Predicting Rays’ next big trade before deadline

Currently holding one of the AL Wild Card spots, the Tampa Bay Rays are playing strong baseball so far this season. Although their home at Tropicana Field is unavailable this season, they’ve made Steinbrenner Field, their temporary refuge for the season, one of the toughest places to play in the MLB. The Rays have used a home-heavy front end of their schedule to help them get close to the AL East lead, although Saturday’s 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on a walk-off bunt does sting a bit.

Moving forward, there are a couple of places where the Rays could use some upgrades and/or additions. The bullpen, which has been a unit that the Rays have relied heavily on over the years, has regressed a bit this year. This is one area in which Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander could focus on as the trade deadline approaches.

However, their lineup has one spot in particular that has long called out for an upgrade. In fact, it is the one position that the Rays have never truly had an impact bat. That position is at catcher. The organization has long favored having a more defensive-minded backstop, one that can handle the strengths of their pitching staff. However, the biggest move they could likely make before the deadline passes in a few weeks? Swinging a big trade for Atlanta Braves number one catcher Sean Murphy. The biggest question involving that would be this: would Rays ownership approve of more spending in a season with so much turmoil? At this point, anything is possible.

Adding Sean Murphy would likely solve Rays’ biggest lineup hole