The Rays are working on a trade to acquire catcher Nick Fortes from the Marlins, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It was reported earlier that the Rays are trading Danny Jansen to the Brewers for a prospect, while simultaneously working to trade for another catcher. Robert Murray of FanSided reports that the Marlins would receive outfielder Matthew Etzel in this deal.

For the Rays, they often try to straddle a buy/sell line at the deadline and it seems that will be the play this week. They are 53-53 this year, three games back of a playoff spot. While they don’t want to punt their season, they seemingly want to strike a balance between doing things that work for the club now and in the future.

Jansen is a 30-year-old veteran on a one-year deal. He’s better than Fortes right now but Fortes is younger, cheaper and controllable for three more seasons after this one. Presumably, the Rays feel that going from Jansen to Fortes doesn’t significantly harm them in 2025, while adding Jadher Areinamo in the Jansen trade will help them in the long run more than Etzel.

More to come.