Rays Winter Meetings: Four Possible Trade Partners

Sep 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Phil Gosselin (15) celebrates with second baseman

(16) and left fielder

(6), right fielder

(5) and catcher

(7) after hitting a walk off single to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in the eleventh inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Diamondbacks spent a lot of money on Zack Greinke and may be looking for cheaper options at this point. Meanwhile, they also have a deceptively high number of MLB ready starters. What they don’t have is a dominant reliever that they can pair up with Brad Ziegler to shut games down when needed. Their overall pen situation could definitely be improved to complement their newfound all-in approach.

The Rays, meanwhile, could be interested in some of their hitting. Yasmany Tomas has run out of places to play and still has a very promising bat. Ender Inciarte may be more attractive to the Rays and would open up a spot for Tomas in RF. The reasons Inciarte makes more sense are more years of control and a much lower cost to the Rays. And finally, David Peralta would also be attractive to the Rays.

Pros: Diamondbacks are all-in and need to improve their pen, and possibly their SP if they want to upgrade, making them perfect trading partners for the Rays. They also already spent a ton of money and most Rays options are affordable financially, making them a great trading fit.

Cons: If the Rays do acquire Tomas, his latter years get fairly expensive, making it likely that they’d have to deal him at some point. But aside from him, the other outfielders would look great in Tampa.

Chances: Above-average

Most Likely to Become a Ray? David Peralta

Most Likely to Become a DBack? Brad Boxberger

Next: The next trade partners need some closing relief