Rays trade for former No. 5 overall prospect, give up just a bit of cash

Billy Heyen

Rays trade for former No. 5 overall prospect, give up just a bit of cash image

The Tampa Bay Rays are used to trying to find value where others don't see it.

How about a former top-10 prospect for just some cash considerations?

That's what the Rays did on Friday, acquiring Astros right-handed pitcher Forrest Whitley in exchange for cash considerations, per MLB.com.

At his peak entering the 2019 season, Whitley was ranked the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America.

Now 27 years old, Whitley was just designated for assignment by the Astros.

The 2016 17th-overall pick has only made it into eight MLB games and has an 8.44 ERA at the highest level.

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He spent most of this season so far with Triple-A Sugar Land, where he made six bullpen appearances with a 4.76 ERA.

Whitley missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, likely stunting his development.

This may turn out to be an irrelevant move, but it's a chance worth taking for the Rays. 

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They don't get guys like Whitley at full strength. They get them when they're down and try to prop them back up again.

Whitley certainly must hope that the Rays' magic works for him, too.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle