Three players placed on outright waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday have been claimed by other teams, and will be added to their 40-man rosters, with Cleveland Guardians claiming catcher Christian Bethancourt, while pitcher Jalen Beeks was taken by the Colorado Rockies and fellow left-hander Josh Fleming was grabbed by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bethancourt, who took over as the primary catcher for the Rays this year, finished with a slash line of .225/.254/.381 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in 104 games.
Beeks, who came to the Rays in 2018 in the deal that sent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to Boston, appeared in 30 games this year, going 2-3 with a 5.95 ERA and a 1.488 WHIP, with 42 hits and 21 walks allowed in 42.1 innings.
Fleming, a fifth round pick of the Rays in 2017, finished 2023 2-0 with a 4.70 ERA after being limited to just 12 big-league outings due to a left elbow injury.
Three other players — pitcher Cole Sulser, outfielder Raimel Tapia, and infielder Tristan Gray — all passed through outright waivers unclaimed and elected to become minor-league free agents.
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.
