The Rays got The Steal of The Trade Deadline

Right before the end of the deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired reliever Griffin Jax from the Minnesota Twins for starter Taj Bradley. Jax has had a mediocre season so far with a 4.60 ERA in 51 games. On the surface, most people would assume he's not a good reliever, but his underlying stats show a different story.

Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

Jax has a 2.11 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) along with an even lower 1.89 xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching). His K/9 stands at 13.79, which is amongst the best in the league, and he has a 2.68 BB/9, which is above average. Jax has a chase % of 40.2, which is the best in baseball. When you put all of his underlying stats together, he would be considered one of the best relievers in all of baseball, but his surface numbers haven't shown it this season. His .384 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) is very high and is an indicator of bad luck. The Rays were able to get Jax for former top starting pitching prospect Taj Bradley, who hasn't figured it out in the majors yet and hasn't had a FIP of under 4.09 in three seasons.

Jax is under control for two more seasons after this, and he will surely rebound into being one of the best relievers in baseball.

• https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/closer-depth-chart

• https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/griffin-jax-643377?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb