The Rays are expected to designate outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley for assignment, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin also reported that catcher Dominic Keegan, right-hander Alex Cook, and second baseman Jadher Areinamo are expected to be added to the 40-man roster. The trio will grab the vacated roster spots to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. The team has not announced the moves.
Tampa Bay acquired Morel as the headliner of the trade that sent Isaac Paredes to the Cubs ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. He was hitting .199 at the time, but had popped 18 home runs and lowered his strikeout rate to a career-best 24.5%. Morel stumbled to a 59 wRC+ to close the year with the Rays. He hit three homers and saw his strikeout rate jump back up to 29.5%.
Morel played a part-time role for Tampa Bay this past season, logging 305 plate appearances. He flashed the power/speed combo that had made him an intriguing asset, with 11 home runs and seven steals, but continued to strike out at an untenable rate. Morel whiffed a career-high 35.7% of the time in 2025. After spending time at second base, third base, and shortstop in his first three seasons, Morel played almost exclusively outfield and DH last year. He made one appearance at second base, but that was the extent of his time on the dirt.
With a pair of 20-homer seasons under his belt and a bit of defensive versatility in his game, Morel will likely get another look at the big-league level. He’s had stretches of getting the strikeouts in check, and he’s always had a solid walk rate.
Tampa Bay claimed Fraley off waivers from Atlanta in early November. The Braves had scooped him up off waivers from the Reds back in August. He appeared in nine games with the team before going down with an oblique strain that cut his season short.
Fraley debuted with the Mariners in 2019. After a few seasons in a limited role, he was shipped to Cincinnati in the Eugenio Suarez trade. Fraley slashed a solid .259/.344/.468 in his first year with the Reds, though knee issues capped his workload. Injuries would limit his playing time for the duration of his Cincinnati tenure. Wrist and toe injuries cost him time in 2023, and the knee held him back again in 2024. Prior to the season-ending oblique injury this year, Fraley had hit the IL twice with calf and shoulder issues.
Keegan was taken in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He tore through Tampa Bay’s minor league system before hitting a bit of a roadblock at Triple-A in 2025. MLB.com ranked him 15th among the Rays’ prospects.
Cook was also drafted in 2022, with Tampa Bay landing him in the 12th round. He’s pitched almost exclusively as a reliever since joining the organization. Cook has spent most of his time in the low minors, but did get up to Double-A last year. He tossed 15 2/3 innings with a 2.30 ERA for the Montgomery Biscuits to close the season.
Areinamo came over from the Brewers in the Danny Jansen trade. Baseball America had him 10th in Milwaukee’s system midway through the season. After slashing a strong .297/.355/.463 at High-A prior to the trade, he joined the Biscuits and put up a solid 111 wRC+.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
I wonder why. I don’t follow the Rays, so please tell me.
Out of options + haven’t been good
@Astros..The Rays don’t feel he’s useful or good enough offensively or defensively to tie up a 40 man spot.
That’s the main reason guys get cut this time of year, there’s younger, cheaper and better options available elsewhere.
Okay thanks
Wow that Morel trade worked out well for the geniuses in Tampa.
What exactly was the point of claiming Fraley off waivers then?
Same. Pedro Leon was designated for assigment by the Orioles
Teams are like. Let’s just get him, we might use him. 5 days later, never mind, DFA! DFA!
Good question. The Rays do this all the time. Maybe a backup plan in case they couldn’t make the move or deal they wanted to make. But judging that they had a million OFs, perhaps they were shopping one of them (Lowe/Simpson/Mangum) and couldn’t get an offer they didn’t like. This they have no need for a 5th OF.
5th OF is crazy.
Finally Rays FO admits it was a huge mistake and just cuts ties. Morel will be lucky to get a starting gig elsewhere. Good luck to him but he was pretty awful in his Rays tenure.
“Finally”…What Finally? That seemed like a fairly quick hook on Morel, if you ask me. The Rays normally move on from their rare mistakes rather quickly(See Ha Sing Kim).
A lot of teams would’ve kept Morel on the roster 12 more months+ just to justify the thinking on the original trade.
You can rarely accuse the Rays of letting sentiment or missteps cloud their judgment on baseball moves. They’d cut their own mother, if they thought it would improve their 40-man versatility.