Archer, Ramos dealt for the present and future at the MLB Trade Deadline.
First, it was a trade no one saw coming. The Rays acquired outfielder Tommy Pham, 30, from the St. Louis Cardinals for three prospects. One of those being #14 prospect, outfielder Justin Williams. The other being #25 prospect, LHP Genesis Cabrera. RHP Roel Ramirez also heads to St. Louis in the deal. The Cardinals, at 54-52 are still very much alive in the NL wild card picture sitting just four games back. So this was a bit of a shock considering Pham is a year removed from hitting .306 with 23 HR and 73 RBI in 128 games last season. Pham was drafted by the Cardinals in the 16th round of the 2006 draft and has an impressive .828 OPS in 362 MLB games, all with St. Louis. He has team control through 2022 and is arbitration-eligible in 2019.
#Rays do not believe Pham’s 2017 season was a fluke, and that his underlying numbers this season indicate his overall performance is close to that. Have a need in the outfield, three years control.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2018
Ramos to the Phils
Despite being on the DL, catcher Wilson Ramos was traded to the Phillies for a player to be named later. That player will likely be determined depending on how Ramos returns and when for Philadelphia. Ramos was selected to the All Star game this season along with Blake Snell and manager Kevin Cash. In 142 games with the Rays going back to last season, Ramos hit 25 HRs, 88 RBI, and hit .281 with a .794 OPS.
Ramos was signed by the Rays to a two-year contract on December 12, 2016. He made his Rays debut on June 24, 2017, returning from a torn right (ACL).
Archer’s haul could be the gem of the deadline
For the last couple years, the Chris Archer trade rumors have been swirling. Today, as the deadline neared, the inevitable happened. Archer was sent to the Pirates for what some are calling the steal of the deadline across MLB.
23-year old outfielder, Austin Meadows, is heading to Tampa Bay along with RHP Tyler Glasnow and a third player to be named.
Meadows was drafted in the first round, ninth overall by the Pirates in 2013. He made his MLB debut this season. Through 49 games, he’s hitting .292 with 5 HR and 13 RBI. He was ranked by Baseball America as a Top 50 prospect in the minors for five consecutive seasons (2014-18), including No. 6 entering the 2017 season.
Glasnow, 24, is 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA (56-IP, 27-ER) and 72 strikeouts in 34 appearances, all in relief, for the Pirates this season. He ranks third among National League relievers in strikeouts. He has made 19 relief apps of 2 IP or more, most in the majors. Also a statistic the Rays would likely utilize in the “opener” role. Glasnow was ranked by Baseball America as a Top 50 prospect in the minors for four consecutive seasons (2014-17), including No. 16 entering the 2015 season and No. 14 entering the 2016 season. With Glasnow, the Rays now have the top three strikeout leaders in the minor leagues in 2017. Glasnow finished third with 140 strikeouts in 93.1 innings behind Ryan Yarbrough (159) and Brent Honeywell (152).
End of an era
Since June 1, 2013, the date Archer was recalled to the majors for good, his 173 starts rank second in the majors, just one start shy of Max Scherzer (174). His 1,110 strikeouts over that span rank fifth in the majors, trailing Scherzer (1,429), Chris Sale (1,395), Corey Kluber (1,235) and Clayton Kershaw (1,155). He struck out a club-record 252 batters in 2015.
He is a two-time American League All-Star (2015, 2017) and pitched for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Archer has made at least 30 starts in four straight seasons (2014-17), joining Shields (2007-12) as the only two Rays pitchers ever to do so.
The present and future
Between the “PTBNL” in the Ramos and Archer deals, the Rays still have a chance to make the future even brighter. For now, they have brought on MLB talent to continue to compete in 2018. Meadows and Glasnow could be huge players for this team going forward. Pham, despite being 30, could be as well depending on how quickly outfield prospect Jesus Sanchez rises.
The Rays sit at 53-53, third in the AL East, and 10 games back of the final AL wild card. The Angels sit a half game ahead of them and come to town tonight for a three-game series. The Oakland Athletics are eight games ahead and two behind the Mariners for the final spot.
With 56 games remaining in the 2018 season, it can be argued the Rays still feel like they have an outside shot. Bringing on Meadows, Pham, and Glasnow to contribute now could be a sign of that.
Tomorrow is August. Two full months of the season remain and a lot of those games (33, in fact) are at Tropicana Field where the Rays are 29-20 and have played very well of late.
Is there a shot for some of that late-season Rays magic?
Buckle up, Rays fans. It could get real interesting.
