Bryan Baker, Kevin Kelly, Victor Mesa Jr., Liam Hicks, and Nick Martinez all played huge roles in the Rays’ run to the ALCS this season, and The Athletic’s Will Sammon took a look at the process Tampa Bay used in identifying and acquiring these players. Kelly was a Rule 5 Draft pick acquired from the Rockies in 2022, Martinez was a rare financial splash by Rays standards (a one-year, $13MM free agent deal last winter), and the other three players came in trades — Baker from the Orioles for a Competitive Balance Round draft pick in July 2025, Mesa in an under-the-radar deal with the Marlins last February, and Hicks from the Marlins again at this past trade deadline.
Martinez is the only relatively pricey name of the group, whereas the other four players are making less than $4MM in combined salary in 2026. The enormous return on investment is part and parcel of how the Rays have consistently been able to find hidden gems, in a testament to the club’s scouting department, analytics team, and development staff. The work could finally pay off in the biggest possible way if the Rays are able to win the franchise’s first World Series this fall.
More from around the AL East….
Before acquiring Adley Rutschman from the Orioles in a deadline blockbuster, the Red Sox tried to land a catcher from another AL East rival in what would’ve been a lower-profile move. WEEI’s Rob Bradford writes that the Red Sox made a push to acquire Hunter Feduccia before the Rays dealt Feduccia to the Dodgers, as Feduccia became expendable in Tampa after Hicks was brought aboard. It is fair to assume Feduccia would’ve assumed a part-time role at best in Boston, given how he has hit only .205/.303/.284 over 370 Major League plate appearances. A longtime member of the Dodgers organization before being traded to Tampa Bay at the 2025 deadline, Feduccia was brought back by his old team when Los Angeles was dealing with injuries to both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing. He has remained in the backup role behind Smith through the NLDS, as Rushing has been unable to catch due to a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow. Feduccia is under team control through 2031 but is expendable enough that he could be a potential trade target Boston can revisit this winter if the Sox wanted to move on from Connor Wong as Rutschman’s backup. In a breakdown of the Orioles’ bullpen options, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko opines that both Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin seem likely to be moving on as free agents. Akin may not pitch at all in 2027 after undergoing a Tommy John surgery this past July, though this might conceivably boost his chances of re-signing with the O’s. The team could perhaps explore an inexpensive two-year contract that would backload most of the money until 2028, when Akin would presumably be fully healthy. Kittredge missed the first month of the season due to shoulder inflammation and posted an excellent 5.1% walk rate en route to a 3.54 ERA over 48 1/3 relief innings. On the flip side, Kittredge’s strikeout rate dropped sharply from 2025 to 2026 and he is entering his age-37 season.Hence then, the article about al east notes rays feduccia red sox kittredge akin was published today ( ) and is available on MLBtraderumors ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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