Tampa Bay Rays Get Decent Grade for MLB Trade Deadline Efforts

With the hustle and bustle of the MLB Trade Deadline now done, it's time to see how the Tampa Bay Rays managed to help their 40-man roster. The Rays decided to hold on to veterans Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz. A couple of additions were made, though.

What type of grade would Rays fans give the organization? Well, when veteran MLB general manager and MLB Network analyst Jim Bowden was passing out grades, he gave Tampa Bay a B-. Bowden shared his thoughts in an MLB Trade Deadline roundup for The Athletic.

"The Rays’ deadline did some buying and selling and, oh yes, catching," Bowden wrote. "They traded veteran catcher Danny Jansen to the Brewers and then acquired Nick Fortes, an experienced catcher, from the Marlins. Finally, they landed a player who could be their long-term future catcher, Hunter Feduccia, from the Dodgers, in a three-team deal that also involved the Reds.

Rays hold on to a couple of key veterans while looking to upgrade their catching, pitching situations

"They decided to not trade some of their veterans, such as second baseman Brandon Lowe and DH/1B Yandy Díaz, but did ship starter Zack Littell to the Reds in the three-way swap," Bowden wrote. "However, they also were buyers, landing Adrian Houser to upgrade their rotation depth and Griffin Jax, who has two more years of team control, to improve the bullpen. It was a balanced approach."

Littell was shipped out to the Cincinnati Reds and will be looked to bolster the Reds' starting rotation on Wednesday, July 30. In exchange for Littell, the Reds sent pitchers Brian Van Belle and Adam Serwinoski to the Rays. On Thursday, July 31, Tampa Bay traded Serwinoski, pitcher Paul Gervase, and catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Feduccia.