The minor leagues will get underway May 4 for the first time since the end of the 2019 campaign, and the Tampa Bay rays released their rosters for the four full-season teams they are afilliated with.
The #Rays released their full-season minor league rosters Friday. As expected SS Wander Franco starts at AAA Durham, RHP Shane Baz begins with AA Montgomery. pic.twitter.com/x6vuZrVyJg
— Steve Carney (@stevecarney) April 30, 2021
As reported earlier in the week, shortstop Wander Franco, the top prospect in the game for the second consecutive season, will begin the year with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. Pitcher Shane Baz, the third piece of the deal for pitcher Chris Archer, begins 2021 in Double-A with the Montgomery Biscuits. The Bowling Green Hot Rods, who had been the Rays Low-A affiliate, moves up to High-A, while the Charleston Riverdogs become the team’s Low-A affiliate.
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.
