The final spot the Tampa Bay Rays may need in order to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft may have just been cleared, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Rays have traded pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. to the Oakland Athletics.
Right-hander Brent Honeywell is headed to the Oakland A’s in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 19, 2021
According to Athletics beat writer Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury-News, Tampa Bay will not receive any players in return for Honeywell, only cash.
No A’s players are headed to Tampa Bay in the trade, I’m told. Just cash. https://t.co/AtrH9kNIWb
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) November 19, 2021
After missing three full seasons due to multiple elbow surgeries, Honeywell finally made his big-league debut on April 11. He pitched in three games at the big-league level, compiling no record and a 8.31 earned run average, giving up four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The 26-year-old was at one point the Rays top pitching prospect, but he was going into 2022 out of options and unlikely to be a part of Tampa Bay’s starting rotation.
The Rays have not confirmed the trade, but the 40-man roster would sit at 36.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
