Say hey, baseball: Rays won't make any major trade deadline upgrades

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It's the first trade deadline since 2006 where Andrew Friedman isn't running the Rays, but things don't seem like they're going to be much different with Matthew Silverman in charge of the roster instead. The president of baseball operations for the Rays, who is handling the general manager duties as well with Friedman now working for the Dodgers, doesn't expect that Tampa Bay will need to make any kind of significant addition to the roster at the trade deadline. If they're healthy, they're in a good place, and if they aren't healthy, well, then they might not be in a position to be adding, anyway.

It seems a bit odd for a team that's just 3.5 games out of the division lead to claim they won't be making any major changes before the trade deadline, but this is the Rays we're talking about. Their Opening Day payroll was over $75 million, the second-highest in the organization's history, so it's not as if they have a whole lot of budget to play with, and they should be getting regular center fielder Desmond Jennings back in August, as well as left-handed starting pitcher Drew Smyly. Steven Souza is out with a lacerated finger, so it's not like he'll be gone forever, and starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi just made his final rehab start and is expected to rejoin the Rays this weekend.

So, they're a game under .500 now, but close to a playoff spot nonetheless, and have some of their better players returning to action within the next month or so should be as good, if not better, than adding players at the deadline. The Rays' normally small budget comes into play a bit, of course, as they won't do anything if those players aren't healthy like some other teams might, but the biggest thing is getting back the players they have had to be without. There is no clear, obvious titan to topple in the East, so getting healthy might be just what the Rays need to become that team.

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