The Tampa Bay Rays have had a formula that has worked quite well for them over the years.
The team drafts and develops talent quite well and is set up for several years of success thanks to the way they churn out that young talent.
As a small-market team, the Rays don’t exactly have the same resources as teams such as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, or Philadelphia Phillies, which means that sometimes, they have to trade away certain players.
Fortunately, they’re smart enough to acquire Major-League ready talent and turn them into superstars.
Three players who were acquired in such trades, Yandy Diaz, Jeffrey Springs, and Peter Fairbanks, recently agreed to multi-year contract extensions with the team.
On Twitter, MLB analyst Jon Morosi pointed out just how effective the Rays formula is.
Why are the Rays so good?
They have agreed to multiyear extensions with Yandy DÃaz, Jeffrey Springs, and Peter Fairbanks.
All were acquired via trade, at the combined cost of 4 players and cash; only 1 of those players (Nick Solak) appeared in @MLB last year.@MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 30, 2023
With the extensions for Diaz, Fairbanks, and Springs, the Rays have continued the process of locking up their core players on affordable deals.
And over the past several years, any deal the Rays have made with other teams has worked out in their favor, with two of the most recent examples being Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena.
These are two stars who the Rays acquired via trade, which is further proof of how and why their model works and why it should be adopted by other smaller-market teams.
The Rays simply know how to evaluate young talent and get the most bang for their buck with the players they keep around for the long-term.
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