Rays have plenty of pitchers to offer if the price is right

The Tampa Bay Rays may just be the key to everything at this point. That’s the power that comes with having so much quality pitching and a bunch of teams that are anxious to upgrade their rotation.

What the Rays do between now and Monday’s 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline could decide three division races, and it could also impact various other postseason chases.

Other teams could move impact players. If the Royals deal Wade Davis, he might be a difference-maker for the Nationals, Astros or Dodgers. Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, Athletics left-hander Rich Hill and Pirates closer Mark Melancon are also potential difference-makers who could be traded.

If the action comes close to matching the conversations among at least 20 teams, baseball’s postseason races could look dramatically different Tuesday morning.

The Rays are unique, because they have so much talent drawing interest. And they have needs, too.

Tampa Bay’s most interesting name is right-hander Chris Archer, and he might be the most sought-after pitcher on the market whose name isn’t Chris Sale. Left-hander Matt Moore has a 2.39 ERA in his past nine starts, and he is averaging over 6 2/3 innings per start. What would he be worth to, say, the Texas Rangers or Los Angeles Dodgers?

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi is another Tampa Bay starter who has been scouted closely by several teams. Other potential impact players are relievers Alex Colome, Erasmo Ramirez and Brad Boxberger.

Rays …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com