Rays GM says Souza trade was not made to cut payroll

The Tampa Bay Rays have made a habit of shedding salary this offseason, but their latest move to send Steven Souza Jr. to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a prospect and a pitcher was more than that.

"This was something that would be categorized much more as a baseball deal," Rays general manager Erik Neander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times following the trade Tuesday night, while also saying the Diamondbacks' interest in acquiring Souza was what drove the deal.

The Rays acquired second base prospect Nick Solak and left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda in exchange for Souza. The 28-year-old Souza is coming off a career year with the Rays and was due to make $3.55 million in his second year of arbitration - two full campaigns away from free agency.

Souza is the latest star the Rays have traded away this offseason in an ever-growing list that already included franchise cornerstone Evan Longoria and starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi.

Going forward, though, the deals may finally slow down, as Neander told Topkin further trades are "extremely unlikely," while their focus "is to add a little bit."