The Yankees dismantled the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday 6–1, and every win they pick up increases the chances that the Rays will sell at the trade deadline on July 30. According to Brian Hoch of MLB.com, the Rays are already extensively scouting the Yankees’ farm system, so there could be synergy between the two teams in a potential deal.
Rays Consider Offloading Key Players, and the Yankees Could Get Involved
The Rays are open to discussing the potential offloading of Isaac Paredes , Zach Eflin, Pete Fairbanks, Randy Arozarena, and potentially Brandon Lowe. Paredes is the most attractive of the bunch since the 25-year-old has multiple years left of control, hitting free agency in 2028.
Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Isaac Paredes: A Valuable Asset
As a quality third baseman, Paredes has played 92 games this season, hitting .258/.360/.453, including 15 homers and 50 RBIs, with a 17% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. His 136 wRC+ indicates he’s 36% better than the average MLB hitter.
Pursuing Paredes would likely mean the Yankees parting ways with a prospect like Spencer Jones. However, they desperately need a third baseman, and if they extend Juan Soto in the long term, Jones won’t have a starting job waiting for him in 2025 anyway.
The Dynamics of the Yankee Outfield
Jasson Dominguez projects to fill the starting left field job down the line, Aaron Judge could stay in center, and Soto would continue manning right field. That will leave Jones out of the rotation but the Yankees could leverage his upside instead of gambling on his development. There are many who believe that he could be a superstar in the future, but acquiring a proven MLB commodity could be worthwhile, especially if it leads to the Yankees winning the World Series in the next two seasons.
Brandon Lowe and Pete Fairbanks: Additional Trade Considerations
Alternatively, Lowe is a decent option as well. The 30-year-old provided Tampa’s only run against Gerrit Cole on Friday, a solo homer. The lefty has plenty of power at his disposal, hitting .248/.339/.491 season, with 10 homers and 28 RBIs. The problem is Lowe has only played 50 games and does have a spotty health history, so the Yankees will have to weigh that variable.
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
As for pitching, Pete Fairbanks could be an interesting player to target for the bullpen. Over 33.2 innings this season, the 30-year-old righty hosts a 3.21 ERA, a 71.4% left-on-base rate, and a 45.1% ground ball rate. He’s coming off a season where he hosted a 2.58 ERA in 2023 and a 1.13 ERA in 2022.
There’s plenty of reason to like Fairbanks as a new piece in the bullpen, and the Yankees might want to bring over two Tampa players. Of course, the Rays are phenomenal at identifying talent, and whoever they demand from the Yankees will certainly have a lot of value. Still, if general manager Brian Cashman wants to win a World Series this year, he needs to be aggressive in pursuing talent that can make an impact immediately.
Cashman said several weeks ago that the Yankees plan to have a creative approach, so expect him to consider options across the league, but there are only so many available third basemen Pareded is by far the best available player and would offer a substantial improvement at the leadoff spot.
Having Paredes hitting ahead of Soto and Judge would be a luxury — he would see more pitches to hit and continue to showcase damage contact.
