The Tampa Bay Rays have made a free agent move to add to their pitching depth.
They've done it by signing a player who was once a first-round pick to a contract.
The new face for Tampa Bay is Jake Woodford, with the deal reported by Steve Adams.
Woodford was a first-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015.
He made his MLB debut in 2020 and spent parts of four seasons pitching for St. Louis.
In his time with the Cardinals, the 6-foot-4 right-hander had a 4.29 ERA. That included his best season, of a 2.23 ERA, in 2022.
He then began the 2024 season with the Chicago White Sox, but he made just two MLB appearances there.
Then it was on to seven more big league outings with the Pittsburgh Pirates before 2024 concluded.
In 2025, Woodford threw in 22 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks and had a 6.44 ERA. He struck out 23 batters in 36.1 innings pitched.
Woodford just turned 29 years old in October.
The Rays are known for their pitching development skills, so this is a chance for Woodford to get smart eyes on him and potentially extend his MLB career. Tampa Bay doesn't shell out a lot of money to its relief corps, so there are a lot of journeyman types like Woodford who will hope to impress in the spring and earn an MLB roster spot.
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