Rays Trade Rumors: Jake McGee talks intensifying

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, trade talks for Jake McGee have heated up over the past couple of days.

Sources: #Rays trade conversations on reliever Jake McGee have intensified over last 24 to 48 hours. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 11, 2015

Jake McGee, an elite left handed reliever, is already a valuable commodity. With the reliever market quickly drying up (as some have been signed to rather large deals on the open market), and with most other available relievers have been traded for king's ransoms, it makes sense that focus would turn to the "available" Rays relievers.

It also makes sense that the Rays are listening. Around the league, relievers have been valued very highly this off-season as evidenced by the Craig Kimbrel and Ken Giles deals, and the contract signed by Ryan Madson and Jonathan Broxton.

Earlier this offseason, we examined whether the Rays should trade McGee and looked at his value following the Kimbrel deal, and came to the conclusion that McGee should at least come close to netting the same value as Kimbrel did, but the same was not true for last year's closer Brad Boxberger.

The Rays may want to hold on to Boxberger instead of McGee anyway, and not just because he led the league in saves. Boxberger won't be arbitration eligible until 2017 and won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season giving him a couple of extra years of control with already elite performance under his belt.

McGee's value at an all-time high. He will be a free agent following the 2017 season and until then, he has two years of arbitration to go through which will just make him more expensive.

McGee has been linked to a couple of teams thus far, with a couple being out the running now like the Astros as they've aleady acquired the relievers they were seeking. However, the Dodgers may be the ones who have come calling after the Aroldis Chapman fallout.

Whatever the case, the stove is heating back up for the Rays.