Rays appear to win another offseason trade after latest Jose Siri-Mets news

One of the first major trades that the Rays made over the 2024 offseason was when they dealt fleet-footed outfielder Jose Siri to the Mets for crafty, but inexperienced reliever Eric Orze. Some Rays fans were thrilled to see the wild and eccentric strikeout king leave the organization, while others thought that the move limited their abilities in the outfield and brought in an inadequate return. Well, that was all answered with some recent heartbreaking news from the Mets.

Rays former outfielder Jose Siri will be sidelined for 8-10 weeks with a left tibia fracture. The power threat sustained the gruesome injury after fouling a ball off of his leg in an April 12th contest against the Athletics. Although Siri isn't their everyday center fielder like he was on the Rays, this blow hurts their depth in the outfield. In fact, the Mets are now flirting with the idea of giving Jeff McNeil reps in center field during Tyrone Taylor's days off.

Meanwhile, the Rays have recently selected the services of their return in the Jose Siri deal. Eric Orze received the call-up about a week ago after Joe Boyle was optioned back to Triple-A Durham. The Illinois native had a great spring, tossing 6.1 innings and producing a 1.42 ERA.

He has carried that success into regular season play as well. Orze currently has a 0.00 ERA in six innings of work, as he's induced a 16.7% whiff rate on his impressive off-speed pitch. The former Mets reliever has tossed his lethal changeup over half of the time, allowing a .250 AVG and striking out three opponents with the nasty pitch.

This success is a complete 180 from his appearance with the Mets last season. In a tiny sample size of 1.2 innings, Orze gave up four runs on three hits, including a home run by Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna. His worst outing came on his MLB debut on July 8th. The righty gave up three straight hits without recording an out. Three runs owed to Orze would wind up scoring in an 8-2 rout by the Pirates.

Therefore, this performance is a breath of fresh air for the Rays front office as they understood the risk they were taking with Orze's disappointing outings. Another genius trade from Erik Neander is in the books, but this isn't the first rodeo for the Rays. Tampa Bay is known for their ability to strike deals that benefit their club in the long and short run.

One of the most popular steals that the Rays committed was when they traded right-handed starting pitcher Chris Archer to the Pirates for Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and Shane Baz. Baz is currently the only player still on the roster, but Meadows and Glasnow were able to make an All-Star appearance a piece before they were traded away. The Orze-Siri exchange may have been a surprise victory from Rays fans point of view, but we must remember that this front office has been doing this for years.