Rays Predicted to Land Mets Starting Pitcher in Trade This Offseason

Will the Tampa Bay Rays upgrade their rotation in a trade this winter?

Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have started the winter with a good amount of moves so far to start to set their roster for the upcoming season. 

With free agency in full swing, the Rays are hoping to be able to make a couple of savvy moves to improve the team for the 2026 campaign. There is reason to believe that this team can complete next year after their strong start to the season in 2025. However, their division is going to be extremely tough, and the margin for error will be slim. 

Even though they have new ownership taking over, the team isn't expected to increase payroll much this winter. With that being said, the front office is no stranger to having to get creative to make improvements, and that will be the plan. Identifying options in free agency or on the trade market that might have underperformed is an excellent way for them to try to accomplish this, and there is one starting pitcher who fits that criteria. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently predicted what the Rays’ rotation would look like on Opening Day and has them adding New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga to the roster to help solidify the unit. 

Senga Could Provide Value

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It is no secret that the Mets’ rotation struggled in the second half of the year, and one of the reasons for that was Senga. When healthy, he has shown the ability to be a good pitcher, but after coming back from injury in 2025, he simply wasn’t the same. 

New York is going to be seeking some significant upgrades for their rotation with a desire to add at least one front-line starter. Furthermore, while the team is in need of an ace, they do have some young arms that they would likely want to get into the rotation as well. 

If they are successful in acquiring a top-of-the-line starter, that makes Senga very expendable, and the team could look to move him. The right-hander is set to make $30 million over the next two years, but if the Mets were willing to eat some of that contract, Tampa Bay has outfield depth that could help facilitate a deal. 

While there are certainly some concerns with the poor second half of the campaign for Senga, he could be a great buy-low option for the Rays, especially if New York is willing to pay some of his contract.