Rays bolster AL East title chance with trade for Guardians ace

The Tampa Bay Rays have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. Tampa's starters have the second-best ERA in baseball (3.75), and the Rays as a whole pitching staff rank third in team ERA (3.78).

On Monday, Tampa's top brass decided that their exceptional staff could get even better, acquiring Aaron Civale from Cleveland in exchange for highly-regarded first baseman prospect Kyle Manzardo. 

The veteran right-hander has played five seasons in Cleveland, posting a 29-23 record, 3.77 ERA and 370 strikeouts across 430 innings. 2023 has been the best season of his career. Across 13 starts, Civale has a 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 2.7 WAR (the highest of his career), 58 strikeouts and just 22 walks. Civale's 2.34 ERA is the lowest in the majors among pitchers who have logged at least 77 innings.

Civale is in the first year of arbitration and will be under contract through the 2025 season. 

Tampa's staff has dealt with the injury bug this season. Jeffery Smith and Drew Rasmussen opened the season in Tampa's rotation but have since undergone season-ending surgeries. On Wednesday, Zach Eflin (3.64 ERA, 116 K in 116.1 IP) left the Rays loss to the Marlins with knee discomfort and was placed on the injured list. Eflin's injury is expected to be short-term.

The Rays (65-44) are 1.5 games behind Baltimore for first place in the AL East. Down the stretch, Tampa will feature a rotation of Shane McClanhan, Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin, and Aaron Civale. 

No MLB team features a better top four than Tampa. The acquisition of Civale not only increases the ceiling of the 2023 Rays, it also increases the chances the Rays hunt down the Orioles. The Orioles, who were rumored to be interested in Civale, need pitching help. Baltimore's starting staff ranks 16th in the MLB in starter ERA (4.48).

Manzardo was the Rays' number three prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Across 632 minor league at-bats in the Rays organization the 23-year-old slashed .291/.392/.543. Manzardo has a superb 48.3% hard-hit rate and a max exit velocity of 111.9 miles per hour in 2023.

Tampa Bay may not be done adding before Tuesday's deadline. Outfield and relief pitching are areas the Rays could look to strengthen.