The Yankees defeated the Rays on Monday night, and there is a belief around baseball that Tampa Bay could become sellers if New York completes a sweep.
"If Tampa losses three straight to the Yankees you might not only remove one bidder from the process, you might have a team suddenly making their pitching even more available, notably (Scott) Kazmir," an American League executive told The New York Post.
Heading into Tuesday night's game, the Yankees held a 7 1/2 game lead over the Rays in the AL East.
Could Yankees Make Rays Sellers With Sweep?