It feels like the early off-season rumors surrounding the Tampa Bay Rays are centered on whom they will trade. What about whom will they add? The Rays could use more certainty in the starting rotation after the top three guys.
The latest projection has them hitting the trade market to boost the starting rotation.
Rays Linked To Surprising Trade Candidate To Boost Starting Rotation
The Rays Could Make A Trade
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report wrote an article in which he predicted the starting rotations for every team next season. His predictions surrounding the Rays were fairly straightforward, with one interesting exception. Reuter has the Rays making a surprising trade with the New York Mets to acquire one of the winter’s rumored trade candidates. The Mets are known to be shopping Kodai Senga and the Rays could line up on a trade.
It’s an interesting match because both sides could benefit from such a swap. Reuter wrote, “The Rays won’t be players at the top of the free-agent market, but they are always looking for value, and buying low on Senga could play dividends. They have a surplus of outfielders, which the Mets need, so there could be some foundation for a deal to be made.”
On the Trade Block
Senga finds himself in trade rumors after a disappointing 2025 that ended up in the minor leagues. The same pitcher who finished fourth in the NL Cy voting in 2023 followed that up with an injury-marred 2024 campaign. Still, there was excitement about Senga during the first half of 2025 as he posted a 1.47 ERA over his first 73.2 innings of work by early June. A hamstring injury then derailed his season.
Senga returned from that IL stint to post a miserable 5.90 ERA from early July until late August. The performance was so bad that the organization asked for his consent to be optioned to the minor leagues. Needless to say, Senga continued to post inconsistent production in the minors before his season was effectively over.
New York Mets Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns seems to be making it clear that Senga can be pried away, especially since his baseball operations department didn’t sign the guy four years ago.
The Fit With Tampa
The Rays are in a perfect position to roll the dice on Senga. Senga would welcome the fresh start in Tampa Bay and the Rays could help him unlock a new level of performance. Senga has the potential to either be an ace or a useful innings-eater at the back end. The flexibility allows the Rays to explore a multitude of outcomes in order to maximize value. The two years and $28 million remaining on Senga’s contract is important for a franchise that operates on shoestring budgets.
As Reuter mentions, the Rays would need to give up something valuable to the Mets. The outfield is interesting because they are somewhat weak at that spot. Still, the Mets could be interested in someone like Jonny DeLuca to shore up their center field hole. Chandler Simpson seems like a step too far, but Deluca is someone that could also benefit from a change of scenery because of his injuries and subpar performance in recent years. Of course, the question of how much money the Rays would absorb is going to affect the ultimate return.
In any event, this proposed swap is extremely enticing from the Rays perspective. They will be facing stiff competition, but the front office needs to dive deeply into the starting pitching trade market.
Main Photo Credits: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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