Rays & Cardinals
Submitted by: Rhyde
Rays
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Donovan | 29 | Majors | 2B | Medium | 2 | 46 | 13.5 | 32.5 | 26 | 32.5 | 39.1 |
Total Value:
32.5
Cardinals
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier Isaac | 22 | Minors | 1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 | 12.2 | 15.2 | 18.3 | ||
| T.J. Nichols | 24 | Minors | SP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.7 | 8.6 | 10.7 | 12.8 | ||
| Michael Forret | 22 | Minors | SP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 9.4 |
Total Value:
33.8
Comments
7
According the Rays GM, the Rays are making trades to assemble a group of guys who will play together for 4-6 years starting in 2027-28. And while he didn’t say they have already given up on 2026, it’s pretty clear they have. Trades like this aren’t happening.
NEWSLETTER? SURE, SIGN ME UP!
You can still do that, and with the Rays just bringing in a bunch of talent further away from MLB ready, they have the flexibility to make a move happen while still keeping the close to MLB ready group together. It would be silly to not acquire a good player just because he's not with you for "4-6 years". Word of advice: never speak in definitive terms when you don't fully know what's going on.
It would also be “silly” to trade potentially core players from the group for the next run just to acquire a player who gets the Rays up to a 73 win season from a 70 win season. The Rays have made the decision to rebuild. Donovan doesn’t make sense for them at this point, at least at a cost of 32MM.
Isaac, Nichols, and Forret are core players right now even though they're expendable? Interesting you're saying they're rebuilding even though they signed Mullins, and there's chatter out there that they are indeed interested in Donovan.
LOL…. You aren’t putting me in a box. I don’t know who the core players for the next run are going to be. I do know that (1) Isaac was a 1st rounder, has massive power and saw his stock drop last year because he missed half the year after surgery for a brain tumor. He was considered a core member of the future before his illness; (2) Nichols took a huge step last year and is now firmly in the race for future member of the rotation, and (3) Forret was just acquired via trade and is clearly someone the Rays like. So again, I don’t see the Rays giving up prospects to acquire Donovan to improve their W-L record by 2-3 wins in 2026 and … maybe that’s it if the 27 season is locked out. Put yourself in the Rays shoes. Would you really trade away 3 top 30 prospects for Donovan in a season where the Rays might win 70-75 games if they stay relatively healthy and might lose a hundred games if they suffer a couple key injuries. I can’t explain the Fraley/Mullins signings, but at least they just cost money.
lots of words to try and prove a point... again, it's out there the Rays could be interested in Donovan. It's not that deep man.
I don’t think it’s out there just because Donovan can play 2B and the Rays have a hole at 2B. He’s too expensive in trade cost. If the Rays pay $32MM for him to play in 1-2 lost seasons, they are friggin morons.