TODAY: The Rays have officially announced the trade. In corresponding moves, Montes was optioned to Triple-A, and left-hander Shane McClanahan was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
APRIL 25: The White Sox traded Travis Jankowski to the Rays, according to an announcement from Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. The outfielder was on a minor league deal and will not require a 40-man roster spot for Tampa Bay. He’ll presumably head to their top farm team in Durham.
Jankowski broke camp with the Sox after signing a minor league deal midway through Spring Training. He only stuck on the roster for a week and a half. Chicago outrighted him off the 40-man, then brought him back on a new minor league contract after he elected free agency. He has spent the past three weeks in Charlotte, batting .261 with a homer in five games.
A left-handed hitter, Jankowski has appeared in the big leagues in 11 straight seasons. He has worked as a fourth or fifth outfielder for most of that time, only twice reaching 300 plate appearances. Jankowski doesn’t provide any kind of power, but he has shown generally solid plate discipline. He was a contributor to the Rangers during their World Series team in 2023, when he hit .263/.357/.332 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts across 287 trips.
The strikeout and walk rates both went in the wrong direction last year. Jankowski managed only a .200/.266/.242 slash across 207 plate appearances. He was limited to minor league offers as a result. He collected three hits, all singles, and one walk across 14 at-bats in his limited MLB look with the White Sox.
Tampa Bay placed Jake Mangum on the injured list yesterday because of a groin strain. They were already without Josh Lowe, Richie Palacios and Jonny DeLuca. They’re using an outfield of Christopher Morel, Kameron Misner and top prospect Chandler Simpson. Utilityman Coco Montes was recalled to replace Mangum. Third catcher Logan Driscoll is the only healthy position player who is on the 40-man roster and on an optional assignment in the minors. Jankowski joins Eloy Jiménez as non-roster outfield options with the Bulls.
The Bulls? I didn’t know he played basketball!
Durham Bulls.
@mp2891 Are you sure? I was thinking Chicago as well.
I think he meant Bull Durham.
Ray Durham
This guy is gonna break Edwin Jackson’s record
America’s fourth outfielder!
5th
The OF Tampa Bay deserves, but not the one they need
Does anyone know who or what the White Sox got back? Bag o’ balls?
Crisp dollar bill.
I think it was actually four quarters.
Yeah, WTF.
Its the White Sox and ‘The Chairman’, its likely a trade for cash.
Jerry always wants money. Just money.
My guy, CASH CONSIDERATIONS!
For an owner like The Pharoah, probably extra loot to bury with him when he dies.
Six pack of Yuengling. Uncle Jer didn’t know it’s being sold in Chicago now.
Gotta admire Jank for hangin around… in this game, that game you’ve always waited for could be just around the corner..
He has made about $8 million in his career. I would hang around, too.
Does this mean that the Rays will turn him into an All-Star and flip him in July? /s
This is just to fill in gaps for the outfield.
Moving from Charlotte to Durham. Should take about two hours…
Obviously they see my posts about Jankowski here
Jankowski went from a minor league team that plays in a major league stadium to a major league team that plays in a minor league stadium…
How close is he to the ten year pension?