2 roster moves Rays must make after 2026 MLB trade deadline

The Boston Red Sox have been making headlines in the American League East for their remarkable surge that took them from the bottom of the American League to a position inside the AL’s playoff structure. However, while the Red Sox were climbing up the standings, the Tampa Bay Rays were solidifying their place at the top of the American League ladder.

The Rays are the best team in the American League and that is confirmed by their 71-46 record. They just swept the Seattle Mariners on the road and they will take a 6-game winning streak into their upcoming road series with the lowly Athletics. That team stopped Boston’s winning streak by beating the Red Sox in consecutive weekend games at Fenway Park.

The Rays lead the second-place Yankees by 5.5 games in the AL East and the Red Sox by 7 games. Those teams have the second- and third-best records in the American League.

Tampa Bay was expected to finish at or near the bottom of the American League East this season after finishing in 4th place in the division in each of the past two seasons. Manager Kevin Cash saw his team jump out to a sharp start and after passing the Yankees for the division lead in June, they have shown no signs of giving up their position.

The Rays are depending on their three best hitters in Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero to lead their offense.

They have a solid pitching staff that is led by Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen. They also have a dominant bullpen that is led by close Bryan Baker, who has a league-leading 34 saves with a 1.55 earned run average in 46.1 innings.

Rays make key moves at trade deadline with additional moves to make

The Rays also made several key moves at the trade deadline. They picked up Freddy Peralta to add to their starting staff. Peralta struggled with the New York Mets this season, but he had a 17-6 record a year ago with the Milwaukee Brewers. General manager Erik Neander expects Peralta to get back to his top form now that he is back with a winning team.

They also added catcher Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins. The Rays have struggled with their catchers’ offensive production, but Hicks should have a positive impact. He is slashing .281/.366/.437 with a 15 home runs and 66 RBI.

The addition of Peralta and Hicks appear to be positive moves that should give them an excellent chance of representing the American League in the World Series.

The pitching staff could get stronger when starting pitcher Griffin Jax is able to come off the Injured List and return to the rotation.

Jax was placed on the list Sunday with elbow tightness and move was made a day after he was scratched from his start Saturday against the Mariners.

The Rays do not believe Jax has any ligament damage and they are hoping that giving him a brief rest will allow him to return to the rotation. He has made 18 starts this season and he has a 6-9 record with a 3.63 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.

Cash said he believes that Jax is showing improvement but further tests on the elbow will give the Rays a more specific anlysis of the Jax injury.

“He’s going to go see a doctor [Monday] and we’ll probably know Wednesday or Thursday on something,” Cash said, per the Associated Press. “He feels better today, which is very encouraging.”

Young star may receive promotion from minor leagues

When the Rays made their trade deadline moves, they did not have to give up any of their most elite prospects. Outfielder Theo Gillen is the best of those prospects, and his name was mentioned quite a bit prior to the trade deadline.

He appears to be a solid prospect who has the tools to become a star at the big-league level. If the Rays had been able to make a trade for Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers for his services, Gillen almost certainly would have been a part of the deal.

Since Skubal is considered a rental because he will be a free agent after the season concludes, they did not want to give up their dynamic outfield prospect. He was promoted from High-A to Double-A Montgomery this season.

Since his promotion, Gillen is slashing .299/.410/.566 with 7 home runs in 30 games. It would seem that his next promotion would come to the Triple-A level, but there is also a chance that he could be a September call-up for the Rays.

This is not unprecedented, as the Cleveland Guardians promoted Chase DeLauter last year when he was at the same point in his development as Gillen.

Since the Rays are so dependent on their Big 3 offensive players — Diaz, Aranda and Caminero — adding another key offensive player could only help Tampa Bay in its aspirations for the postseason.

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