Rays Unsurprisingly Not Expected to Sign Pitcher This Offseason

Oct 7, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander before game one of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports USA TODAY Sports

Rays Unsurprisingly Not Expected to Sign Pitcher This Offseason

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Aug 8, 2026 4:00 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

As the Tampa Bay Rays continue to march toward October, the team has to like how things are going.

The Rays entered the All-Star break with the best record in the American League and have shown no signs of slowing down. At the trade deadline, the team realized that with an opportunity to be aggressive, they were aggressive buyers and made additions in multiple areas.

With the AL seemingly being wide open for the taking, Tampa Bay could be the team to beat right now. While the division is heating up with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox also being buyers, the team has been able to give themselves some space in the division.

At the deadline, one of the top moves for the Rays was the addition of Freddy Peralta. The right-hander might not be having the best year, but he provides the team with some serious upside and could help quite a bit in the second half.

However, as a player in the last year of his contract, this will likely be a rental for the Rays.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently made some early predictions about where top free agents would sign next year. For the Rays, they were unsurprisingly expected to lose starter Freddy Peralta, whom they just acquired from the New York Mets.

Peralta Will Have Interesting Market

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even if Peralta is a great pitcher for the Rays down the stretch and helps them win, he will likely be gone after this year. Tampa Bay is still not expected to increase salary much this winter, and Peralta will have an interesting market.

In 2025, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League with the Milwaukee Brewers and him being sent to the Mets was a massive deal at the time. However, he has had a lot of bad outings this year, and his ERA is north of 5.00 right now.

However, due to his success in the past, he could still be seen as one of the best starters on the market this coming winter. Furthermore, if he is able to find some success with the Rays in the second half, it could help his value increase immensely.

Overall, Tampa Bay will be trying to get the best out of the right-hander for the rest of the year, and success could help him financially this winter quite a bit. However, that contract likely won’t come from the Rays.

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: