The Rays added lefty reliever Cam Booser to their 40-man roster, the team announced. He will not break camp, as the club optioned him to Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay placed righty reliever Steven Wilson on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. He’s dealing with lumbar disc inflammation and will be out for at least the first two months of the season.
Tampa Bay also announced four expected IL placements. Taylor Walls (right oblique strain) and Gavin Lux (right shoulder impingement) went on the 10-day injured list. Ryan Pepiot (right hip inflammation) and Edwin Uceta (right shoulder impingement) go on the shelf for at least 15 days. The Rays can backdate those moves to March 22.
Booser signed a minor league deal in January. That included an upward mobility clause which required the team to add him to the 40-man roster or cut him loose if another club were willing to give him a roster spot. The Rays opted for the former route, though his two remaining option years meant they can still keep him in the minors.
The 33-year-old southpaw (34 in May) had an impressive camp. He fired 11 innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Booser has a 95 mph fastball but leaned more heavily on his mid-80s cutter than anything else this spring. He has pitched in parts of two MLB seasons. Booser found success as a rookie with the Red Sox in 2024 but struggled after being traded to the White Sox a year ago. He allowed a 5.52 ERA with huge walk and home run rates across 31 innings for Chicago, who dropped him at the end of the year.
Booser has options remaining????
It seems as if the guy should have a “t” in his name.
Boozer is both an NBA lottery pick AND on the Rats 40 man? Talk about a 2 sport wonder.
Isn’t he playing in the Sweet 16 this weekend? He must be making more in NIL money than many of the veterans get in salary on the his MLB team!