The Rays announced Thursday morning that they’ve designated catcher Alex Jackson for assignment and selected the contract of left-hander Mason Montgomery from Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay also optioned lefty Tyler Alexander to Durham and recalled infielder Austin Shenton.
Tampa Bay has stuck with the 28-year-old Jackson all season, giving him 158 turns at the plate as the team’s backup catcher despite a .122/.201/.237 batting line and sky-high 34.2% strikeout rate. Jackson has played strong defense, but that lack of productivity in the batter’s box has now reached its tipping point, as Tampa Bay seems poised to turn his role over to recently promoted Logan Driscoll, who’s enjoyed a strong year in Durham and will now pair with defensive standout Ben Rortvedt to comprise the Rays’ catching corps.
Jackson was taken by the Mariners with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2014 draft and for years ranked as a top prospect thanks to huge raw power and one of the most impressive high school performances in recent memory. He was in play as a possible No. 1 overall pick during his draft season and viewed as a potential middle-of-the-order hitter. The M’s were bullish enough on his bat and athleticism to move him to right field immediately in pro ball, in hopes of fast-tracking his path to the big leagues.
Instead, Jackson’s hit tool never came around to match his power. He’s bounced around the league in a series of small-scale trades and minor league contracts but never cemented himself as a consistent big leaguer. In parts of five MLB seasons, Jackson has taken 340 plate appearances and batted .132/.224/.232 with a staggering 41.8% strikeout rate.
As he’s moved back behind the plate and continued to hone his defensive skills in the minors, Jackson has become a quality defender at catcher. However, his persistent strikeout troubles extend even to the Triple-A level (29.3%). He’ll now head to waivers and be made available to the other 29 clubs. If he clears, he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency, as is the case with all players who’ve been previously outrighted in their career.
Montgomery, 24, was the Rays’ sixth-round pick in 2021 and ranked as one of the system’s top arms for the past few seasons. He’s had a dismal year in the Triple-A rotation and is currently sitting on a 6.26 ERA in spite of a sharp 26.1% strikeout rate and an only slightly higher-than-average 8.9% walk rate. Home runs have been Montgomery’s downfall, as he’s yielded an average of 1.95 long balls per nine innings pitched.
That said, there’s reason to perhaps look at Montgomery in a more favorable light. Beyond the intriguing K-BB profile, Montgomery moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis in early August and has been borderline untouchable since. He’s fired 9 2/3 shutout innings since moving to short relief, yielding just five hits and five walks while punching out a mammoth 20 of the 38 hitters he’s faced in his new role. He’ll give the Rays a fresh arm for now but also has the potential to develop into a long-term relief weapon for manager Kevin Cash.
About time!!!
Not a bad pick up
Please just no more stupid 9/11 songs that exploit the tragedy for personal financial gain
Sorry that was Alan Jackson
Then again, Steven Spielberg exploited the tragedy of the Holocaust for personal financial enrichment, James Cameron exploited the tragedy of the deaths of the Tatanic passengers for personal financial enrichment, Quintin Tarantino exploited the tragedy of slavery for personal financial enrichment, etc.
Noticing a theme in there somewhere…
The money was donated to the families.
Finally!!!!! Somebody claim him!!!!!!! He’s a great defensive catcher! Ignore the batting average. Now the Rays need to cut ties with some of the other guys hitting barely above .200. Build around Caminiero, Josh Lowe, Xavier Isaac, and others, and get rid of Siri, Caballero, Morel if he can’t raise the batting average, and let’s give this great pitching staff we will have in 2025 a decent chance to win games!
Letting Caballero go would be a mistake. Team Leader in steals. Can play all over the infield. Siri? Toss up/don’t care. DeLuca can take over CF.
DeLuca isn’t a major league player either.
Agreed. It’s like they have a fetish for guys who can’t hit. How much does the defense really help if your offense is so weak? If their rotation is back to health next season, I see no reason why not unless they get hurt again, then can be good again with some better guys in the lineup and pen.
Keep Caballero, Morel give him an off-season maybe rays can unlock something. But walls and DeLuca dfa immediately
With that low of a batting average, an NL team should pick him up who misses having the pitcher hit.
Gonna be a long season next year for the rays. W Sox hitting lineup with good pitching wasted.
Lose a lot of 2-1 type games
I saw Jackson in Durham this summer…was not impressed at all. Then again, I saw Caminero in the same game, and he hit a couple of balls as hard as any that I have seen, including one that seemed to still be rising as it left the city limits.
Rays fans rejoice! We have finally rid one of our demons! The team average instantly rises due to his absence. Yes! Finally!
addition by subtraction, indeed.
Now to tackle the rest of the “what, me hit?” crowd.
The Rays had at one time a bottom 3 of Deluca, Walls and Jackson who combined were about a .130 average.
How anyone with a sub .100 average and over 40% K rate most of the year managed to stick with the club blows my mind. Cash must’ve kept saying to himself that he’s due. Also Taylor Walls with a grotesque OPS should never start with Caballero available. But that’s what Cash does.