AL East contender predicted to not target Byron Buxton, Yordan Alvarez for unfortunate reason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There comes a time when a Major League organization has to make a big splash if they want to truly have a shot at winning the World Series.
The time might be now for the Tampa Bay Rays, but there’s one thing holding the AL East club back.
“As always, the question facing president of baseball operations, Erik Neander, is how big a swing should he take knowing the financial limits ownership has traditionally placed on executives in Tampa,” Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly wrote.
The Rays are in first place in the division, but might only make supplementary moves to avoid adding a substantial amount of salary to their payroll.
“All things being equal, this is a team that could use another big outfield bat,” Kelly added. “The guess here is they are probably more likely to be in the rental market, rather than trying to land a star like Ketel Marte, Byron Buxton, or Yordan Alvarez.”
Buxton has a no-trade clause in his contract with the Minnesota Twins, so navigating a trade for the star center fielder may be difficult anyway.
Alvarez is a top-three hitter in baseball when healthy, and would give the Rays a much-needed power bat in the middle of the lineup. But the cost to require the Houston Astros star would be tremendous.
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Look for the Rays to make a move similar to 2021, when they made a trade for power hitter Nelson Cruz at the deadline.
The Cruz trade was nothing too flashy, but it was a reminder that Tampa Bay normally operates on a budget.
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