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Rays Speedster Could Be Potential Trade Target for Phillies This Winter

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 7:00 AM ET

As the Tampa Bay Rays prepare for the offseason, they are going to likely be an active team in the trade market with numerous veterans that they could move. This is a talented group for the Rays as shown by some of their success in 2025.

However, Tampa Bay is still a low-payroll team, and they very rarely let talented assets leave for nothing in free agency. With a few key veterans like Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and Pete Fairbanks all potentially entering their final year with the team, the Rays are likely to move some of these players.

With talent in place and coming off a year in which they had a positive run differential, Tampa Bay might not be far off from contending. However, they do have some areas of need, one of which being to improve their slugging abilities in the outfield. Even though there is some talent in the group, they have a bit of a log jam currently and moving one of their youngsters to potentially help clear that and pursue a better slugger could make sense.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson being a potential trade target of the Philadelphia Phillies this winter.

Moving Simpson Would Solve Outfield Log Jam

While trading 24-year-old talent that is under team control is generally not the practice for Tampa Bay, exploring moving Simpson could make sense. The former second-round pick of the Rays in 2022 had a strong rookie campaign, slashing .295/.326/.345 with 44 stolen bases.

Simpson proved as a rookie that he can be one of the best base-stealers in the Majors, but he didn't hit a single home run in 2025, which is a tough pill to swallow for an offense and an outfield that is already lacking in the slugging department. Furthermore, while he did steal 44 bases, he was caught a league-high 12 times as well.

For the Phillies, they are a team that is going to be changing quite a bit this winter more than likely. Adding a speedster like Simpson, who can get on base, could help lengthen their lineup while providing them with some versatility. They have the power hitters in place that could make an excellent fit for them.

It would be interesting to see if Tampa Bay would be willing to offers on their young outfielder. However, with a need to add some slugging to their outfield, moving him could result in a nice return and help alleviate the logjam.