Astros To Acquire Evan Reifert

9:05pm CT: The Rays will receive cash in the trade, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

8:39pm CT: The Astros have acquired right-hander Evan Reifert in a deal with the Rays, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Reifert is coming off a solid year at Triple-A, recording a 2.48 ERA across 46 appearances with Durham. He’ll now head to Houston in search of his first chance in the majors.

The 27-year-old Reifert has spent the majority of his pro career with the Rays. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Brewers in 2020. Milwaukee sent him to Tampa Bay after one season in a deal that netted infielder Mike Brosseau.

Reifert has routinely put up massive strikeout numbers in the minors, but it’s almost always come with an untenable walk rate. He did manage a 9.9% walk rate in 35 games at Double-A in 2024, to go with an excellent 40.4% strikeout rate. That was enough for the Nationals to select him with the fifth pick in the Rule 5 Draft. Reifert walked 12 in seven Spring Training games. Washington returned him to the Rays shortly before Opening Day.

Tampa Bay bumped Reifert to Triple-A for the first time in 2025. He recorded a 2.48 ERA over 29 innings. He’s posted nearly identical stat lines the past two years with the Bulls, including a strikeout rate around 39% and a walk rate just over 14%. The fact that he’s still missing bats at the highest minor league level is an encouraging sign. The control remains the issue and is likely what has held him back from getting a big-league look up to this point.

Reifert leans heavily on a slider that sits in the low-80s. He’s thrown the pitch more than 50% of the time at Triple-A. The righty has used a sinker about a third of the time with Durham. A 93.5 mph four-seamer rounds out his arsenal.