The Tampa Bay Rays have an opening in their rotation.
The Rays moved starting pitcher Matt Moore and his large contract to San Francisco, getting three players in return.
Coming to Tampa Bay will be infielder Matt Duffy and minor league shortstop Lucius Fox.
The Rays get Duffy, a lifetime .281 hitter (hitting .253 this season). Except for that, they kept to their blueprint and tried to improve their farm system.
Also, the Rays sent outfielder/first baseman Steve Pierce back to Baltimore, where he played in previous seasons, for Class A catcher Steve Heim. Brandon Guyer was sent to the Cleveland Indians for two minor leaguers.
Heim is hitting .216 in Class A. His defense has been praised.
Cleveland, trying to find a bat after Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy vetoed a trade, instead turned to Guyer, who is expected to be a situational player for the Tribe.
To get Guyer, the team gave up outfielder Nathan Lukes and pitcher Jhonleider Salinas. Lukes is hitting .299 with five home runs in high A ball. Salinas is 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA.
This year, Guyer hit .241. He was hit by a pitch 23 different times.
