There's never an offseason where the Rays don't have multiple players to start the rumor mill circulating, and this winter is no exception. Tampa Bay has already turned over the midfielder Jose Siri He was traded to the Mets last month, and there was much speculation about the possibility of some of their veteran players earning significant salaries in the trade. Yandy Diaz has often been the focus, but he is one of several players who could attract interest. MLB Network's Jon Morosi Reports the closer Pete Fairbanks and left-handed Jeffrey Springs are among the Rays who have been popular in trade discussions recently.
It's no big surprise to see either player's name pop up in trade talks. Fairbanks played a prominent role MLBTR's list of top offseason trade candidates already at the beginning of November. Springs is the most expensive of at least six healthy rotation options for the Rays. Both players are signed for several seasons.
Springs, 32, has two years and $21 million remaining Four-year, $31 million extension He signed before the 2023 season. The contract includes a $15 million club option for the 2027 season ($750,000 buyout). So far, this contract has not come about as hoped, although this is not necessarily due to any real fault on Springs' part. The veteran southpaw broke out with the Rays in 2022, posting a sparkling 2.46 ERA with a strong 26.2% strikeout rate and a terrific 5.6% walk rate in 135 2/3 innings. He looked like another late-blooming diamond in the rough, unearthed by a Rays office with a knack for making just such discoveries.
Unfortunately, Springs has not been healthy since then. He made three dominant starts early in the 2023 season (16 innings, one run allowed, 24-to-4 K/BB ratio) and then suffered a torn ACL that required Tommy John surgery. He missed the rest of the '23 season and made it back to the mound late last year for seven big league starts and 33 innings. The results were good in this limited sample. Springs posted an outstanding 3.27 earned run average, fanned out 26.1% of opponents and held his walks to a rate of 7.7%. However, his four-pitch average dropped from 91.4 mph in 2022 to 89.8 mph in 2024, and he experienced similar speed drops on his slider and changeup. Springs' swinging-strike rate of 12.9% was still high, but down from the 14.2% he posted in 2021-23.
In addition to Springs, the Rays also have Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz and a return Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgery in 2022) everything ready to start next year. This applies in addition to those interested parties who have not yet debuted, such as: Joe Rock And Ian Seymourwho both achieved excellent results in the upper minors last year. Springs has looked like a top starter in the past, but only for a fleeting span of about 150 innings in 2022-23. The Rays would be a bit of a poor sell, but his $10.5 million salary is high for them under normal circumstances — not to mention a time when the club is likely facing a loss of revenue after Hurricane Milton damaged the roof of the Tropicana Field and the club then agreed to play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa – the Yankees' spring training and Class A home.
Fairbanks, 30, was great when healthy in five seasons with the Rays. “When healthy,” however, is an unfortunately crucial caveat, as the flame-throwing 6-foot-1 right-hander has never reached 50 appearances or more than 45 1/3 innings in a big league season. Dating back to 2020, Fairbanks touts a 2.89 ERA. From 2020 to 2023, he fanned out nearly 35% of his opponents, but last season that number dropped to about an average of 23.7%. Fairbanks didn't have a major loss of speed on his heater, but it dropped from an average of 98 mph from 1920 to 1923 to 97.3 mph in 2024. His slider saw a larger drop, going from an average of 86.4 mph to 97.3 mph in 2024 85 mph during the same periods.
The Rays signed Fairbanks to one Three-year, $12 million contract that bought out all three arbitration years (2023-25) and guaranteed them control of his first free agent season in the form of a club option for 2026. He is owed $3.666 million this season, with a $7 million option option ($1 million buyout) for his 26 season. Even for a partial season for a reliever with Fairbanks' upside, that's a pretty modest price. Therefore, there is no inherent urgency for the Rays to move him. They may feel a little more motivated to move Springs and his higher salary, but so far it's not clear that the Rays are necessarily shopping either — just that they've drawn interest.
The Rays' job in life, of course, is to constantly listen to all of their players as they go through their arbitration years or the final stages of any contract extensions. This year's stadium problems and the uncertainty surrounding their home in 2026 and beyond only add to this.
At the same time, Tampa Bay has already significantly reduced its payroll with a series of deadline trades and the departures of several eligible players (via trade and non-tender). RosterResource projects A little less than $79 million in salary for the Rays next season – already a drop of more than $10 million from 2024 levels. Trading Springs, Fairbanks or other veterans like the aforementioned Diaz or Brandon Lowe could further reduce expenses and give the Rays the opportunity to make some money in other deals. As far as free agency goes, they're in a similar situation to the A's in that they need to convince players to sign up for at least a year (and likely longer) and play their home games at a minor league facility.
