Tuesday was an extremely busy day around Major League Baseball.
Most teams were involved in some sort of trades, signings, or the worst of all, releases. That included the Tampa Bay Rays, as they designated for assignment both Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley.
Morel, a utilityman, was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Chicago Cubs prior to the 2024 MLB trade deadline. He tallied 451 at-bats, managing just a.208 average while striking out at a rate as high as 35.7% in 2025. Morel posted a -1.1 WAR in his 1 1/2 season with the Rays, well below the 2.7 in his time with the Cubs.
Fraley, a veteran outfielder, never touched the field for the Rays, as he was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves in early November. Due to injuries, Fraley tallied just 76 games between Atlanta and the Cincinnati Reds.
The decisions to DFA Morel and Fraley were due to several transactions made throughout the day from Tampa Bay. The headlining moves were the acquisitions of pitchers Steven Wilson and Yoendrys Gomez from the Chicago White Sox.
It is likely that both Morel and Fraley will land new gigs rather quickly, as they do both possess an immense amount of talent in their own respective days.
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