Now that the calendar has turned to July and the Rays can’t see the playoff race with a telescope, trade rumors are starting to heat up and it sounds like the Rays won’t wait until the deadline to start selling players.
Because of the relative dearth of starting pitchers that are expected to be available at both the deadline and during the offseason in free agency, the Rays have found themselves in prime position to control the market for starting pitchers. However, that could easily change as we get closer to the trade deadline as more teams fall out of the race and decide to sell pitchers.