Despite consistently having one of the lowest payrolls in the sport the Tampa Bay Rays seem to always be in the MLB playoff conversation. While the Rays haven’t made a ton of noise on the field this year, the franchise is still being discussed regularly as the MLB trade deadline approaches.
At 51-51, the Rays are looking up at several teams in the American League wild card standings and are a longshot to catch any of the divisional counterparts above them for the AL West crown. That should signal some sort of sale in Tampa because the Rays always have talent and are usually open-minded with trades.
The Rays haven’t always been conventional in their roster-building methods. Sometimes the simpler approach pays dividends for a franchise and one executive believes Tampa can afford to look that way with their highest-paid player.
“With the Rays, it's never that simple, but moving Zach Eflin seems like a no-brainer,” an MLB executive said, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers. “I just looked at that team, they have a bunch of arbitration eligible players so moving over $20 million that Eflin is owed makes a ton of sense.”
The Rays are typically trying to save money where they can and have rarely paid a player north of $15 million in a season. Zach Eflin is owed $18 million in 2025. Once the wheels start turning on the idea, it's a wonder why there isn’t more buzz about Eflin being moved.
Rays prepared to lose starter?
While most of the trade rumors involving Rays players revolve around Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes, Zach Eflin continues to make himself available and proves to be a reliable option for Tampa.
The 30-year-old returned from a lower back injury on June 5 and pitched at least five innings in eight of his nine starts since. He issued two quality starts in that span and allowed two or fewer runs in five. Perhaps most importantly, Eflin's strikeout-to-walk ratio remains solid. He's struck out 87 batters while registering only 13 walks in 19 starts.
Overall this season, Eflin's eighth in the majors, the righty has a 5-7 record with a 4.09 ERA. He is one of 36 MLB pitchers to throw at least 110 innings with a WHIP of 1.16 or lower.
Eflin doesn’t have traditional stuff and might not make the postseason rotation of some teams. However, he's a veteran who has 50 starts under his belt since the start of last season and has experience coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs. He would provide value to any pitching staff looking for another arm to bolster the group.
Pitching is at a premium during the MLB trade deadline and teams could get desperate in the next few days. Even if the Rays don’t intend to shop Zach Eflin, they should be open to trading him before Tuesday. They might be surprised to see what other teams offer for the veteran right-hander.
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