they don’t want to get caught flat-footed if there’s another injury that would dig into their Triple-A depth.
The problem is there may not be much out there that captures the Rays’ attention, and it can be difficult to get a catcher acclimated on the fly during the season. The best available backstops are thought to be All-Star Game MVP Elias Díaz of the Rockies, Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox and Yan Gomes of the Cubs, if they sell.
5. What about Shohei Ohtani?
Ohtani’s future will be the story in baseball for the next week … and many weeks after that, as the two-way superstar is set to become a free agent this offseason.
The Angels have been playing better lately, and they may very well decide they don’t want to trade him. Even if they do, the offers they receive may not match the way they value him. So, it’s probably best not to get your hopes up about him being available or moved at all.
But if he is …
Many in the industry point to the Rays as a club that’s uniquely positioned to trade for Ohtani. Tampa Bay has a deep farm system, with enough top-end talent to make a deal work. This is the club’s only path to a star like Ohtani, and the Rays have clearly stated their desire to do what it takes to win the franchise’s first World Series.
Nobody would help them get there quite like Ohtani, even if it is hard to imagine the Rays giving up the young talent it would take to acquire him.