Rays acquire Carlson to cap busy Deadline, build toward future

ST. PETERSBURG -- After jump-starting the Trade Deadline frenzy with a quartet of major moves over the weekend, the Rays pulled off a pair of lower-profile deals on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay acquired outfielder Dylan Carlson from St. Louis in exchange for reliever Shawn Armstrong. The Rays also dealt reliever Tyler Zuber to the Mets for Minor League right-hander Paul Gervase before the 6 p.m. ET Deadline.

TRADE DETAILS
Rays receive: OF Dylan Carlson, cash
Cardinals receive: RHP Shawn Armstrong

Rays receive: Minor League RHP Paul Gervase
Mets receive: RHP Tyler Zuber

Carlson was the No. 1-ranked player in the St. Louis organization as recently as 2020 and finished third in the voting for the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Award. However, a series of injuries -- to his shoulder, ankle and wrist -- conspired to knock him out of the regular outfield rotation.

But that was the extent of the Rays’ action on Deadline Day. Yandy Díaz is still here. So are Brandon Lowe, Pete Fairbanks, Zack Littell and others who were considered potential trade candidates after Tampa Bay sent out seven key players the past four weeks.

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The Rays aren’t where they want to be, although their 9-3 win over the Marlins on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field brought them a season-high-tying three games above .500, at 55-52. But they feel they made the most of the opportunity the Trade Deadline presented, fortifying their future without giving up on the present.

“I think this team is in a position to go out and compete and stay in this, and that's our goal,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said Tuesday night. “We feel like we've strengthened our future competitiveness considerably, and that's something that we're always trying to accomplish.”

Since the beginning of July, the Rays dealt away nine big league players: Aaron Civale, Phil Maton, Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Jason Adam, Isaac Paredes, Amed Rosario, Zuber and Armstrong. But the list ended there, despite speculation that Neander and Co. would turn the sell-off into a complete teardown.

In those trades, Tampa Bay received 12 prospects -- nine of whom are on the club’s Top 30 list, according to MLB Pipeline -- as well as two players to be named. Gervase, a 6-foot-10 reliever with 46 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings in Double-A this season, was the latest addition. That reinforced the Rays’ farm system with additional depth, some potential impact players and needed pitching.

“Given that we're on the outside looking in by enough, felt it was a situation where some of the interest in our players was such that we could really strengthen ourselves for the future,” Neander said. “The opportunity to get back a lot of pitching in deals and really strengthen that side, while also getting some position players we like considerably. … I feel like we made the most of where we were in the big-picture sense and still got a shot to stay in this thing here.”

The Rays’ recent trades also yielded three active big leaguers:

? Infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel, acquired as part of the Paredes deal, showed his elite bat speed in his Rays debut by bashing a 420-foot, 104.9 mph home run to left-center field in the fourth inning. He made an equally strong first impression with his energetic, friendly attitude.

“It felt good,” Morel said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “The support and the emotions that everyone’s been giving me, it feels like I’ve been here all season.”

? Featuring what manager Kevin Cash called “pretty impressive stuff,” reliever Hunter Bigge pitched a scoreless ninth inning and hit 100 mph with his fastball, the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Ray this season.

? Carlson, 25, hasn’t joined his new team yet. But he is a prime candidate for a fresh start in a new place to potentially revive his stagnant career. He was hitting just .198 with a .515 OPS for the Cardinals this season.

It’s a classic buy-low move for the Rays, and it came at a relatively low cost. Armstrong has been an effective pitcher, filling a variety of roles from opener to late-inning relief, and is highly respected inside the clubhouse.

But Armstrong will be a free agent at the end of the season, so Tampa Bay turned two months of his services into years of a high-upside outfielder who is arbitration-eligible in 2025 and won’t reach free agency until 2027.

“Just kind of the way our club's built, feel like he's someone that could help us a little bit against left-handed pitching,” Neander said. “Get him in, free him up, give him a new environment. A change of scenery candidate, see what happens.”

While they parted with some key players, the Rays also promoted or reinstated three others during this Deadline season. Shane Baz took Civale’s spot in the rotation. Right-hander Manuel Rodríguez replaced Maton in the bullpen, and rehabbing righty Drew Rasmussen may soon replace Armstrong as a multi-inning arm. And they added another important arm on Tuesday night.

Effectively replacing Eflin, lefty Jeffrey Springs returned from Tommy John surgery and gave up two runs over 3 2/3 innings in his first big league outing since April 13, 2023.

“I’m excited to be back with the guys. You miss that so much. You kind of feel like an outsider, even though you’re here for rehab,” Springs said. “But you’re not in it with them, the day-to-day grind and the ups and downs of the season. … That, to me, was the biggest thing. I’m glad to be back and be a part of that.”