Rays predicted to be ‘threat’ in trade sweepstakes for $32 million Tigers’ Cy Young winner originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Tampa Bay Rays are currently the top team in all of the American League, and they’re only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves by record overall.
At 34-19, it would not be a surprise if the Rays were buyers at the 2026 MLB trade deadline. The question isn’t whether they will buy or sell, but how big they will buy?
Jim Bowden of The Athletic shared a prediction for the Rays at the trade deadline, saying that they will be a “threat” in the sweepstakes for Detroit Tigers $32 million Cy Young-winning ace, Tarik Skubal.
Rays predicted to be ‘threat’ in Tarik Skubal sweepstakes
“The Rays will be ‘in’ on Skubal, and they’ll do it in stealth fashion as they normally do,” Bowden writes. “They have the farm system to make a deal work here, and if they can put Skubal with Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan at the top of the rotation, they’ll be well equipped to do damage in October. They’ll be a threat in the Skubal sweepstakes.”
While there will be plenty of attention on teams like the Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs for Skubal, the Rays can’t be counted out just yet.
They have a good team, and if they believe there’s a chance to win it all this year, trading for Skubal would make a lot of sense.
MORE: Yankees’ Aaron Judge on track to become first player in MLB history with five 50+ homer seasons
Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, and Nick Martinez have been great for the Rays this season, but there is still room for one more pitcher in this rotation.
While they could shop in the lower-tier of the trade market and come away happy, if they could add Skubal, the two-time Cy Young winner who has a 2.70 ERA this season, it would be a very fun rotation that could go head-to-head with any team in baseball.
It won’t be cheap, even though Skubal is currently on the injured list after surgery. But, he will be back, and once he returns and very likely performs well, it’s going to be very expensive to trade for the Cy Young ace.
This prediction from Bowden, that the Rays will be a “threat” for Skubal in the trade market, is a very exciting one. If the Rays could actually acquire Skubal, they would have arguably the best rotation in all of MLB.
More MLB news:
- 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker’s breakout for Cardinals
- Roman Anthony might’ve been overhyped for Red Sox
- Dodgers still have a Roki Sasaki problem
- Chase Burns becomes first Reds pitcher with elite stat line since 1922
- Phillies’ Aidan Miller finally beginning baseball activities amid back injury