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3 Tampa Bay Rays Trade Targets While Battling Injuries

By Josh Jacobs |
New York Yankees v Tampa Bay Rays
New York Yankees v Tampa Bay Rays / Tyler Schank/GettyImages
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As of June 21st, the Tampa Bay Rays sit at 36-31, 14 games back of the 1st place Yankees and 0.5 game back of the third AL Wild Card. Recent play has caused the Rays to fall off, as the club is 2-8 in their last 10 games. The two main culprits for this fall in production seem to be their struggling offense and plethora of injuries.

Five of the club's Opening Day Starters currently find themselves on the injured list: Wander Franco, Mike Zunino, Brandon Lowe, Manuel Margot, and Kevin Kiermaier. While the club has battled injuries to their pitching staff as well, the clubs ERA is 4th in baseball sitting at 3.15. Meanwhile, the offense ranks 27th in baseball in OPS, only above rebuilding clubs like the Pirates, Tigers, and Athletics.

While the club has tried to rely on its deep farm system to fill some of the production lost by injury, the Rays rookies have produced a wRC+ of just 44, 26th in baseball. It is becoming increasingly clear that the club will need to look outside the organization and acquire talent for the lineup if it desires to keep up with other contenders in the National League.

While there are a variety of players that could become available at the trade deadline that could make major impacts for the club, they likely need to bring in a stop gap player or two in the meantime to help keep the team afloat. Here are three different bats the club could look to acquire in the near future.

Target #1 - Andrew Benintendi

Outfielder Andrew Benintendi has had a career year with the Kansas City Royals in 2022, and classifies both as a stopgap for the club and key contributor come October.

The Royals outfielder is slashing .298/.363/.396 with 3 HR and 25 RBI for one of the worst offenses in baseball. The top prospect in all of baseball in 2017, his career has not lived up to the promise he once had, but has carved out a role as a borderline All-Star caliber player this season.

With Kansas City heading toward another lost season and Benintendi an impending free agent, the club would be open to offloading the outfielder in order to deepen their farm system. Luckily for the Royals, the Rays have plenty of prospects to go around.

President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander should be on the phone with Royals brass today looking to secure a deal for the streaking outfielder.

Target #2 - Paul DeJong

It's not often that a contending team is willing to move a former All-Star at a premium position like shortstop midseason, but the St. Louis Cardinals may be willing to move onto Paul DeJong to help solve their bullpen crisis.

Paul DeJong began 2022 at the Cardinals starting shortstop, and although he maintained elite defense, his .417 OPS led to a demotion in early May and he still remains on the AAA Memphis ballclub.

DeJong has proven to be a solid option in the past, being name an NL All-Start in 2019 while hitting 30 home runs for the Cardinals. While playing in AAA this season, he has 9 HR in 30 games and has an OPS sitting at .751. With both Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe out, acquiring and power bat for the middle infield would be a wise move.

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to take ahold of the NL Central and could use bullpen arms to cover the middle innings. If the Tampa Bay Rays are willing to send some of their young pitchers to St. Louis, they may be able to acquire a powerful, middle infield bat on a buy low opportunity.

Target #3 - Ramon Laureano

if the Rays are interested in acquiring an elite defensive outfielder to replace Kiermaier's production with the capacity for high level offense, Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano should be on their radar.

The Athletics have been sellers since before the season began, offloading high level talent like Matt Olsen, Matt Chapman, and Sean Manaea. It is only a matter of time before the A's begin to offload more of their valuable veteran talent.

Laureano has struggled a bit this season, hitting .237 with 2 HR and 8 RBI on possibility the worst team in baseball. His career OPS though sits at .787, and provides some of the best defense in the league out in center.

Something that should appeal to this Rays team is the passion and competitiveness that Laureano carries with him. Even for a terrible club, Laureano can be seen firing up his teammates who clearly respect his leadership.

Acquiring a player like Laureano could provide the Rays with the production they need right now, as well as a fiery spirit in the clubhouse to get the team out of the rut they are in.

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