Rays Designate Yoendrys Gomez, Activate Garrett Cleavinger

The Rays have designated right-hander Yoendrys Gomez for assignment, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin writes.  The move opens up a space on the 40-man roster to be used at a later date, and also creates 26-man roster space for Garrett Cleavinger‘s activation from the 15-day injured list.

Gomez is out of minor league options, and the Rays had to DFA the righty and expose him to waivers before they could potentially send him down to Triple-A via an outright assignment.  Because Gomez has previously been outrighted in his career, however, he has the ability to reject any other outrights and become a free agent, so it is possible today’s move could mark the end of his time in a Tampa uniform.

Tampa Bay just acquired Gomez from the White Sox last November, as Gomez and Steven Wilson were brought into the fold in exchange for Everson Pereira and Tanner Murray.  The trade hasn’t helped the Rays much to date, as Wilson is on the 60-day IL due to back problems and Gomez posted a 6.23 ERA over 17 1/3 relief innings.

Gomez’s 15.9% strikeout rate isn’t much higher than his 12.2% walk rate, and control has been an issue for the right-hander throughout his time in the minors and majors.  Once a notable pitching prospect in the Yankees’ farm system, Gomez hasn’t yet turned that promise into results at the MLB level, as he has a 5.11 ERA over 93 1/3 innings with the Rays, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees over parts of the last four seasons.

Another team might have interest in Gomez’s ability to work as a multi-inning reliever, or could still see him as a late breakout candidate.  This could mean Gomez is claimed off waivers, or Gomez could test the market directly by opting for free agency.

Cleavinger had an ugly 7.71 ERA over his first 2 1/3 innings and three games of the 2026 campaign, but the southpaw has been a reliable member of Tampa’s bullpen since the 2022 season.  Cleavinger will now step back into his former role as the top left-handed option in the Rays’ bullpen, with the struggling Ian Seymour still in the mix as the other lefty.