TRADE REACTION: Tampa Bay Bolsters their Rotation
Reviewing trades and if they have any fantasy implications
The Tampa Bay Rays are notoriously good at pitching development. This afternoon, they acquired Freddy Peralta, who is having a miserable season in his own right. Tampa is sending back three prospects, as shown below.
Nothing major given up. Aiden Smith is TB’s #15 prospect, Emilen Pitre is the #27, and Gary Gill Hill is the #26.
Tampa Bay’s side
Freddy has had trouble all season. Just couldn’t get himself right after having so much success in Milwaukee. He’s going to immediately undergo some pitch mix changes in Tampa Bay, and this move comes just in time as Shane McClanahan has hit the IL with a bad back.
The good news?
He’s been getting whiffs in his last four starts.
The bad news?
Strike% has declined, BB% has increased, and JA SIERA has increased. I’m fairly confident the Rays can figure this guy out. If they can’t, then they have plenty of guys in the minors to fill the fifth spot in the rotation (i.e., Brody Hopkins or Michael Forret). They didn’t give up much for Freddy, so I wouldn’t be too concerned as a Rays fan.
New York’s Side
None of these guys coming back to NY are inside the MLB DW top 150.
Aidan Smith
He’s a right-handed hitting outfielder playing mostly A+ ball this year. Aidan was a fourth-round pick in 2023 by the Seattle Mariners fresh out of high school. The fact that he hasn’t made it to AA yet is kinda nuts. Maybe just a speedster at the end of the day.
Emilien Pitre
A small-framed infielder that can lowkey swing it.
This definitely seems like the highest-floor prospect. But he’s 23 years old, so he needs to cook or get out of the kitchen. The Mets should just expose him to AAA pitching these last couple of months and see what he can do.
Gary Gill Hill
First reaction is what a name!!! That’s got future All-Star written all over it. He’s a RHP currently at AA, the Montgomery Biscuits. Another small-framed guy. Maybe he’s going to put on more weight.
Not a ton of great things, but he’s still very young.
He cuts up RHB pretty well; lefties give him some trouble. Maybe the Mets pitching development can work some magic as they did with Nolan McLean. Since he’s in AA, we don’t have any pitch data on him, which is silly to say the least.
Overall, I like this deal a lot for the Rays. They didn’t give up much, and he can certainly make a difference in October as he’s done before. If he can turn his crappy season around. I’m kinda rooting for the Rays in the AL since they have so many former Orioles. Kinda feels like cheating. It’s just baseball; it’s okay. As I’ve said before, I’m just a baseball guy. I like the underdogs.
As Jon said earlier, I’m sure Tim will have some thoughts about these Rays prospects going back to NY.
As far as fantasy implications, most fantasy trade deadlines have passed. If they haven’t, I would consider trying to buy super low on Freddy if you are in desperate need of pitching. Bet on Tampa’s pitching coaches for sure. They haven’t failed many times, although this could certainly be their toughest task. I’m probably going to take a stab at trading for him in a few leagues.