The lasting effects on Rays after 2018 Deadline

With the Rays looking to find consistent playing time for their young core, the organization knew the week leading up to the 2018 Trade Deadline was going to be a busy one. What the club didn’t know was just how busy it would be.

Tampa Bay entered Deadline week looking to trade Nathan Eovaldi and Wilson Ramos, two veteran players who were playing well and who were set to become free agents at the end of the season.

While Eovaldi and Ramos were the likely trade options, the list of possible players who could be moved didn’t stop there. Chris Archer, who was the club's ace at the time, was also receiving a lot of interest from contending teams. Role players like Jonny Venters, Sergio Romo and Adeiny Hechavarría were also on the trading block.

Tampa Bay was ready to listen to any and all offers, ultimately making five key trades in a span of six days.

“I think from a prep standpoint, you find ways to stay busy in any given year,” said Rays general manager Erik Neander. “Where we were [in 2018], we were a young team, an inexperienced team. We wanted to create opportunity and open space for some guys to play, and we wanted to continue to build on that so ideally in 2019 and beyond, we could be an even more competitive club.”

Neander and the rest of the Rays' front office were able to accomplish their goal. The week turned out to be an important one for their organization. It allowed the young core to get valuable experience, which ultimately resulted in 90 wins in 2018 and a load of optimism heading into the ‘19 season. Tampa Bay made it back to the postseason in ‘19, and this particular week played a big role in the success.

Let’s take a look at how that week shaped out.

July 25, 2018: The movement begins
The Rays didn’t wait until July 31 to make the big moves. On July 25, they completed two deals, including shipping Eovaldi to the Red Sox for left-hander Jalen Beeks.

Landing Beeks, who wasn’t considered a top prospect, didn’t create much of a splash, but the acquisition sent the clubhouse a clear message: the Rays weren’t looking to acquire prospects in the lower Minors, they were only interested in acquiring young, Major League-ready players. They were setting up to make a run in 2019.

“Our intention has been on creating a wave and a group of players who can come up, compete, grow together and win together,” Neander said at the time of the deal. “That’s starting to show up on our Major League roster now. And I think now there will be an added emphasis on trying to enhance that group further.”

Just hours after the Eovaldi trade, the Rays were active yet again. This time, Tampa Bay traded right-hander Matt Andriese to the D-backs for catcher Michael Perez and pitching prospect Brian Shaffer.

Like Beeks, Perez was a bit of an unknown when Tampa Bay acquired him. The Rays, however, were adamant that the 25-year-old catcher could thrive with an opportunity at the big league level. Perez joined the club in Baltimore the following day, making his first career start. Since then, Perez has struggled to stay healthy, but he was on the Opening Day roster in 2019 and was the favorite to win the backup catcher job this season.

On July 26, 2018, the Rays also traded left-hander Venters to the Braves for international bonus money.

July 31, 2018: The Deadline
This could end up being one of the most important days in the history of the franchise, and the perfect finish to one of the most eventful weeks in club history.

The day began with a surprise move by the Rays: Tampa Bay and St. Louis had come to terms on a deal.

The Rays had acquired outfielder Tommy Pham in a deal, sending prospects Justin Williams, Roel Ramirez and Genesis Cabrera to the Cardinals. All three prospects were in the club’s future plans, but the chance to acquire Pham, even in a season that wasn’t going to result in a postseason berth, was too good to pass up.

Pham went on to reach base in 43 of his first 46 games with the Rays, helping the club win 90 games in 2018 and playing an integral part in the team’s success the following season.

“We were open and interested in an everyday right-handed hitter, preferably in the outfield,” Neander said. “Tommy was more established by age and deeper into his career than a lot of our guys, but still had the opportunity for him to be a part of our organization for a few years, and that was the appeal there.”

Just hours later, with the 3 p.m. ET Deadline closing in, the club made two more deals. Tampa Bay had traded Ramos, who was recovering from a hamstring injury that hurt his Draft stock, to the Phillies for cash considerations. The other deal made was a lot more significant.

After weeks of speculation, the Rays decided to trade Archer. Multiple teams -- like the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies -- were interested, but it was the Pirates, who had put together a strong July, who ultimately landed the veteran right-hander.

“Honestly, we weren’t necessarily aggressively trying to make a trade happen. Probably anything but,” Neander said. “He was not a player or a person that we were going to take for granted. At the same time, I think a lot of other teams recognized that, and the market and interest [for Archer] was aligned with that.”

As Neander said, the Rays were going to wait for the right offer, and that’s exactly what they got from the Pirates. Tampa Bay acquired outfielder Austin Meadows, pitcher Tyler Glasnow and a player to be named later, who turned out to be top pitching prospect Shane Baz.

“We know we’ve given up a player who’s going to have a really good career,” said former Pirates general manager Neil Huntington on Meadows. “He was a must-have for Tampa.”

The deal netted the Rays an everyday outfielder in Meadows (who has since turned into an All-Star), a right-handed starter in Glasnow (who showed flashes of being an elite starter in 2019) and a highly touted prospect in Baz (who can touch 100-mph with his four-seamer).

“Tyler and Austin had shown glimpses, and they have the physical abilities and the upside that when they’re doing things on the field, you can just see it,” Neander said. “The consistency wasn’t quite there, but they were guys we felt could grow with the rest of our team, and they’ve done that, for the most part.”

Sept. 27, 2019
After the Rays clinched an American League Wild Card berth, Neander joined the celebration inside the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre, taking a moment to appreciate that the club had returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013.

“This is as good as it gets,” Neander said. “The players, the culture, their drive and what they want -- they make it go. They take a near impossible, incredibly challenging situation and they make it this. We made it, the credit goes to them.”

Neander is right. The players deserve the credit for what they accomplished last season. But it was Neander, led by the moves made in July 2018, who helped the Rays get back to the postseason.

For that, Neander deserves a lot of credit.