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Rays Notes: Kim, Bigge, McClanahan

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The Rays signed infielder Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year, $29MM contract back in February but he has yet to play a game for the club after undergoing shoulder surgery late last year. That may be close to changing, however, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Kim is set to be evaluated for a possible return to the majors after he plays what could be his final rehab game with Triple-A Durham later today. Rays manager Kevin Cash suggested that the club is “very encouraged” by Kim’s progress, but president of baseball operations Erik Neander made clear that an immediate return to the majors is not guaranteed.

“We’ll get through these next three days and then just get an idea of where he’s at,” Neander said, as relayed by Topkin. “If he needs a little more time, we’ll be there to provide it. If he feels like he’s close and ready, then we’ll keep an open mind. We’re hopefully closing in on an activation but still kind of day-to-day to see how he responds to the added workload.”

When he does return, Kim will be joining a resurgent Rays club that has jumped out to a 47-36 record, just half a game back of the Yankees for control of the AL East thanks to a 17-8 run in the month of June. While the team has largely been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, they have been forced to rely on somewhat middling production out of the shortstop position as Jose Caballero and Taylor Walls split time at the position. Kim is a 106 wRC+ hitter over the 2022-24 seasons and a Gold Glove caliber defender all over the infield, which should be a substantial upgrade over that duo’s lackluster hitting while maintaining the quality defense Tampa has gotten from the position.

Topkin also writes that right-hander Hunter Bigge’s recovery from surgery to repair multiple facial fractures after he was struck by a 105 mph foul ball off the bat of Adley Rutschman is going well enough that the Rays do not expect the surgery to interfere with his ability to return this season. Bigge remains on a soft food diet and has not yet been cleared for physical activity amid concerns that it would put stress on the surgically repaired areas of his face, but he’ll start playing catch once cleared to do so. Of course, Bigge was already shelved by a lat strain when he was struck by Rutschman’s foul ball, so Bigge will have to resume rehabbing that prior injury once he’s cleared for physical activity. Prior to those injuries, Bigge was making himself a major part of the Rays bullpen with a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings this year.

In other positive news, Topkin notes that southpaw Shane McClanahan is expected to throw a full-distance bullpen session this coming Tuesday. It will be the southpaw’s first full bullpen since he paused his rehab earlier this month to visit a nerve specialist. The lefty is surely still a ways away from a return given that he hasn’t resumed facing live hitters and would need a significant rehab assignment after such a long layoff from big league games, but with the Rays now firmly in postseason contention it’s not hard to imagine McClanahan taking a big league mound for the club at some point this year. Should McClanahan make it back in time for October, he’d form a terrifying one-two punch at the top of the Rays rotation alongside Drew Rasmussen.

Rays Designate Forrest Whitley, Promote Joe Rock

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The Rays announced that right-hander Forrest Whitley has been designated for assignment.  Replacing Whitley on the active roster is left-hander Joe Rock, who has been called up from Triple-A Durham to make his first appearance on a big league roster.

It was just over two weeks ago that Tampa Bay acquired Whitley in a trade with Houston, after the Astros also DFA’d the right-hander.  The move marked the end of Whitley’s nearly nine-year run in the Astros organization, as the 17th overall pick of the 2016 draft dealt with a bunch of injuries and a 50-game PED suspension (in 2018) over the course of what had been a star-crossed career.  Whitley didn’t make his MLB debut until 2024 when he made three appearances for Houston, and the Astros opted to finally move on after the righty posted a 12.27 ERA over 7 1/3 innings this season.

Things haven’t gone much better for Whitley since the trade, as he has a 15.43 ERA in 4 2/3 innings over five appearances with the Rays.  All of the damage came in the final two of those appearances — Whitley didn’t retire any of six batters faced and was charged with all six runs in a disastrous outing on June 22, and he was tagged for four runs (two earned) in an inning of work in yesterday’s 22-8 Rays loss to the Orioles.

As you might expect from such a football-esque score, the Rays ran through a lot of their bullpen last night, so Rock represents a fresh arm for the relief corps.  Whitley is out of minor league options, so the Rays had to first go the DFA route before Whitley can be moved to Triple-A and off the 40-man roster.  Tampa Bay could work out another trade to send Whitley elsewhere during the DFA period, or an interested team could simply claim him away on waivers.

Whitley’s prospect pedigree is such that another club might well pick him, though his out-of-options status complicates matters.  It could be that Whitley might be in for a string of claims/trades and designations, unless he shows enough immediate results to get himself a longer look in a team’s bullpen.  In the small sample of his time with the Rays, he threw his cutter far more often (51% of the time) than he did during his previous MLB stints with the Astros, though that attempted fix didn’t last long.

Rock will be making his Major League debut whenever he officially appears in a game.  The southpaw has a notable draft position in his own right, as the Rockies selected 68th overall of the 2021 draft.  Tampa acquired Rock in a trade in March 2024, and added him to its 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  After posting a 4.58 ERA in 137 2/3 Triple-A innings last year, Rock has pretty similar numbers in Durham this season, delivering a 4.81 ERA along with a 19.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate that are each steps backwards from his metrics in 2024.

Rock has worked primarily as a starter during his minor league career, but could be viewed as an innings-eating long reliever in the Show.  MLB Pipeline (which rates Rock as the 21st-best prospect in Tampa Bay’s farm system) suggests that relief work might be in Rock’s future, as his 55-grade slider and fastball could be an effective one-two punch coming out of the pen.

Wander Franco Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

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Wander Franco has been found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic, according to reporting from Juan Arturo Recio and Jeff Passan of ESPN. He has received a two-year suspended sentence and will have to serve the sentence if he doesn’t meet certain conditions. The primary condition is that he does not approach minors with sexual intentions.

In August of 2023, investigators in the D.R. began looking into accusations that the Rays shortstop had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl while he was 21. The age of consent in that country is 18. In July of 2024, Franco was formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor, as well as human trafficking. In September of last year, it was reported that the case would proceed to trial.

Major League Baseball placed Franco on administrative leave in August last year when the accusations first emerged, standard procedure for players who are being investigated under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He was reinstated for the offseason in a procedural move but placed back on administrative leave when the 2024 campaign began. He was moved to the restricted list in July of 2024, at which point he was no longer receiving big league pay or service time.

Throughout the proceedings, accusations had also emerged against the girl’s mother, that she received payments from Franco worth thousands of dollars to remain silent about her daughter’s abuse. Per Recio and Passan, she has been found guilty of trafficking her daughter and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Major League Baseball released a statement on the verdict today, relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “Major League Baseball is proud to have a collectively bargained Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy that reflects our commitment to these issues. We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time.” Per that policy, the league can impose discipline even in the absence of legal charges.

Back in 2021, Franco and the Rays signed an 11-year, $182MM extension which was set to run through 2032. In the wake of his conviction, it’s unclear if he’ll be able to get the work visa necessary for him to return to the United States.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images.

Rays, MLB Have Discussed Potential Playoff Hosting Plans

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At 44-35, the Rays are firmly in the postseason mix. They’re one game back of the Yankees in the AL East and in possession of the American League’s top Wild Card spot. FanGraphs gives them more than a 70% chance of playing in October.

That’d present a challenge for MLB because of their stadium situation. The Rays are playing at an A-ball facility after last fall’s hurricane damage rendered Tropicana Field unplayable. Their interim home, George M. Steinbrenner Field, has a capacity a little above 11,000. The A’s are playing in a similarly small ballpark but have essentially no chance of making the playoffs this season, at least delaying their decision by a year. Every other MLB stadium has a capacity of at least 34,000.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Rays officials have had preliminary conversations with the league office about how they’d handle potential home playoff games. He writes that it’s possible the league will consider Steinbrenner Field satisfactory for potential Wild Card and Division Series but could push for a change in venue if the Rays advance as far as the AL Championship Series.

The concerns go beyond the optics of a small playoff crowd. The league could have difficulty accommodating the larger broadcasting and media contingents, as the field also has a very small press box. Rosenthal’s piece is worth a full read, as he goes into specifics about the logistical challenges that a smaller field present for the league’s broadcast partners.

The Players Association may also prefer a move to a stadium with more seating. Players’ postseason shares are a percentage of playoff gate receipts. Games at Steinbrenner Field will obviously have artificially low attendance numbers. It wouldn’t be a huge percentage of overall playoff gate revenue, but it would take on added importance if the Rays make a deep run. Playing the Rays’ scheduled home games at a neutral site would presumably generate more attendance, though it’d negate whatever on-field advantages they get from playing in front of their home crowd.

It may all end up being a moot point. The Rays could miss the playoffs. If they get in as the second or third Wild Card team, they’d play on the road for their entire three-game series in the first round (as all fifth and sixth seeds do). Nevertheless, the league will need to have a plan in place in advance of the beginning of the playoffs. That could also inform how they’d handle things if the A’s make the postseason before the scheduled opening of their Las Vegas stadium in 2028.

The Rays hope to return to Tropicana Field next season. Their lease at the Trop runs for three more years once it’s again playable. Owner Stuart Sternberg is reportedly in talks with a group led by a Jacksonville-based real estate developer about a sale of the franchise. That group is expected to seek a new stadium in the Tampa Bay region for the long term if the sale is finalized.

AL East Notes: Bigge, Kim, Scherzer, Westburg, Gil, Williams, Weaver

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In excellent news out of Tampa Bay, right-handed reliever Hunter Bigge is recovering well after undergoing surgery to repair multiple facial fractures (per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Bigge was hit in the face by a 105-mph foul ball off the bat of Adley Rutschman while watching Thursday’s game from the Rays’ dugout. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters today (including Topkin) that Bigge has been released from the hospital and returned home. There is no doubt the incident was terrifying, not just for Bigge but for everyone in either dugout at Steinbrenner Field. While Cash acknowledged that raising the screens in front of the dugouts probably isn’t an option, Topkin reports that the skipper will meet with his players to talk about potential adjustments. “We’ll talk through it,” said Cash. “And see what we can do.”

Bigge, 27, has not played since May 1 due to a right lat strain. Through his first 15 games in 2025, the hard-throwing righty pitched to a 2.40 ERA and a 3.99 SIERA. Indeed, he has been highly effective since he came to Tampa Bay as part of the trade return for Isaac Paredes. He has a 2.48 ERA and 3.22 SIERA in 28 appearances with the Rays. He does not yet have a timetable to get back to game action.

In additional Rays news, Ha-Seong Kim appeared in a rehab game yesterday, going 1-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored. It was his first game in over a week; as Topkin notes, the Rays pulled him off his last rehab assignment on June 12 with right hamstring tightness. Kim’s strong offensive showing last night was surely good news for Tampa Bay. However, he played DH, and as he works his way back from shoulder surgery, the team’s biggest questions aren’t about his hitting or his baserunning but his ability to play shortstop. The Rays have already made it clear that they won’t reinstate Kim until he is ready to provide his typical Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop on a daily basis. So, tonight’s game, in which he’s playing shortstop, will be a much better test of his readiness to return. If it goes well, it might not be long before he finally makes his Rays debut. Topkin suggests Kim is unlikely to require the maximum 20 days of rehab before he is back with the big league club.

More from around the AL East…

  • Max Scherzer dominated Triple-A competition in his latest rehab start on Wednesday, striking out eight of the 17 batters he faced in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. However, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that Scherzer’s “thumb/hand” was sore following the outing, so the Blue Jays have decided to push back his next bullpen session to Sunday, instead of today as originally planned. This won’t prevent him from rejoining Toronto’s rotation next week – presuming no further setbacks – but it now seems as if he’s looking at a Wednesday or Thursday return, instead of starting the series opener against the Guardians on Tuesday. The Jays have struggled to fill his spot in the rotation ever since he exited early from his first start of the season, so his return will be a highly anticipated event.
  • Orioles second and third baseman Jordan Westburg came back from a long stint on the injured list just last week, but he had a new injury scare this afternoon. He jammed his left hand into the bag as he stole second base and later exited the game. Following the contest, manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that Westburg had indeed jammed his fingers on the play, but X-rays were negative. The team is hoping it’s just a day-to-day injury and won’t force Westburg back to the IL. The All-Star infielder has been hitting very well since his return from a hamstring strain.
  • Luis Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, has been out all season with a lat strain, but he’s making good progress toward his return to the Yankees rotation. Speaking to reporters before today’s game, manager Aaron Boone spoke highly of Gil’s performance in a live batting practice session (per The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty). Boone did not offer a timeline for the right-hander’s rehab, but he did compare Gil to a trade deadline addition, which suggests he could be back on the mound in late July or early August. Despite several major injuries, the Yankees rank eighth in starters’ ERA and fourth in starters’ SIERA this season. Gil’s return should make an already strong rotation even stronger.
  • In more Yankees news, Boone revealed on Friday that Devin Williams and Luke Weaver will share closing duties going forward (per ESPN’s Jorge Castillo). Williams is the bigger name with more experience in the role; he’s a two-time All-Star with 77 career saves. However, he struggled with his new team early in 2025, and Weaver stepped up to take over the closing job. Then, Williams moved back into his old ninth-inning role in June when Weaver hit the IL with a hamstring strain. He earned four saves in four chances over seven appearances, striking out 10, walking none, and giving up just one earned run. So, now that Weaver is healthy, it’s understandable why Boone wants to give both pitchers save opportunities. Weaver struggled in his first game back, giving up two hits, a walk, and a home run, but he didn’t seem overly concerned, telling Kuty, “I felt like my stuff was as good as it’s been all year, if not better.”

Rays Select Paul Gervase

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The Rays have selected right-hander Paul Gervase’s contract from Triple-A, the team announced. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Connor Seabold has been optioned to Triple-A Durham. Gervase will be making his MLB debut if he gets into a game.

Taken by the Mets in the 12th round of the 2022 draft, Gervase joined the Rays ahead of the trade deadline last summer in exchange for Tyler Zuber. Standing 6-foot-10, Gervase had always been an imposing presence on the mound, but he struggled with control throughout his time in the Mets organization, walking 15.5% of the batters he faced. Then, over 15 appearances (17 2/3 innings) at Double-A Montgomery last August and September, he struck out 31 batters while walking only three. His 3.57 ERA wouldn’t have turned any heads, but his 1.95 FIP certainly did, and he earned an invitation to big league spring training with the Rays heading into his age-25 season.

Of course, it was always unlikely that Gervase would jump straight from Double-A to the majors, and a mediocre performance over four spring outings guaranteed that. Yet, he has pitched exceptionally well lately at Triple-A. Since walking seven batters over his first four Triple-A games, he has settled in nicely, striking out 43 and walking just three across his last 27 1/3 innings. He has a 3.29 ERA and a 3.24 FIP in that time.

Gervase will join a Tampa Bay bullpen that leads the AL with a 3.11 ERA, and he will hope to make enough of an impact to stick around long term. Seabold was recalled on June 19 and gave the Rays three scoreless innings that day against the Orioles. Nonetheless, it seems the team views him as more of a bulk-inning depth arm, and he’s already on his way back to Triple-A.

Kyle Gibson Opts Out Of Rays Deal

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Kyle Gibson opted out of his minor league contract with the Rays, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The veteran righty had signed with Tampa Bay last month but didn’t have a clear path to a rotation spot.

Gibson couldn’t have pitched much better over his four starts at Triple-A Durham. He allowed only one run over 17 1/3 innings. Gibson struck out 22 of 65 opponents (nearly 34%) against six walks. He hasn’t allowed a run in any of his last three starts, all of which were in the 4-5 inning range.

It’s a marked turnaround from Gibson’s four MLB starts with the Orioles earlier in the year. Those could hardly have gone worse. He was bombed for a staggering 23 runs on 29 hits (seven of which cleared the fences) while managing just 12 1/3 innings. The O’s released him four starts into a $5.25MM free agent contract. Gibson didn’t sign until the back half of Spring Training. His velocity wasn’t any different than where it’d been last year with St. Louis, but his execution clearly wasn’t there. The atypical offseason presumably had something to do with that.

Gibson needed to settle for a minor league contract after Baltimore released him. He should have a stronger chance of getting an MLB deal this time around. The Triple-A production gives some hope that he can still be a solid fifth starter, as he was when he turned in a 4.24 ERA in nearly 170 innings a year ago. He’d also not cost a signing team anything other than a roster spot. They would pay him only the prorated $760K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the big leagues. Baltimore remains responsible for the rest of the salary, minus the minimum for however long he’s on another team’s MLB roster.

Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg In “Advanced” Talks To Sell Team

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1:55pm: The team is expected to remain in the Tampa Bay area if the current sale process is completed, Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times report. It’s not yet clear where exactly within that region Zalupski’s group would seek to have a new stadium built.

12:18pm: The Rays have issued the following statement acknowledging the negotiations but declined to provide further comment or details:

“The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team. Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.”

11:40am: Rays owner Stuart Sternberg is in “advanced talks” with Jacksonville real estate developer Patrick Zalupski about a sale of the franchise for approximately $1.7 billion, per a report from Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Zalupski has signed a letter of intent to purchase the club, the Sportico pair adds, though that does not signify that a deal will definitely cross the line. Still, Joel Sherman off the New York Post hears similarly, reporting that talks between the two parties are serious and that the Zalupski-led group is the only buyer with which the Rays are negotiating at the moment.

Sternberg purchased the Rays franchise for $200MM back in 2004 and has spent years unsuccessfully attempting to secure public funding for a new stadium in or around the St. Petersburg/Tampa area. A deal finally looked to be well on its way toward completion a year ago, but Hurricane Milton wrought catastrophic damage on Tropicana Field, derailing those plans and pushing the Rays to temporarily relocate to Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field — home to the Yankees’ Florida State League affiliate and their annual home park during spring training.

Zalupski is the CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a publicly traded, Jacksonville-based developer that has built more than 31,000 homes across ten states. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.4 billion, while his company’s valuation rests at $3.4 billion.

Per Sportico, Zalupski is the lead investor in a larger group that counts Ken Babby and Bill Cosgrove among several potential minority stakeholders. The former holds majority stakes in the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate and the Guardians’ Double-A club and is the son of prominent NBA agent (and former Phoenix Suns president of basketball operations) Lon Babby. The latter is the CEO of Union Home Mortgage Group. Other investors are involved and figure to come to light if the sale process indeed continues toward completion.

The potential sale of the team comes just months after spring reports suggesting that commissioner Rob Manfred and several owners throughout MLB were beginning to pressure Sternberg to orchestrate a sale of the club. At the time, Sternberg was said to at the very least be courting additional minority owners to invest in the team — all while local business leaders were in the early stages of putting together groups to potentially pursue a majority stake in the club. None of Zalupski, Cosgrove or Babby were listed as prospective buyers at the time, though it’s fair to presume they were involved in and/or spearheading some of those early efforts.

Sternberg has owned the Rays for more than two decades, and the team’s stadium has been at the forefront of any and all narratives surrounding the organization since that time. With the A’s in the process of moving to a new home on the Las Vegas strip, Tropicana Field was considered perhaps the most dilapidated facility in Major League Baseball — even before last year’s hurricane damage, which saw the entire roof ripped off “the Trop” and left the Rays without a home stadium for a few months. The move to Steinbrenner Field currently only runs through the 2025 season.

Throughout his time owning the Rays, Sternberg has explored a variety of options ranging from constructing a new facility on the existing site of Tropicana Field, to building a new stadium in downtown Ybor City — even to a convoluted split arrangement that would see the Rays host half their home games in Florida and half in Montreal. Beyond the dated nature of Tropicana Field, the location of the park has been a frequent source of consternation for fans; the stadium is not in Tampa proper but rather on the nearby — and, for many, difficult to access — Pinellas County peninsula in the city of St. Petersburg. That’s one of many prominent factors in the Rays’ longstanding attendance troubles.

With the Rays residing in a small media market and perennially unable to ramp up attendance, payroll has been a frequent issue. Tampa Bay is among the bottom teams in the league each year in terms of player payroll, despite receiving hefty annual sums from the league’s revenue-sharing system. The constant payroll restrictions from Sternberg have led to the Rays becoming notorious for developing star players then trading them off to other clubs for packages of younger, more controllable and — crucially —  cheaper talent. That’s created something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it’s hard to retain fans and bolster attendance when local residents’ favorite players are constantly being shipped out for young players that are general unknowns to the majority of the fan base.

Prior to Hurricane Milton, the Rays had a tentative agreement for the construction of a $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat facility in the Gas Plant district near the existing Tropicana Field site. Construction of that park was part of a larger $6.5 billion redevelopment project in the area. Mass hurricane damage in the area slowed critical votes on funding and raised difficult to unanswerable questions about the cost of repairing Tropicana Field, the viability of potential interim homes for the Rays and various other logistical issues. Sternberg announced back in March that his team was no longer pursuing the Gas Plant project — an outcome that had grown increasingly inevitable as frustrations between the team, the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County all played out in ugly, public fashion.

The lost 2025 season at Tropicana Field also pushed the Rays’ existing lease at the stadium back a year; it had been slated to expire after the 2027 season but now runs through the 2028 campaign. Of course, it’s still not entirely clear that Tropicana Field will be repaired in time for the Rays to play their 2026 home games there. Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times recently reported that the city of St. Petersburg approved another $5.3MM in funding, bringing the total to $38.5MM of the estimated $57MM needed to repair Tropicana Field’s damages. Whether the remainder of that funding will be approved and whether the requisite work can be completed in a timely manner remain unclear.

If the potential sale goes through, there will still be more questions than answers. The hope is that Tropicana Field will be ready at or very near the beginning of the 2026 regular season. Even if that timeline stays on track — in terms of securing remaining funding, completing the work and the wild card of avoiding any further weather damage during hurricane season — it still wouldn’t be clear where the team’s home games would take place following the 2028 campaign.

Manfred has said his hope is to keep two teams in Florida, though even that opens various possibilities. The Rays have explored building sites in several neighborhoods, and Hall of Famer Barry Larkin referenced the Rays’ ongoing stadium concerns when discussing his efforts as part of a group that hopes to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando. Looking beyond Florida, the cities of Nashville, Salt Lake City and Portland have made a desire to bring MLB to their cities known as well. All of those locations will be speculatively tied to the Rays as the current ownership situation plays out.

Rays Acquire Forrest Whitley

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June 16: The Rays announced today that Whitley has been added to the club’s active roster with righty Mason Englert optioned to Triple-A Durham as the corresponding active roster move.

June 13: The Astros announced that they have traded right-hander Forrest Whitley to the Rays in exchange for cash considerations. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported that Whitley was going to the Rays while Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported the cash return. The Rays’ 40-man roster count climbs from 38 to 39. Since Whitley is out of options, they will need to open an active roster spot once he reports to the team.

Whitley, 27, is a complete wild card at this point. Selected 17th overall in the 2016 draft, he put up huge numbers in the lower minor league levels as a teenager, working around a 50-game drug suspension going into 2018. His performance vaulted him towards the top of prospect lists. Going into 2019, Baseball America ranked him #5 overall and the top pitcher on the list.

He has hit a number of speed bumps since then, largely due to injuries. Shoulder problems seemed to hamper him in 2019, as he finished that year with a combined 7.99 earned run average across various minor league levels. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020. He required Tommy John surgery in March of 2021, wiping out that season and most of the following year. He got back on the mound in 2022 but showed plenty of rust, posting a 6.53 ERA over his 40 minor league innings. In 2023, a lat strain limited him to 30 minor league innings with a 5.70 ERA.

The Astros added Whitley to their 40-man roster in November of 2020, to protect him from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft. He used up three options in those 2021-23 seasons. The Astros were granted a fourth option for 2024 but the clock was ticking, so they moved him to the bullpen.

He showed some promise in that role last year. He logged 34 innings at the Triple-A level with a 2.12 ERA. His 11.6% walk rate was high but he struck out 31.5% of batters faced and got grounders at a 55% clip. He also made his major league debut, logging 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

He came into 2025 out of options and started the season on the injured list, this time due to a bone bruise in his left knee. He was reinstated from the IL on April 19th but went back on the shelf on April 27th due to a left knee sprain. He was reinstated in late May but didn’t last long before the Astros decided to give up and designated him for assignment. Around those IL stints, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings this year with ten earned runs allowed. He struck out eight opponents but gave out six walks, hit another batter and threw a wild pitch.

Whitley’s future is anyone’s guess at this point. The talent that made him the top prospect in baseball may be in there somewhere. He still averages in the upper 90s with his fastballs. But he’s now out of options and has proved so little. His major league track record consists of just 10 2/3 innings, which haven’t been especially impressive. He was good in the minors last year but has otherwise been hurt and/or ineffective.

The Rays have a strong reputation when it comes to developing pitchers, so it’s a good landing spot for him. However, they are also a contender, currently holding one of the three American League Wild Card spots. Since Whitley is out of options, he will have to produce some results in order to stick on the roster. If he does, the Rays can cheaply retain him for years to come. He came into 2025 with just six days of major league service time, meaning he can’t get to arbitration until after 2027 and isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2030 season. But as mentioned, those will be moot points if he can’t right the ship.

Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images

Wilson Ramos Retires

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Longtime catcher Wilson Ramos is retiring after 12 seasons in the majors and 18 overall seasons of pro ball.  The 37-year-old Ramos announced back in February that he was stepping away from the game, and it became official today when “the Buffalo” signed a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a member of the Nationals.

Beginning his career as an international signing for the Twins back in 2004, Ramos broke into the majors with Minnesota in 2010 but was dealt to the Nationals at the trade deadline that same season.  That kicked off a long run for Ramos in Washington that lasted through the 2016 campaign, with Ramos first splitting time behind the plate with Kurt Suzuki, then emerging as the clear starting catcher by the end of his tenure with the Nats.

Ramos’ first full MLB season in 2011 earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and his final year in D.C. saw him earn an All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger Award when he hit .307/.354/.496 with 22 home runs over 523 plate appearances.  Unfortunately for Ramos, he also suffered a torn ACL right near the end of the 2016 season, which kept him out of the playoffs (the NL East-winning Nationals lost the NLDS to the Dodgers) and severely limited his earning potential as he entered free agency.

Inking a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Rays, Ramos returned to play in 64 games in 2017, and then looked like his old self with another All-Star season in 2018.  He switched teams again this year when the Rays dealt the catcher to the Phillies at the trade deadline, and Ramos continued his tour of the NL East when he signed a two-year, $19MM contract with the Mets the following offseason.  He continued to hit well in the first year of that deal, but his play diminished after the 2019 season, and Ramos didn’t play again in the big leagues following his 2021 season with Detroit and Cleveland.

That 2021 season ended in painful fashion for Ramos, as he tore his left ACL that August.  Between this injury and the two right ACL tears that sidelined him earlier in his career, it is fair to wonder how Ramos might have fared if he had enjoyed better health.  Nonetheless, it is somewhat remarkable that Ramos still had such a long career as a catcher despite multiple major knee injuries.  Ramos attempted a comeback following his third ACL tear, playing with the Rangers’ Triple-A club in 2022, playing in the Mexican League and with the independent Long Island Ducks in 2023, and he suited up for some Venezuelan Winter League action just this past offseason.

Ramos retires with a .271/.318/.432 slash line and 136 home runs over 3786 plate appearances and 990 games in the big leagues.  We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Ramos on a tremendous career and we wish him all the best in retirement.

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