A slew of moves are made tonight to protect key prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The C.J. Cron era in Tampa Bay was short-lived. Tonight, ahead of the 8 PM reserve list deadline, the Rays DFA their 30-HR hitting slugger as one of many moves to make room on the 40-man roster. Other names DFA tonight are RHP Oliver Drake and LHP Hoby Milner. RHP Jose Mujica was outrighted to the minor leagues and removed from the 40-man.
The additions to the 40-man and protected from next month’s Rule 5 Draft:
LHP Kyle Bird – The 25-year old went 3-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 43 games between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham in 2018.
LHP Brock Burke – The 2018 Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He went 9-6 with a 3.08 ERA in 25 games between A Charlotte and AA Montgomery. The 22-year old led all Rays minor league pitchers with 158 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.
RHP Ian Gibaut – Went 4-3 with a 2.09 ERA and 14 saves in 2018 for Durham. The 25-year old is 16-7 with a 2.25 ERA in 142 minor league appearances.
1B/OF Joe McCarthy – Hit .269/.377/.513 in 47 games at Durham in 2018. Ranked by MLB.com #17 in the Rays organization.
OF Jesus Sanchez – Hit .282/.324/.433 between Charlotte and Montgomery with 32 doubles, 11 HR, and 75 RBI in 117 games.
From career-high to bye bye
It may come as a shock to Rays fans that Cron was DFA instead of traded. Though they still could find a trade partner for the 28-year old who is coming off a career-year in every category. He hit 30 home runs and drove in 74 in 140 games – all career-bests.
Cron was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels back in February.
