The Tigers and Rays announced a trade that sends Justyn-Henry Malloy to Tampa Bay for cash considerations. Detroit had designated him for assignment before the holiday DFA freeze when they officially re-signed reliever Kyle Finnegan. Tampa Bay had two openings on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.
A sixth-round pick by the Braves in 2021, Malloy was traded to Detroit after his first full minor league season in exchange for reliever Joe Jiménez. Prospect evaluators praised the righty-hitting Malloy’s plate discipline but questioned whether he’d find a home defensively. The positional fit remains the biggest issue. Malloy was drafted as a third baseman but was well below average there. Detroit used him as a full-time corner outfielder in 2024 and split his time between the corner outfield and first base last season.
Malloy, 26 in February, is a below-average runner and athlete, so the hope is that he’ll be merely adequate somewhere. There’s a high bar to clear offensively if he’s limited to first base or a full-time designated hitter role. Malloy hasn’t been close to clearing that in his scattered MLB opportunities, as he’s a .209/.311/.346 hitter over 357 career plate appearances.
The big league numbers are probably weighed down by his lack of consistent playing time. Malloy has been a fantastic offensive player in the minor leagues. He has a near-.900 OPS in his minor league career, including a .296/.424/.478 line in more than 1200 plate appearances against Triple-A pitching.
Malloy has decent power and popped 23 homers in Triple-A a couple seasons ago. The calling card is an extremely patient offensive approach that has allowed him to work walks at a massive 17.2% rate in the minors. Major league pitchers are going to do a better job challenging him within the strike zone, yet Malloy has still managed a 12% walk rate over his MLB work. That has come alongside an elevated 32.8% strikeout rate that he’ll need to bring down if he’s to carve out a long-term role.
Tampa Bay has Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda lined up for the first base and DH playing time. There’s more opportunity in the outfield if the Rays feel Malloy can be a passable defender on the grass. He’d otherwise be ticketed for a depth role, either as a bench bat or stashed at Triple-A Durham. Malloy still has two minor league options remaining, which gives the team some roster flexibility, though he doesn’t have much to prove against minor league pitching.
Another trade win for the Rays
I wonder how much cashes they got. 😂
Best of luck, J-Hen!
Norm had a big family…
nice…
If they didn’t at least get Folsom Prison Blues, it wasn’t worth it.
Shoulda got at least a journeyman; someone that’s been everywhere, man.
Here comes a 30 homer season
Here comes Mr Meatloaf
3 for 1 deal not bad Rays, hope they find room on the 40 man
3 for 1?
because the rays get justyn, henry, and malloy in exchange for cash
He’s no Von Hayes tho
That Julio Franco played forever.
Rays have 2 open spots on the roster…and he was traded for cash, not a player trade.
The least funny person here
😁
Can’t be good for the Tigers.
Why not? They designated him to make room for bullpen help and they have Max Clark waiting in the wings. He wasn’t displacing Greene, Meadows, Carpenter, or Clark. His defense was questionable and he didn’t hit enough to make up for it. That’s why the only hot cash.
Its takes time for rookies to find their legs. So many bodies now involved – only the lucky ones get enough time to acclimate. I figure 3-4 years for average guys.
but more guys get a short cup of coffee- but i agree that a lot of guys never really get enough regular AB to settle in. I thought the same thing when i saw Weimer signed- a guy who i felt could be a .260 20hr 10sb type of guy if he was given enough playing time to actually settle in (JHM is more like a .240 30hr guy if it pans out).
Malloy was suppose to be an all bat and no defense prospect. Basically a DH that never showed much bat with the Tigers. As a Tigers fan I am ok with this move.
But Malloy had Tiger trainers working with him. With the Rays, he may actually improve. Malloy has some skills to work with and he’s still very young… The Rays might have a diamond in the rough.
Word from AAA Toledo was that J-Hen was a quick study at 1B but had no shot at that position because he was blocked by Keith and Torkelson there. I’m guessing the Rays will play-to-strength at find a spot where he can succeed, if not thrive. They’re good at that…
Malloy was awful at 1B at AAA and even bad in the barely two innings he got there in the bigs….so whoever “word” you are listening to, I suggest less focus on the ears and more on the eyes — cause JHM in the field anywhere ain’t pretty.
I feel like he had enough value to have been traded for more than cashes. Bundled up with some other pieces and a decent starter in return.
I think they should have done that last offseason when he had more value. They never gave him a real shot so they must have known he was expendable to them.
What value?
He’s a below average hitter at MLB level who has shown flashes at AAA…in other words he’s like 100 other “4-A” type players. Except he is atrocious in the field and on the bases, so he’s a net negative as a player right now. And considering he’d be, at best, a 25th or 26th man on a MLB roster…if you can’t run the bases, can’t defend at any single position, and haven’t been able to demonstrate any power versus MLB heat…you have NO VALUE.
Kyle Schwarber can’t field or run and just got $150 million lol. Will he be Schwarber or JD? No but even if he could be a poor man’s version of those players he would have value. JHM is a prospect and most prospects don’t pan out, but that’s why teams take a shot on ex top prospects because once in a while you get lucky. Obviously the Rays thought enough of him to give him a shot.
The player you describe is Josh Bell, recently signed 1/ $6 or $7 million. Please compare him to Malloy.
That’s a good comp! Bell isn’t a star but teams still want him. If JHM can be close to Bell for league minimum he would have plenty of value.
Another outfielder…really? We need a shortstop/2nd base. Yeah I know Walls….barf on Walls. Palacios for 2nd? I’m not sold on that.
I read that he has options remaining and doesn’t need to start the year on the active roster. And while the Rays do have tons of outfielders, they don’t have a wealth of right handed ones, so this can be seen as a low risk trade for depth or they can catch lightning in a bottle if they utilize him properly (apparently, he hits lefties very well). This doesn’t negate the opportunity for the Rays to add middle infield help.
start Carson Williams and let him develop. Rays aren’t winning anything this year, and he is their highest-rated prospect since Junior. CW is excellent with the glove, so even if he has offensive issues this year, he will be better than Walls. That said, I have no idea what this FO is doing since the Randy trade. A lot of holding the breath on prospects, which rarely pan out for TB. Trading Baz–regardless of the “haul” of prospects–was particularly painful, as this year he will kill it.
He’s not an outfielder. He’s not anything as a fielder. He literally is only playable as a DH. His defense is THAT bad.
Need a shortstop you day? Tigers will trade you Baez for JHen 😉
He will have a breakout year I have a feeling. He hit great in AAA and looked much better in a tiny sample in September last year.
problem is, the Rays have a ton of guys who “hit great in AAA”…every year…and every year they disappoint.
Looks like he started swinging more at the first pitch in September. His first pitch numbers are excellent (.304 ./370/.435/.805). This is presumably because he had a reputation for patience so pitchers were throwing him first pitch strikes. They’ll change strategy if he starts going after the first pitch consistently. Maybe he figures it out.
Breakout player….in the Independent League, where a team can afford to put him at DH until he gets hot and runs into a few.
Its not going to happen at MLB level, where he almost unfathomably can’t make contact on pitches IN the zone, can’t run the bases and has no position
Great move for J Hen, he was locked behind too many other 4A players in Detroit. Hopefully he gets a chance to play in TB
not 1B. Aranda is there now, and even if they move him to 2B two of the biggest prospects are 1B.
So Tigers got nothing for Jimenez.
Most trades for rental relievers end up returning prospects who don’t deliver much.
Not sure the Braves got much from Jimenez either.
Maybe trading Yandy after a top season for youth and Malloy becomes a possible DH and backup 1B.
It’s a song that will play out in Detroit as the team keeps getting better. The system they have now with young guys coming up will force decisions to be made. That’s a good thing as they’ll be getting better. New team and new chance for J.Ham. Thanks for playing here, GO TIGERS !
Another Willie Adames trade!!!
Lol! Adames was 18 when the Tigers traded him as part of the David Price deal. I will take some credit as I saw Adames as the part of the deal the Tigers would come to regret while most fans were weeping over Austin Jackson and Drew Smily. J-Hen had his chance, and his skill set just doesn’t fit with the Tigers (emphasis on multi-position players and trying to cut down on Ks). We’ll see what happens. Good luck, J-Hen!
You just know the Rays want him for his splits against lefties
You gotta like a guy who gets HBP more than GIDP!
A very Rays move. Watch him be a solid player for them in 26.
Did the rays know about Austin Meadows issues?
He was originally a pirate, was he not?
They had to have seen signs. I’ll always believe they knew something and were glad to move on.
Of course they knew about his mental struggles. It was not a secret, though I doubt anyone expected him to have the issues he did by being traded.
more dumpster diving. sad what has happened to this franchise.
With his minor league numbers and age it seems like he’d fetch more than just a few dollars in trade.
Angels could really use depth. Should’ve been all over this.
When you’re a low-grade athlete and have no position you play even adequately, your bat has to be SO effing good.
A Rays move if there ever was one. Hopefully he hits well enough to make the major league roster, if not I will enjoy watching him split 1B/LF/DH with Tre Morgan when I go to Durham games.
Detroit will regret this, eventually.
Put this one up there with the 3B they traded and are trying to get back, for a damaged OF, with the Jays….
The Paredes trade hurt. The only similarity here is that like JHM, he was never given a real chance at the MLB level before the trade. Otherwise not comparable at all. No one knew that Meadows was going to have the mental health issues he did, and everyone was thrilled that we were able to get him. JHM has never had the upside of Paredes. If he can do well for the Rays, more power to him.
Yup, trade with the Rays at your own peril.
I see a trip to Japan in his future at best
Yandy’s replacement
At least Scott Harris knows how to make a trade. I was beginning to worry.
About two years ago some Tigers fan site asked fans which prospect they were most excited for. I actually wrote in JHM’s name. Guess I got that wrong. Losing folks like him is a good situation for the Tigers to be in, though, as others have said.
I was in the same boat and thought he was going to be a core player.
If the Rays want him there must be hope for him
Rays got their Christopher Morel replacement
This is an interesting trade for the Rays. It has absolutely zero risk to the Rays, as they had an open roster spot and only gave up cash to get him. But what this move might mean is what’s interesting. My first thought was that Vilade (another reclamation project acquired for cash) wasn’t looking good in offseason drills and that JHM will replace him as the right handed outfielder to the all-lefty starting outfield. But I have to tip my cap to those who see a connection at 1B/DH. The Rays have Yandy and a bunch of lefties for those two positions. Yandy could get moved and the Rays could use JHM in a platoon with T.Morgan (the next 1B/DH call up for the Rays). They could also move Aranda to 2B where his bat would excel and possibly offset his fielding, thereby opening up a spot at 1B for T.Morgan (in a platoon with JHM). In any event, this trade has zero risk for the Rays and should pay dividends given JHM’s ability to hit LHP (which the Rays struggle at).