Theres never an offseason where the Rays dont have multiple players circulating the rumor mill, and this winter is no exception. Tampa Bay already flipped center fielder to the Mets last month, and theres been plenty of speculation about the po sibility of trades of some of their veteran players earning notable salaries. has often Arturs Irbe Jersey been the focus, but hes one of several players who could draw interest. MLB Networks Jon Morosi that closer and left-hander are among the Rays whove been popular in trade talks recently. Its not a huge surprise to see either players name pop up in trade rumblings. Fairbanks featured prominently on back in early November. Springs is the most expensive of at least six healthy rotation options for the Rays. Both players are signed for multiple seasons. Springs, 32, has two years and $21MM remaining on a he signed prior to the 2023 season. The contract contains a $15MM club option for the 2027 season ($750K buyout). To this point, that contract hasnt panned out as hoped, though not nece sarily through any real fault of Springs. The journeyman southpaw broke out with the Rays in 2022, posting a sparkling 2.46 ERA with a strong 26.2% strikeout rate and terrific 5.6% walk rate in 135 2/3 innings. He looked like another late-blooming diamond in the rough unearthed by a Rays front office with a knack for just that type of discovery. Unfortunately, Springs hasnt been healthy since. He made three dominant starts to open the 2023 season (16 innings, one run allowed, 24-to-4 K/BB ratio) and then suffered a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery. He mi sed the remainder of the 23 campaign and made it back to the mound for seven big league starts and 33 innings late last year. The results were good in that limited sample. Springs posted a sharp 3.27 earned run average, fanned 26.1% of opponents and held his walks to a 7.7% rate. His average four-seamer was down from 91.4 mph in 2022 to 89.8 mph in 2024, however, and he saw similar velocity drops on his slider and changeup. Springs 12.9% swinging-strike rate was still strong, but its down from the 14.2% clip he displayed in 2021-23. In addition to Springs, the Rays have , , , , and a returning (2022 Tommy John surgery) all in the mix for starts next year. Thats in addition to yet-to-debut prospects like and , who both excelled in the upper minors last year. Springs has looked the part of a high-end starter in the past but only for a fleeting span of about 150 innings acro s 2022-23. The Rays would be selling a bit low, but his $10.5MM salary is steep for them under normal circumstances let alone at a time when the club is facing likely revenue lo ses following Hurricane Miltons decimation of Tropicana Fields roof and the clubs subsequent agreement to play at Tampas Steinbrenner Field the spring training and Cla s-A home of the Yankees. Fairbanks, 30, has been terrific when healthy in five seasons with the Rays. When healthy is an unfortunately crucial caveat, however, as the flamethrowing 66 righty has never reached 50 appearances or topped 45 1/3 innings in a big league season. Dating back to 2020, Fairbanks touts a 2.89 ERA. He fanned nearly 35% of his opponents from 2020-23 but saw that number slip to a roughly average 23.7% this past season. Fairbanks didnt have a huge lo s of velocity on his heater, but it dipped from an average of 98 mph from 20-23 to 97.3 mph in 2024. His slider saw a larger drop, going from an average of 86.4 mph to 85 mph over those same periods. The Rays signed Fairbanks to a that bought out all three arbitration years (2023-25) and guaranteed them control over his first free-agent season in the form of a 2026 club option. Hes owed $3.666MM this season with a $7MM option ($1MM buyout) on his 26 campaign. Even for a partial season of a reliever with Fairbanks upside, its a pretty modest price to pay. As such, theres no inherent urgency for the Rays to move him. They might feel a bit more motivated to move Springs and his weightier salary, but to this point its not clear the Rays are nece sarily shopping either just that theyve drawn interest. The Rays lot in life, of course, is to constantly listen on all of their players as they progre s through their arbitration years or the latter stages of any contract extensions. This years stadium troubles and the uncertainty surrounding their home in 2026 and beyond only add to that. At the same time, Tampa Bay already significantly culled payroll with their series of deadline trades and via the departures of some arb-eligible players (via trade and non-tender). a bit le s than $79MM in payroll for the Rays this coming season already a drop of more than $10MM from their 2024 levels. Trading Springs, Fairbanks or other veterans like the aforementioned Diaz or could further reduce spending and free up the Rays to take on some money in other trades. With regard to free agency, theyre in a similar spot to the As in that theyll have to persuade players to sign on for at least one year (and likely more) playing their home games in a minor league facility. Will Smith Jersey