Rays may be facing a dilemma of sorts. On the one hand, Paredes has been their best bat this year and he's under control for 3 more years. On the other hand, he probably needs to move to 1B to make room for one of the Rays top prospects in 2025/26 - Junior Caminero, Curtis Mead, and Brayden Taylor. Moving to 1B has two costly effects - First, his trade value goes down. Second his arb salaries will be based on the play of a 3B, even though he has been moved to 1B. So while I can see the Rays wanting to move on from Yandy Diaz before his age related regression really gets going, I can also see the Rays wanting to take the money and run with Paredes. This trade is based on the latter. The Rays move Paredes at the deadline to free up a spot in their infield for their top prospects and hope that Y.Diaz continues his 2024 rebound so they can move him in the offseason. Moving both Paredes and Diaz allows the Rays to keep B.Lowe and Aroz in 2025. This trade also lands the Rays a top catching prospect they desperately need, a reliever who screams "make me a starter" when he returns from IL, a SS prospect the Rays were said to covet in last year's draft, and a COF prospect with a relatively high ceiling who comes at a low valuation. Losing Paredes hurts, but the Rays' 2024 season is circling the drain, so it's time to think about the future. This trade sets up the Rays' future for success. From the Mariners' perspective, it's pretty straightforward. They swap a reliever on IL and 3 prospects (only 1 of whom is in their top 5) for a big bat 3B with 3 years of control. This trade helps the Mariners in 2024 and beyond and it comes at a reasonable cost.