Tampa Bay Rays Made the Right Decisions at Trade Deadline

Jul 29, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist (18) celebrates at home plate after he scored during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays made only one move at the trade deadline as they traded ace pitcher David Price to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team deal with the Seattle Mariners.

The return netted Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin and prospect Willy Adames.

Could Andrew Friedman have netted a better return? Possibly. Friedman also could have waited until the offseason to move Price but may have felt he wouldn’t get an offer similar to the one he received Thursday.

Trading Price was something Rays fans knew would happen — it was just a case of when.

In reality, Friedman made the best decision at the deadline in moving Price. His impending future would have continued to be a distraction every day until it was ultimately resolved, and with the Rays not being stationed where they thought they’d be standings wise, now seemed to be the best time to move on from the 2007 first overall pick.

However, it doesn’t just stop at the Price decision. Friedman kept hold of Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce, Yunel Escobar and others. He didn’t blow this team up and has kept the pieces in tact to allow the Rays to continue to be good moving forward.

Trading Zobrist and Joyce would have indicated the Rays would be giving up on this season when in reality they are still very much alive.

This team is built to win for many years. The pieces are in place: Evan Longoria, Matt Moore, Jake McGee, James Loney, Alex Cobb Zobrist, Escobar and others are all here to stay.

The Rays are having a rare down season but Friedman made the right decision not to blow this team up.

Moving Price was a necessity in the end, but it wasn’t at all necessary to move any other players.

Because of that, the Rays are in a prime position to continue to chase pennants.