On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays traded left-handed reliever, Brooks Raley, to the Mets in exchange for left-handed prospect Keyshawn Askew.
Raley turned in a solid 2022 campaign, tossing 53.2 innings of 2.68 ERA/2.74 FIP baseball, with a 27.9% strikeout rate, a 6.8% walk rate, and a 37.5% ground ball rate. He notched six saves and 22 holds on the season. You might be asking, “Why trade away a quality arm?”
Tampa Bay does not shy away from trading players coming off solid seasons, especially if they feel regression could be in order. At this point, it is the standard operating procedure for the Rays as they always look to keep a well-stocked farm system by selling high on big-league talent. Without the left-hander, the Rays still have Jalen Beeks, Garrett Cleavinger, and Colin Poche as left-handed options in the ‘pen. It’s should be assumed that this move was made with an eye toward opening a roster spot for a presumed future acquisition.
In return, the Rays added Askew — a 10th-round draft pick for the Mets in 2021 — to their system. The 23-year-old spent time in Single-A and High-A last season, performing to a 2.44 ERA/3.09 FIP across 66.1 innings with a 34.2% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. He works from a very low arm slot and boasts a running low-90s sinker and a sweeping slider. It’s plainly obvious why the Rays would be interested.
Noteworthiness
— Just so you are aware, I’m not avoiding the recent developments in the Rays’ stadium saga. Rather, I have been swamped with work and haven’t had a moment to really sit down and write a summary. Hopefully, as the week rolls into the weekend, I will have something around Saturday or Sunday. Thank you for your patience!