Rays likely to trade ex-AL wins leader?

Jul 16, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Zach Eflin (24) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals prior to a game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays may be continuing to liquidate.

In an article Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post named 17 MLB starting pitchers who are potential trade candidates ahead of the July 30 deadline (as well as their respective odds of being traded). Heyman listed only four of those pitchers as having a “high” chance of being moved. The biggest name of the four was Rays righty Zach Eflin (with Heyman noting that Tampa Bay has already begun to sell).

The 30-year-old Eflin was the AL wins leader in 2023 with a career-high 16 of them. But he has had less success in 2024 thus far, going 4-5 with a 3.92 ERA and a very underwhelming 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Still, Eflin is a generally reliable innings-eater these days who also has one more year left on his contract beyond this season.

Tampa Bay is selling off a good chunk of their rotation, having dealt Tyler Glasnow to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the season and sending Aaron Civale to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week. It sounds like there is a good chance that Eflin, who made once some very interesting Rays history, could be next to go.