ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays continued their July sell-a-thon Sunday, dealing All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes to the Cubs and high-leverage reliever Jason Adam to the Padres.
In a market light on sellers, the Rays have been active. They traded outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and Zach Eflin to the Orioles on Friday, and previously shipped starter Aaron Civale to the Brewers and reliever Phil Maton to the Mets.
They stripped down their underperforming roster by dealing six veterans, built up their organizational depth by acquiring 12 prospects, plus big-league infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel, and restructured their payroll, saving more than $55 million over this season and next.
And there’s plenty of time left before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline for more deals. Shawn Armstrong, Yandy Diaz, Pete Fairbanks, Zack Littell, Brandon Lowe, Colin Poche and Amed Rosario are among the subjects of trade speculation.
“Definitely possible,” baseball operations president Erik Neander said Sunday night. “I don’t know what that means. ... We’re going to continue to have conversations the next couple days and see where they take us.”
Sunday morning’s trade of Adam, the ultra-dependable and well-liked right-hander, brought the most robust prospect return, three players ranked highly by mlb.com in San Diego’s well-regarded system: right-hander Dylan Lesko, the Padres’ No. 3 prospect (No. 78 overall); outfielder Homer Bush Jr., No. 8; and catcher JD Gonzalez, No. 12.
“This was an extremely tough morning saying goodbye to Jason, who has meant so much to our organization on and off the field,” Neander said, “but we are very excited to see these three guys we obtained from San Diego grow in our system.”
The late-afternoon deal involving Paredes, who started his pro career in the Cubs system and grew from fringe big-leaguer to All-Star in 2-1/2 seasons in Tampa Bay, delivered the one player expected to step in and make an immediate impact in Morel. The Rays have pursued the 25-year-old for a while, given his extreme talent, though he has been somewhat inconsistent.
The Rays also got two right-handed pitching prospects in reliever Hunter Bigge, who will join them at some point this season after making his major-league debut earlier this month, and Class A starter/reliever Ty Johnson.
For the Rays to deal Paredes — considered one of the biggest potential prizes on the market with three more years before free agency — Neander said it was going to take a package that, unlike their other prospect-laden deals, provided big-league-ready talent.
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Explore all your options“It was important to identify a deal for players we really liked and believed that their best was going to be ahead of them, right ahead of them, and that could impact our major-league club,” Neander said. “Morel is someone that we very much believe is going to do that, and Bigge is someone that’s going to factor into our bullpen mix. ...
“The chance to get some pieces back that we like, have liked for some time, and also have a little versatility to them as we think about how to maneuver these pieces around over the next few years, that’s pretty much the exact deal that it was going to take to consider it.”
Morel, who will be under team control through 2028 (a year longer than Paredes), is hitting .199 with 18 homers, 51 RBIs and a .675 OPS this season with what Neander called “some tough luck.” Last year, Morel hit .247 with 26 homers, 70 RBIs and an .821 OPS.
Morel spent most of his time this season at third base but may be best at second. He also has previous big-league time at all three outfield positions, shortstop and designated hitter, and could be used at first.
Noting “there is some benefit to the flexibility,” Neander said the Rays haven’t decided yet where Morel will play, which also could be a product of what other deals they make by the deadline. As of Sunday night, at least, there were no plans to call up top prospect Junior Caminero, who seems to fit best at third.
Paredes, acquired from Detroit at the end of spring training 2022 in the trade of outfielder Austin Meadows (ostensibly to open a spot for then-prospect Josh Lowe), became a smashing success for the Rays, capped by his 31-homer, 98-RBI, .840 OPS breakout 2023 season.
This season Paredes, making $3.4 million in the first of four years of arbitration eligibility, hit .245 with a team-high 16 homers and 55 RBIs, plus a .792 OPS.
Paredes played for the Rays Sunday against the Reds, then sat at his locker afterward, clearly waiting for further news. Several teammates visited, spoke quietly with him, offered hugs and asked him to sign various items.
Bigge, 26, made his major-league debut with the Cubs on July 9 and made four big-league appearances over two stints with the team, posting a 2.70 ERA over 3-1/3 innings. He was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 14 minor-league games after missing the start of the season with an oblique injury. He was a 2019 12th-round pick from Harvard and rated the Cubs’ No. 29 prospect by mlb.com.
Johnson, 22, has split this season between Class A teams in Myrtle Beach and South Bend, going 1-4 with a 3.54 ERA and one save in 18 appearances (10 starts). He was a 2023 15th-round pick from Ball State.
Adam, who turns 33 next week, joined the Rays in spring 2022 as a journeyman reliever who had little success in previous big-league stints with the Royals, Blue Jays and Cubs.
But under the tutelage of pitching coach Kyle Snyder and staff, he transformed into a dominant reliever. He often handled the toughest situations in front of closer Fairbanks, going 10-7 with a 2.30 ERA, 24 saves and an 0.881 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched).
“He turned himself into something really good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve got to give him credit for certainly understanding and taking ownership of his career. Him and Kyle, with the relationship that they’ve had, was pretty special.”
Fairbanks and other Rays said it was hard to lose Adam, who was making $2.7 million in the second of four years of arbitration eligibility. “That one hurts,” Fairbanks said.
Adam, who hung around Tropicana Field to visit with team staff (posing for photos when asked) and take two of his four daughters to run the bases after the game, had the understandable mixed feelings in leaving.
“I love the Rays,” he said. “Everyone here changed the trajectory of my career, and I’m incredibly thankful. Really excited to see what’s in store in San Diego and try to help them win a World Series.”
Lesko, 20, is the most heralded of the prospect acquisitions. He was immediately slotted in by mlb.com as the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Rays system, No. 5 overall.
After a 2021 season in which he became the first junior to win the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year Award (11-0, 0.35, 112 strikeouts in 60 innings) for Buford (Georgia) High, Lesko underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022 but was still taken 15th overall by the Padres and signed for $3.9 million.
So far, he has struggled to regain top form, going 1-9 with a 6.46 ERA over 16 starts this year for Class A Fort Wayne, allowing 119 baserunners (55 hits, 52 walks, 12 hit by pitch) in 69-2/3 innings while striking out 79. He was 1-5, 5.45 last year in 12 starts over three levels of the Padres system.
“The results to date,” Neander said, “just don’t think that’s representative of the talent and the potential that sits in front of him.”
Bush, 22, and the son of seven-year big-leaguer Homer Bush, plays a speed game on offense and defense. “He can really fly,” Neander said. Bush, a 2023 fourth-round pick, hit .272 with four homers, 16 RBIs and 43 steals in 86 games for Class A Fort Wayne this year after swiping 22 while hitting .325 in 44 games last season across three levels.
Gonzalez, 18, was a third-round pick in 2023 from Puerto Rico, known for hitting the ball hard from the left side and having a strong arm.Slowed by a spring knee injury, he hit .205 (33-for-161) in 48 games for Class A Lake Elsinore.
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