Tampa Bay made some waves a few days before the 2022 season officially kicked off when they agreed to trade outfielder Austin Meadows, once the crown jewel of an overflowing farm system, to the Detroit Tigers for young infielder Isaac Paredes. It was a deal that was widely panned, noting a supposed a paltry return – at least, if you’re going to believe all the comments on forums and social media.
I have to admit if the Rays reached out and dealt away Wander Franco tomorrow, my first thought would be, “OK. What do the Rays know that the rest of the baseball world is missing?”
And, quite frankly, the front office and organization almost deserve that right, don’t they? They’re always working within some of the toughest financial constraints in the game. They haven’t posted a losing season in five years, despite playing in the toughest division in either league. And after their first magical window closed after the 2013 season, the organization rebuilt a winner within four years.
Like I said, they deserve the benefit of the doubt – right?
Let’s take a look at how the organization has fared in trades since the 2014-15 offseason, which coincides with the defection of Andrew Friedman.
The Rays made a ton of trades during that time frame – 102, to be exact. (Note: this does not include players being outright sold / waived.) The majority of those deals were of the negligible, back page type of business moves. There were, however, 34 trades that I would deem as significant transactions. So how did the club make out?
By my count – which I’ll breakdown below – they’ve won 16 of those deals, lost five, neither team won a deal six times, and it’s too early to tell on seven swaps. Ignoring the ties and the deals that haven’t quite been decided (until the prospects on both sides full develop or fail to develop), Tampa Bay has an incredible 76% win percentage.
The Wins
January 10, 2015: Tampa Bay trades away Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist to the Oakland Athletics for John Jaso, Boog Powell, Daniel Robertson, and cash.
Yunel Escobar was a solid, sometimes borderline All-Star caliber player throughout his 20s. And he had one last hurrah with the Rays, his first year in Tampa Bay, as he tallied 3.4 WAR during his age-30 season. He promptly followed that up with a replacement level showing and was subsequently dealt to Oakland (who would turn around and deal him to Washington four days later). Zobrist, who would eventually define the super utility role, declined precipitously during his first year away from the Rays, going from 4.4 WAR to 2.5 WAR during his final year before free agency.
Jaso was always an underrated hitter throughout his career. And he posted the second highest OPS+ in his career during his one year stint in Tampa Bay (134 OPS+). Robertson was once a Top 100 prospect and looked like a perennial above-average big leaguer during his age-24 season, batting .262/.382/.415 though he faded quickly. And Powell never appeared in a big league game with the Rays.
Was the return a bit light? Sure, maybe. But they sold high on Zobrist and rid themselves of Escobar contract while getting one solid season from Robertson and Jaso.
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November 5, 2015: Tampa Bay receives Logan Morrison, Brad Miller, and Danny Farquhar from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Nate Karns, C.J. Riefenhauser, and Boog Powell.
Without diving into specifics, it’s pretty clear the Rays came out ahead in this deal. They sold high on Karns, who was coming off of a solid 2015 season (147 IP, 8.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 1.9 bWAR), but his command backed up in Seattle and was essentially a league average arm. Powell appeared in just 23 games with the Mariners before he was flipped to Oakland for Yonder Alonso. And Riefenhauser didn’t pop back up in the big leagues after the deal.
January 11, 2017: Tampa Bay acquires Mallex Smith, Ryan Yarbrough, and Carlos Vargas from the Seattle Mariners for veteran left-hander Drew Smyly.
Mallex Smith, the speedy center fielder, had a busy January 11, 2017, as he was traded by Atlanta to the Mariners then flipped to the Rays. But like a supernova, he burned brightly as he tallied 3.5 wins above replacement during his second season in Tampa Bay before fading (more on Smith later). Yarbrough, the soft-tossing southpaw has been a reliable innings chewer during the majority of his four-year career with the Rays. Smyly, on the other hand, underwent Tommy John surgery a few months after the trade and wouldn’t pop back up in the big leagues again until 2019.
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December 11, 2017: The Rays trade backstop Jonah Heim to the Athletics for infielder Joey Wendle.
A sixth round pick a decade ago, Wendle was a late blooming prospect that couldn’t crack Cleveland’s lineup and then struggled to find time in the big leagues with Oakland. And, frankly, looking back it’s easy to see why. The lefty-swinging infielder was a league average bat during his three stints in Triple-A. But something happened to him during his first season in Tampa Bay – he hit. And hit. And hit. When the year ended he finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting and as he tallied nearly five wins above replacement. During his four-year stay with the Rays he batted .247/.330/.414 in 400 games.
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February 18, 2017: Tampa Bay acquires C.J. Cron for Luis Rengifo.
Cron was the odd man out in Los Angeles as the Halos had first base and DH already covered thanks to Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani. In swooped the Rays as they dealt minor league infielder Luis Rengifo to the AL West club for the OBP-deficient, slugging first baseman. Cron cobbled together his second best professional season during his year in Tampa Bay, batting .253/.323/.493 with a career-best 30 dingers. Rengifo, on the other hand, is sporting a .216/.293/.325 in 195 games with the Halos.
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June 10, 2018: Milwaukee sends Ji-Man Choi to Tampa Bay for Brad Miller and cash.
Miller would ultimately spend less than two months in Milwaukee before his release. During that time he would bat .230/.288/.378 with six extra-base hits in 27 games. Choi, on the other hand, has become a bit of a cult favorite in Tampa Bay (as well as outside the area). The saber-slanted first baseman owns a .251/.351/.449 slash line with a 122 OPS+ through his first 304 games with the Rays. Easy win.
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July 31, 2018: Tampa Bay acquires Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and Shane Baz from Pittsburgh for All-Star right-hander Chris Archer.
Does this really need to be expounded upon? It was a slam dunk win for the Rays the moment it was announced. Glasnow, Meadows, and Baz would all eventually become consensus Top 20 prospects in baseball. Archer would make a total of 33 starts for the downtrodden Pirates, in large part due to injury, before signing back with Tampa Bay in 2021.
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July 31, 2018: The Rays agreed to a deal with St. Louis, sending Genesis Cabrera, Roel Ramirez, and Justin Williams to the Cardinals in exchange for Tommy Pham and international bonus slot money.
Cabrera, a hard-throwing southpaw, has chewed up some innings out of the Cards’ bullpen the past couple of years, but his erratic feel for the strike zone has kept his overall production hovering in replacement level territory. Williams always had the look of a slugging outfielder but never put it together. And Ramirez, now in his age-27 season, owns a total of two big league games. As for Pham, well, his stay in Tampa Bay was phenomenal: he slugged .287/.385/.485 with a 135 OPS+ in 184 games.
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November 8, 2018: Tampa Bay deals Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley to the Mariners for Mike Zunino, Michael Plassmeyer, and Guillermo Heredia.
Tampa Bay did what Tampa Bay has always done: they bought low on Mallex then turned around and dealt him when his value was at its peak. What makes this particularly interesting is that the Mariners were involved on both ends of the deal. Smith barely hit his weight with the M’s in 2019 and appeared in just 14 games the following year. Fraley hit an aggregate .194/.320/.336 in parts of three seasons in Seattle. Zunino, the key to the Rays’ return, has been a batting average deficient, power-oriented backstop with solid defense and tallied nearly four wins above replacement in his All-Star season in 2021.
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December 13, 2018: As part of three-team deal involving Cleveland and Seattle (they’re favorite trade partner), the Rays dealt away Jake Bauers to the Guardians, sent cash to Seattle, and received Yandy Diaz and Cole Sulser.
To be honest, I loved this deal for Cleveland – at that time. Bauers was a saber-slanted bat producing against vastly older competition in the minor leagues. He was the type of hitter that was supposed to pan out. But he didn’t. Diaz, however, was a well-known hitter who did two things in Cleveland: (A) absolutely smoke the ball and (B) never elevate it as evidenced by his one dinger in 88 games to that point. He promptly slugged 14 long balls in 79 games during his first year with the Rays. And Sulser, who was plucked off of the waiver wire by Baltimore, was solid in 2021 for the Orioles.
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December 21, 2018: As part of three-team deal involving San Diego and Oakland, the Rays acquired Emilio Pagan, Rollie Lacy, and a 2019 Competitive balance Round B Pick in exchange for Brock Burke, Yoel Espinal, and Kyle Bird.
Pagan was absolutely unhittable during his lone season with the Rays – who, you guessed it, was away at the end of the year when his value was at its peak. The hard-throwing reliever posted a 96-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 2.31 ERA in 70.0 innings of work. Burke made six mostly disastrous starts with the Rangers in 2019 and would miss the entire 2020 season recovering from labrum surgery. Bird tossed just 12.2 innings with Texas and Espinal last appeared in pro ball with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League.
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July 31, 2019: Tampa Bay acquires Jesus Aguilar from Milwaukee for Jake Faria.
A throwback version of the ole’ challenge trade: the Rays acquired struggling first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who was hitting .225/.320/.374 at the time of the deal, for young righty Jake Faria, who owned an 11-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10.0 innings. Aguilar would regain his stroke in the AL East as he slugged .261/.336/.424 in 37 games. Faria, on the other hand, tallied an 11.42 ERA in 8.2 innings with the Brew Crew.
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November 20, 2019: Tampa Bay acquires Curtis Mead from the Phillies for Cristopher Sanchez.
To be fair, it hasn’t exactly been “finalized”. But…Sanchez and his erratic command are all but destined for relief-dom. Mead, though, ripped through Low-A and handled high-A as a 20-year-old in 2021 en route to earning a mention among the Top 100 prospects in the game.
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January 9, 2020: Tampa Bay acquires Randy Arozarena, Jose Martinez, and a 2020 supplemental first round pick from the Cardinals for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, and a 2020 supplemental second round pick.
This is another one of the deals where the ending isn’t written in stone, but it’s pretty going to be tough for the Rays to come out on the losing end. Arozarena captured the AL Rookie of the Year title during his first full season in Tampa Bay, slugging .274/.356/.459 with 32 doubles, three triples, 20 homeruns, and 20 stolen bases while playing a competent corner outfield. Martinez was awful in limited action before he was flipped to the Mets for a PTBNL. Tampa Bay grabbed infielder Alika Williams with their supplemental pick. Liberatore, the key to the Cardinals’ return, was solid in AAA as a 21-year-old. But he wasn’t dominant and profiles as a mid- to back-of-the-rotation caliber arm. Rodriguez is entering his age-21 season with just 17 games above rookie ball. And Tink Hence, who was taken with the supplemental second round pick, has some promising stuff. It all comes down to one thing though: all things equal, hitting is the more reliable, less risky option.
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February 8, 2020: The Rays deal Emilio Pagan to the Padres for Manuel Margot and Logan Driscoll.
As noted above, Pagan was otherworldly during his year with the Rays in 2019, posting 2.3 WAR in 70.0 innings of work out their pen. Since then, though, he’s owns a -0.2 WAR while donning a Friars uniform. Margot, a former top prospect, tallied nearly four wins above replacement in 172 games with the Rays. He signed a team-friendly deal on a two-year extension for only $19M.
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August 27, 2020: The Rays deal Lucius Fox to the Royals for Brett Phillips.
Brett Phillips plays the game like you’d want your kid to play: fun, with a smile on his face, enjoying every single minute. He’s a flawed player – he’s sporting a 40-grade hit tool. But Phillips was incredibly valuable for the Rays last season, flashing power, speed, and defense en route to earning 2.4 WAR in 118 games. Fox, a former bonus baby, has disappointed in every stop along the way. He’s now in Washington’s organization after a disappointing Triple-A with Omaha.
The Losses
November 5, 2015: As part of a three-team deal involving the Padres and Nationals, the Rays dealt away Wil Myers, Jose Castillo, Ryan Hanigan, and Gerardo Reyes in exchange for Jake Bauers, Rene Rivera, Burch Smith, Travis Ott, and Steven Souza.
Ignoring the fact that the Rays would eventually turn Jake Bauers into Yandy Diaz years later, this deal counts as multiple losses for the franchise: they were a pawn and let the best player, Trea Turner, head to another franchise and Souza only put together one solid season before being shuffled away in another deal. Bauers, of course, was – and continues to be – abysmal. Rivera turned in the worst year of his career during his year in Tampa Bay. And Smith was eventually lost to the Mets via the Rule 5 draft.
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January 28, 2016: The Rays deal German Marquez and Jake McGee to the Rockies for Corey Dickerson and Kevin Padlo.
In the short, short, short conversation for the worst trade in franchise history. And arguably the worst. Tampa Bay dealt away a young, hard-throwing right-handed prospect that would develop into a consistent borderline All-Star performer in German Marquez and two years of Jake McGee for what amounted to 298 games of slightly better than league average offensive performance (.265/.310/.480) from Corey Dickerson and nine games of Kevin Padlo. Not many teams can say they’ve pulled one over on the Rays in the last seven years, but the Rockies – surprisingly – can say they’re one of them.
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February 17, 2018: Tampa Bay acquired Jermaine Palacios from the Twins for Jake Odorizzi.
Odorizzi has been a solid mid-rotation caliber arm for the majority of his career, earning at least three wins above replacement in a season on three different occasions. And, yes, it’s true that the Rays were selling after his worst professional season – he earned just 0.2 WAR in 143.1 innings – the return was quite light, especially considering he was under team control for three more seasons. Palacios never made it above Double-A in the Rays’ farm system and was eventually reacquired by the Twins.
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February 22, 2018: The Rays traded Corey Dickerson to the Pirates for Tristan Gray.
In two years with the Rays Dickerson batted .265/.310/.480. After being dealt to the Pirates he batted .303/.339/.490 across parts of two seasons with the Buccos. Gray is now 26-years-old and playing in his second season in Triple-A.
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February 22, 2018: The Rays traded Corey Dickerson to the Pirates for Tristan Gray.
In two years with the Rays Dickerson batted .265/.310/.480. After being dealt to the Pirates he batted .303/.339/.490 across parts of two seasons with the Buccos. Gray is now 26-years-old and playing in his second season in Triple-A.
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December 6, 2019: The Rays traded Jake Cronenworth and Tommy Pham to the Padres for Xavier Edwards, Hunter Renfroe, and Esteban Quiroz.
On one hand, the Rays dealt Pham away at the right time – he’s batted .226/.335/.370 in 186 games with the Friars. But on the other hand, Jake Cronenworth finished as the runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020 and earned a trip to the All-Star game a year later. The Rays’ return has been a bit of disappointment: Renfroe barely hit his weight in the COVID-shortened 2020 season; Quiroz is 30-years-old and a minor league vagabond; and Edwards, the key to the deal, showed a promising hit tool and Duane Kiper-type power in the Double-A, though he was only 21.
The Ties
November 14, 2014: Rays deal Jeremy Hellickson to the Diamondbacks for Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams.
August 1, 2016: Tampa Bay acquires Lucius Fox, Michael Santos, and Matt Duffy from the Giants for Matt Moore.
December 20, 2017: The Rays deal Evan Longoria to the Giants for Denard Span, Christian Arroyo, Stephen Woods, and Matt Krook.
February 20, 2018: As part of a three-team deal involving the New York Yankees, and Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay acquires Nick Solak, Anthony Banda, Colin Poche, and Sam McWilliams in exchanges for Steven Souza Jr.
July 25, 2018: Tampa Bay traded Nathan Eovaldi to the Red Sox for Jalen Beeks.
July 13, 2019: The Rays dealt Nick Solak to the Rangers for Pete Fairbanks.
The “Too Soon to Tell”
December 29, 2020: Tampa Bay deals Blake Snell to the Padres for Luis Patino, Francisco Mejia, Cole Wilcox, and Blake Hunt.
May 21, 2021: The Rays trade Willy Adames and Trevor Richards to the Brewers for J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen.
July 22, 2021: The Rays deal Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman to the Twins for Nelson Cruz and Calvin Faucher.
July 29, 2021: Tampa Bay acquires JT Chargois and Austin Shenton from the Mariners Diego Castillo.
November 30, 2021: Tampa Bay acquires Kameron Misner from the Marlins for Joey Wendle.
April 5, 2022: The Rays acquire Isaac Paredes from the Tigers for Austin Meadows.
