Rays Announce Several Roster Moves

The Rays on Tuesday placed righty Tyler Wells on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his right forearm, retroactive to September 13. Tampa Bay also reinstated outfielder Jake Fraley from the 60-day IL, recalled righty Alex Cook from Triple-A Durham and optioned catcher Kenny Piper to Durham. In order to open a 40-man spot for Fraley’s return, the Rays recalled injured outfielder Jacob Melton from Durham and placed him on the major league 60-day IL.

The team hasn’t provided any details on the Wells injury or how much time he is expected to miss. He last pitched on Saturday and there wasn’t any indication that anything was amiss. Perhaps the tightness emerged in the days following that outing. Or perhaps his forearm has been bugging him for a bit and the Rays waited to clinch a playoff spot. If the issue is minor, Wells can sit out the rest of the regular season and be back for the playoffs. If the Rays secure a first-round bye, he can rest a few days more.

If it’s anything more significant than that, the Rays will lose a key bullpen arm for the postseason. Since being acquired from the Orioles at the deadline, he has given Tampa 18 innings with three earned runs allowed, giving him an ERA of 1.50. There’s some good luck in there but his 28.8% strikeout rate is strong and his 7.6% walk rate better than average as well.

When combined with his work for Baltimore earlier in the season, he now has a 2.38 ERA, 26% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate in 72 innings this year. He had largely been a starter before UCL surgery wiped out most of his 2024 and 2025 seasons. He has been moved to a relief role this year with great success. He has six saves and 14 holds between the two clubs.

The Rays are still trying to lock down the East division title and a first-round bye, currently holding a lead of 3.5 games over the Yankees. While Wells is out, they will try to finish that job with Kevin Kelly, Cam Booser and Cole Sulser in setup roles in front of closer Bryan Baker. Wells can jump back into that mix whenever he’s healthy again.

Fraley’s season has largely been lost to injury. A hernia put him on the IL in May and he underwent surgery shortly thereafter. He started a rehab assignment at the end of June but he hit a setback and has only ramped up again more recently.

The Rays signed him to a $3MM deal in the offseason, hoping he could be a solid platoon outfielder for them. A left-handed hitter, he hasn’t hit southpaws in his career but has a .259/.341/.429 line and 112 wRC+ against righties. He can also steal some bases and play competent defense in an outfield corner. The Rays haven’t seen a return on that investment yet, as Fraley hit .232/.300/.390 in 90 plate appearances before hitting the IL.

Fraley might be kept in a bench role for now. Víctor Mesa Jr. has been having a tremendous breakout season and has been getting most of the playing time in right. Chandler Simpson has been the regular in left and has subpar offense but has created value with 41 stolen bases and strong defense. Both are lefties, so Fraley might find it hard to get regular playing time.

As for Melton, he was a key piece of the Brandon Lowe trade in the offseason but that pick-up hasn’t panned out for Tampa just yet. He has been on and off the IL in the minors this year and has only appeared in 45 Triple-A games. This move means the Rays don’t expect him back this year. The one upside is that he will get a few days of service time and big league pay. The IL goes away five days after the World Series, so he will need to be added back to the 40-man at that point.