Why Rays’ trade deadline plans are so interesting, important this year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rays’ discussions and decisions leading up to the Aug. 2 trade deadline will go well beyond determining which of several seemingly big needs to address and how much they’re willing to invest based on their standing in the wild-card race.

There are several complicating factors, and that was before the unexpected and extremely intriguing addition of superstar Juan Soto — even as a 2-2 1/2 season rental — to the market.

One issue for the Rays is to prioritize their shopping list.

Before Harold Ramirez broke his thumb, pitching help seemed to be at the top. Some would say it still is — either a starter to add stability to a rotation that has done extremely well but lost Shane Baz and is facing workload concerns and innings limits with the others, or a veteran right-handed reliever with some postseason experience (David Robertson, part 2?).

However, with uncertainty about when Ramirez or Wander Franco (who broke the hamate bone in his right hand) will be back and how close to full strength they will be, adding offense may be more important now. Similarly, the Rays are expecting to get Manuel Margot back from a knee injury but don’t know exactly when or how close he’ll be to top form. (They seem much less likely to have Mike Zunino and Kevin Kiermaier return.)

There also are several pitchers, such as Nick Anderson, on the rehab path. With so many players potentially returning, decisions on what to add are complicated.

“It’s a delicate balance, trying to make this team as strong as possible while also understanding that we have multiple players that we hope and expect are going to be back before the end of the season,” first year general manager Peter Bendix said.

Add the potential for setbacks in some of the rehabs, injuries to other players and the reality of 40-man roster limits — now and during the offseason — and the Rays have much to sort through. “You’re always trying to keep an eye on the future at the same time,” Bendix said.

Then there is the cost question, which is somewhat two-sided.

The Rays definitely have the prospect/young player inventory to shop aggressively and have shown some willingness to do so and take on a limited amount of money short-term (trading for Nelson Cruz last year) and occasionally spend relatively big (signing Franco to an 11-year, $182 million extension).

What they are now trying to determine is what the market will look like given the changes to the playoff format.

There should be more buyers with a third wild-card team added in each league and the opening-round format expanded from a single game to best-of-three (though all at one site), which likely means higher acquisition prices. Or at least more teams waiting to decide if they’re in or out.

“A lot of teams need to learn — us included — what the impact of another playoff spot is, what the impact is of this new playoff format,” Bendix said.”Generally speaking, I think there’s many more teams within striking distance of a playoff spot than in the past. And I don’t know exactly what that’s going to mean for the market. But I don’t think anyone else really knows that, either.”

Given their ever-changing roster — 155 roster moves total, 61 in July — the Rays will need some time to make an honest assessment of their playoff chances. Just in the last week or so, they got second baseman Brandon Lowe and reliever Pete Fairbanks back from extended injury absences and signed outfielder Roman Quinn to replace Ramirez.

With the Yankees — barring a historic collapse — winning the American League East, the Rays have to determine what they’d spend to better their chances to get into the postseason and, more pointedly, improve their seeding among the three wild cards (which determines not only who you play, but if you play at home in the first round).

The top wild card (No. 4 seed), for example, hosts a first-round series against the second wild card, but the winner faces the top division champ (No. 1). The third wild card (No. 6 seed) plays the first round on the road at the third division winner (No. 3 seed), with the winner facing the second-best division champ (No. 2).

“There’s going to be time to kind of feel out the market, feel out what’s available, what the prices are,” Bendix said. “And then for us also some time hopefully to play some games with ‘B. Lowe’ in the lineup, to play some games coming out of the break where hopefully our pitching is refreshed a little bit and kind of see if we can generate some momentum heading into the end of the month.”

With their trade capital and the confidence to feel “there is a possibility for just about any player who’s out there,” whether they decide to pursue a blockbuster acquisition or role players, the Rays have much to talk about.

“We’re going to be considering a lot of different things as we do every year,” Bendix said. “I don’t know what’s actually going to come into play, but we’re going to be in play on just about everything that we can.”

Rays rumblings

There are always reasons, but the Rays having the third-best record in the AL and only one player on the All-Star team seemed wrong. … After saying Tuesday he “always thought” a new stadium site on the Tampa side “would be preferable in some respects,” commissioner Rob Manfred also made the veiled relocation connection by noting the need to get the Rays and A’s stadium issues “resolved before we could realistically have a conversation about expansion.” … Tough couple of months for Franco, with two extended injury absences and $650,000 in jewelry reportedly stolen from his Rolls Royce, including, per police, “a gold Tom and Jerry necklace worth $5,000.” ... Per sportsBetting.ag, Shane McClanahan is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award, slightly ahead of Houston’s Justin Verlander. … Best wishes in retirement to outfielder Steven Souza Jr., who had some dramatic moments playing for the Rays from 2015-17. ... For Friday’s movie-themed Bull Durham night, the Triple-A team played as the Durham Shower Shoes. (If you know, you know.) … ESPN projects the Rays to finish 87-75, with David Schoenfield giving them a B+ for their pre-break showing.

Draft rumblings

Outfielder Ryan Cermak, the No. 71 pick from Illinois State, grew up in Chicago rooting for the White Sox but was also a Rays fan: “I loved Evan Longoria … and I sort of stuck with the team since then.” … MLB.com’s draft panel said the Rays getting Stanford outfielder Brock Jones “at No. 65 feels like a steal.” … Bendix is as curious as the rest of us about top pick Xavier Isaac, the power-hitting prep first baseman: “A really intriguing player very much not the type of player that we normally select. … The reports that we have on him, the way the guys talked about him in the room and the excitement for the bat, that’s a unique profile for us. So I’m very excited to see him.” … ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel called Isaac “a shocking pick,” and The Athletic’s Eno Sarris wrote: “As a high school first baseman with a spotty injury history and no real showcase excellence against high-quality competition, the odds are stacked against Isaac. At the very least, the offensive bar is set high because he won’t provide defensive value.” …. McDaniel said sixth-round pick Gary Gill Hill, a 17-year-old prep right-hander, “has a big signability number as a late popup with a silky-smooth arm that was into the mid-90s.” … MLB.com tabbed fourth-round pick Dominic Keegan, the Vanderbilt catcher, as the Rays’ most compelling Day 2-3 pick, and the Athletic’s Keith Law says Keegan has 20-plus homer power and “could end up a good regular.”

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