It is trade season once again for the Tampa Bay Rays

It is an annual rite of Autumn. The clocks fall back an hour, the air gets colder, and pumpkin spice everything is completely unavoidable. And the Tampa Bay Rays put out the ‘For Sale’ sign, looking to trade players and find more prospects for their never ending conveyer belt of talent.

That rite has begun once again. Jon Morosi from MLB Network reported that the Rays are in “advanced negotiations” ahead of the cut down date on Tuesday, with the Mets, Cubs, Angels, and Reds having reached out about any available pitchers that they have to offer.

Trades are coming for Tampa Bay Rays

It remains to be seen how significant these trades are going to be. After all, the Rays were in the exact same spot last offseason, and only made a series of minor deals. Brent Honeywell Jr., Mike Brosseau, Louis Head, and Tobias Myers were all sent elsewhere – none of those players would generate much in the way of headlines at this point in their careers.

And the Rays have already made some moves. Ji-Man Choi was traded to the Pirates, clearing a spot on the 40 man roster. Roman Quinn and Nick Anderson were let go. With 16 players still eligible for arbitration on the roster, there are likely to be many more moves.

However, those moves are more likely to be around the fringes of the 40 man roster. Unless the Rays had talks regarding a significant part of their pitching staff before the trade deadline and are revisiting those discussions, there just is not enough time between now and the cut down point on Tuesday for those deals to happen.

The Rays are going to make trades. They may even dabble on the fringes of the top names in free agency, such as when they emerged as an unexpected suitor for Freddie Freeman. But most of their moves are likely to involve trimming payroll and adding prospects.

Trade talks are swirling around the Tampa Bay Rays. Considering that we are firmly into Autumn, those rumors are to be expected.