The Tampa Bay Rays announced after Friday’s Grapefruit League game that they have acquired outfielder Luke Raley from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor-league pitcher Tanner Dodson.
The 27-year-old outfielder made his major league debut in 2021 with the Dodgers, appearing in 33 games with 15 starts. He hit .162/.250/.288 with a pair of homers and four runs batted in in 72 plate appearances.
Raley was selected in the seventh round of the 2016 draft out of Lake Erie Colege by the Dodgers, was traded to the Twins in 2018 in the deal that brought Brian Dozier to Los Angeles, and was reqacuired in 2020 in the Kenta Maeda trade.
To make room for Raley on the 40-man roster, pitcher Yonny Chirinos (recovery from Tommy John surgery) was placed on the 60-day injured list.
He and reliever Brooks Raley, who the Rays signed as a free agent in the off-season, are not related.
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.
