ST. PETERSBURG — The fun fact lit up Erik Neander’s phone a few times Monday night, and the Rays’ president of baseball operations couldn’t help but admit a little surprise.
There have been six three-team trades in Major League Baseball since the start of the 2023-24 offseason, and the Rays have been involved in five of them.
“Didn’t even realize that,” Neander said with a laugh. “Like, ‘Really? No one else does these?’”
Apparently not, but the Rays have certainly made a habit of it.
Monday brought the latest such swap, a three-team transaction in which the Mariners acquired versatile star Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals, the Rays landed slick-fielding infielder Ben Williamson from Seattle, and St. Louis brought in a haul of young talent from both clubs.
It was the Rays’ third three-team deal just this winter.
“I mean, we’re only talking about them because we haven’t figured out a way to make a four-team trade, you know?” Neander quipped.
The first came in December. The Rays sent All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery to the Pirates, who traded starter Mike Burrows to the Astros, who dealt touted prospects Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito to Tampa Bay.
The second took place last month. The Rays traded outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels, who sent left-hander Brock Burke to the Reds, and Tampa Bay wound up with second baseman Gavin Lux from Cincinnati and pitching prospect Chris Clark from the Halos.
There hasn’t been another three-team trade in baseball this offseason. In fact, the last one that didn’t involve the Rays took place prior to the 2024 Trade Deadline. In that rather involved transaction, the Dodgers got Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech, the Cardinals got Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham, and the White Sox landed Miguel Vargas, among many other moving pieces.
But that must seem like light work for the Rays. They made another three-team deal involving the Dodgers and Reds before last year’s Deadline. That series of moves involved them sending starter Zack Littell to the Reds for pitchers Brian Van Belle and Adam Serwinowski, then sending Serwinowski to the Dodgers alongside catcher Ben Rortvedt and reliever Paul Gervase for catcher Hunter Feduccia.
And that wasn’t even the Rays’ only recent three-team trade involving Rortvedt.
Just before Opening Day in 2024, the Rays acquired Rortvedt from the Yankees, who reeled in infielder Jon Berti from the Marlins, who picked up a Minor League outfielder from each of the American League East clubs.
There you have it. Final score: five three-team deals involving the Rays, one without them.
Seriously, there’s got to be a reason for this, right?
“Really, it’s not like we set out to say, ‘We’ve got to do three-team trades.’ I don’t know. I think it happens,” Neander said. “You talk about when you’re making trades — whether they’re two [or] they’re three, maybe we’ll get to a four here eventually — I think it comes back to relationships and being willing to put yourself out there and communicate what you’re looking to accomplish, being consistent with that, trying to do the best you can to listen to what other teams are trying to accomplish.”
The Rays are a highly transactional team, always looking for upgrades and never close-minded to an opportunity. They explore just about everything with just about everyone. Perhaps that has played a part in how often they’ve triangulated trades?
“I think we give teams an idea of what we’re looking to do, and we try to gain as good of an understanding [as possible] of what other teams are looking to do,” Neander said. “And sometimes they don’t line up directly, but you get a little creative and piece it together in a triangle instead. Sometimes it happens.
“I’ll have to give it a little thought. I had no idea that we were the only team, just about, making three-team deals.”
It’s not like these are isolated incidents for Tampa Bay, either, as lopsided as the three-team transaction log may be lately.
The Rays worked their way into a three-way deal ahead of the 2022 Trade Deadline in which they acquired center fielder Jose Siri from the Astros, who got first baseman Trey Mancini from the Orioles. The December 2018 trade in which they landed lineup mainstay Yandy Díaz was a three-teamer involving the Mariners and Guardians. In December 2020, the Rays teamed up with the Phillies and Dodgers for a move involving José Alvarado, Dillon Paulson and Garrett Cleavinger, who went from the Phillies to the Dodgers … but wound up, years later, with the Rays.
The tri-trade fascination really dates all the way back to the Rays’ days under Andrew Friedman, who pulled off a three-team swap with the Reds and D-backs (for Ryan Hanigan and Heath Bell) in December 2013 and sent David Price to Detroit in July 2014 while landing players from the Tigers (Drew Smyly and a young Willy Adames) and Mariners (Nick Franklin). Friedman also sent Wil Myers to the Padres in a wild three-team, 11-player trade in December 2014.
The list goes on. And it will keep growing, three teams at a time.
