Silverman feels Rays are ‘better’ after trades

ST. PETERSBURG — Matt Silverman is the Rays’ decision maker.

Ultimately, the buck stops with whatever the executive president of baseball operations decides. So once the dust settled from a Monday afternoon that saw the Rays make three deals before the non-waiver Trade Deadline, Silverman talked about the moves and the direction the organization is headed.

Prior to the Deadline, Tampa Bay had not made any deals, which left those prone to speculation to figure the Rays had decided to hold onto their pitching and wait until the offseason.

Then, Brandon Guyer was traded to the Indians, Steve Pearce to the Orioles, and Matt Moore to the Giants.

Everybody expected Pearce to get traded. No one saw the Guyer trade coming. And the Moore trade pooh-poohed the idea of “hold on now, trade later.”

Silverman explained how he read the market, which prompted the Moore trade.

“It’s hard to tell [what the market is going to be like in the offseason],” Silverman said. “There were lots of conversations. There was lots of talk. Chatter in the industry about what it’s going to be like in the offseason given the crop of free-agent pitching.

“We found a deal that made sense for us. San Francisco made a deal that made sense for them. To help them try to win a pennant this year. We’re a better club after this trade. We’re a better club looking forward. But we’re certainly going to miss the contributions of Matt Moore.”

Matt Duffy was the main player in the return for Moore. Silverman told reporters, “We think he is going to be a very good shortstop for us.”

“He’s an all-around player,” Silverman said. “Last year, one of the top rookies in the National League. And was off to a great year this year before …

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