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Quite unexpectedly, the Rays have indeed traded Wil Myers, according to multiple reports. The 2013 Rookie of the Year was the centerpiece of the James Shields / Wade Davis trade that propelled Kansas City to the World Series last season.
Now Myers is on the move again, and according to multiple reporters, this is nearly a done deal.
Trade of Myers to #Padres is near finish line. Not complete, but just about done. It will be all players, no draft items changing hands
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 17, 2014
Again…deal has been agreed to by all parties….only pending physicals
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) December 17, 2014
As the deal gets finalized, here's where it appears all the players are heading, courtesy of Ken Rosenthal's confirmation (not my own!):
| Rays Receive | Padres Receive | Nationals Receive |
| OF Steven Souza (WAS) | OF Wil Myers (TB) | SS Trea Turner (SD) |
| C Rene Rivera (SD) | C Ryan Hanigan (TB) | RHP Joe Ross (SD) |
| LHP Travis Ott (WAS) | LHP Jose Castillo (TB) | |
| RHP Burch Smith (SD) | RHP Gerardo Reyes (TB) | |
| 1B Jake Bauers (SD) |
There's some immediate major league impact for the Rays, and we can start there, but that's probably not where your focus should be in terms of evaluation.
Several very young names are on the move, and the rumors that have trickled out thus far indicate not everything is as it appears to be.
It reminds me of the David Price trade. The Rays targeted a very young player that looks like a future All-Star in Willy Adames, but got skewered for simply trading for Nick Franklin, Drew Smyly, and a PTBNL. Fast forward to the end of the season, and Smyly projects to be the second best arm in the Rays rotation, and Adames tops all the Rays prospect lists.
With that lesson learned, lean in and then tell me what you see.
Here are my thoughts:
The Rays are essentially exchanging two major MLB pieces, turning Wil Myers into Steven Souza and Ryan Hanigan into Rene Rivera. This saves money, and at first glance, gives approximate value on paper.
From there, minor league players round out the body of this trade, with Tampa Bay also giving up promising international pitching prospect Jose Castillo -- a kid that Keith Law gave honorable mention in last year's top-ten prospects piece -- and RHP Gerardo Reyes, a 22-year old prospect out of Mexico with limited experience.
This is expensive for the Rays.
The Padres are paying their fair share, however, dealing their first round draft pick from 2014 as a PTBNL in Trea Turner. He batted a 180 wRC+ last season in A-ball; that's sexy. They're also giving the Rays two decent prospects, and Washington one as well. All three have major-league trajectories.
The Hanigan/Rivera swap is an exchange of risk: On the one side, there's the risk of Rivera not repeating his big 2014, and on the other there's the often-injured but intelligent, defensively talented, and likeable catcher in Hanigan. Still, dealing Turner is a brutal blow.
This is expensive for the Padres.
Meanwhile, Washington is dealing from a position of depth, sending a promising outfield prospect and a low-level arm out the door for two very shiny pieces. There's even some debate on how big a deal trading Souza will be, with projections saying he's among the top hitting prospects in the game, and the eye-test saying there's much to be skeptical of. Either way he's blocked by Harper, Werth, and Span.
This looks like an immediate win for the Nationals.
Lots of analysis to follow.