Tampa Bay Rays Trade Starting Pitcher Zach Eflin to Baltimore Orioles

Zach Eflin, who has been the anchor of the Tampa Bay Rays' starting rotation for the past two seasons, is joining the Baltimore Orioles ahead of the trade deadline.

Jun 28, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zach Eflin (24) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays have traded right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal was first to report Friday.

Right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister, utility man Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel are headed back to Tampa Bay as part of the deal, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. Horvath was the No. 10 prospect in Baltimore's farm system, while Baumeister was ranked No. 17.

Etzel, the Orioles' 10th round pick from 2023, was not ranked among the organization's top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline.

Orioles reportedly acquire RHP Zach Eflin from Rays, per multiple reports including https://t.co/Z3s2EpgF39's @JakeDRill. pic.twitter.com/YITyQn2JwK

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2024

Eflin is 5-7 with a 4.09 ERA, 1.164 WHIP and 0.7 WAR through 19 starts this season.

Last year, Eflin went 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.024 WHIP and 3.5 WAR in 31 starts. He led the American League with 16 wins, finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting and tossed 57.2 more innings than any other Tampa Bay pitcher.

The Rays signed Eflin to a three-year, $40 million deal in the 2023 offseason, which was the biggest contract the franchise had ever given to an outside free agent. He spent the previous seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, going 36-45 with a 4.49 ERA, 1.295 WHIP and 7.0 WAR.

Tampa Bay is currently fourth in the AL East and sixth in the AL Wild Card race, so the front office clearly wasn't afraid to sell. They already traded All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Seattle Mariners later Thursday night, and reports surfaced earlier Friday that they were taking calls on All-Star first baseman Yandy Díaz as well.

As for the Orioles, they sit atop the AL East and are on pace for a second consecutive 100-win season.

Baltimore swung for the fences when they acquired former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in February, and Burnes wound up starting the All-Star Game for the American League last week. Still, the Orioles lost John Means, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells to season-ending elbow surgies in June, meaning they were in dire need of adding another starter ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

Eflin fits the bill, and the 30-year-old righty is under contract for 2025 as well. Burnes, meanwhile, is set to become a free agent this winter.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the St. Louis Cardinals were also interested in trading for Eflin.

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