Last night reports broke of a surprising trade between the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth have been traded for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a Player To Be Named Later.
The Rays did the unexpected and traded a player they didn’t need to trade (Pham) for a major league player expected to help replace the loss of immediate production.
The Rays saved about $5MM in projected arbitration for 2020. For a team whose payroll currently sits in the low $60MM range that isn’t what Rays fans. There is no way to sugar coat the situation.