The Tampa Bay Rays have returned to the 40-man roster capacity Thursday, trading popular first baseman Ji-Man Choi to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor-league pitcher Jack Hartman, reinstating five players from the 60-day injured list to the big-league roster, and passing four more through waivers.
Choi, who was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Milwaukee Brewers June 10, 2018 in exchange for infielder Brad Miller, played 414 games for the Rays over his five seasons with the club. He finishes with a slash line of .245/.352/.431 with 52 home runs and 203 RBI. The 31-year-old is going into his final season before free agency.
Hartman, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft for Pittsburgh out of Appalachian State, made his professional debut in 2022 after missing all of 2021 having undergone Tommy John surgery. He went 0-1 with a 6.22 earned run average in 22 appearances with the Bradenton Marauders of the low-A Florida State League.
Tampa Bay also closed out their 60-day injured list, reinstating pitchers Shane Baz, J.P. Feyereisen, Andrew Kittredge, and Ryan Thompson along with second baseman Brandon Lowe to the active roster.
In addition, the Rays also announced Thursday that pitchers Nick Anderson, Brendan McKay, and Jimmy Yacabonis, and outfielder Roman Quinn passed through outright waivers unclaimed. McKay has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, while Anderson and Quinn each refused an assignment to Triple-A and became free agents. Yacabonis became a minor-league free agent.
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.
