The Rays bolstered their bullpen by acquiring Tyler Wells from the Orioles before the MLB Trade Deadline. Wells brings a 2.67 ERA, strong underlying metrics, and another year of team control, giving Tampa Bay another high-leverage arm for its postseason push.
The Tampa Bay Rays have made another trade.
With just an hour to go until the MLB trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays have acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Wells from their division rival. The team made a trade with the Baltimore Orioles, who are big-time sellers this week, in hopes of the Rays making a deep postseason run.
There are many things to like about this trade for Tampa Bay, as once again, like the trade that happened earlier for catcher Liam Hicks, Wells is not a rental player. The pitcher will be under control with the Rays next season.
Wells adds depth to an already elite back end of the bullpen. Left-handed hitters have only recorded a 0.516 OPS against him this season. He is seen as a fly ball pitcher, which is great for his new home park in Tropicana Field, and he performs most of his pitches at an elite level, including his slider, change-up, and cutter.
So far this season for the struggling Orioles, Tyler Wells recorded a 2.67 ERA, but most importantly, a 3.41 FIP. This shows that Wells isn't just simply getting lucky. It shows that he can be a solid back-of-the-bullpen piece for the second half of the season.
He should immediately be thrown in the mix with pitchers like Kevin Kelly and Bryan Baker for some high-leverage spots at the end of games as they look to clinch the American League East. They currently lead by 2.5 games over the New York Yankees.
It has been reported that raised prospect Michael Forret will be the piece heading back to Baltimore in the deal. Forret is considered the Rays' eighth-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is currently in Triple-A Durham, working his way up to the major leagues. He is the highest-rated prospect dealt by the Rays so far this deadline.
Erik Neander and the Rays front office may have one more trade up their sleeve as the final minutes count down to the trade deadline. The MLB trade deadline is today, Monday, August 3rd, at 6 p.m. Eastern.
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