Rays Outright Jake Woodford

The Rays have sent right-hander Jake Woodford outright to Triple-A Durham, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

It’s not a surprise that Woodford cleared. He has been an innings-eating journeyman for a long time now. Teams mostly add him to the roster when they want to spare their other arms from being overworked. Dating back to the start of 2023, Woodford has pitched for the Cardinals, White Sox, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Cubs and Rays, posting a combined earned run average of 7.00 across 146 2/3 innings. Woodford wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club and the regular season is done, so there are no more innings that need eating.

Woodford has been previously outrighted in the past, which gives him the right to elect free agency. The log doesn’t indicate whether or not he will do so. If he wants, he can jump into offseason mode right now. He could also decide to stick with the Rays just in case they suffer a few postseason injuries and need to grab some fresh arms in October. He would become a free agent at season’s end even if he took that path, as is the case for all outrighted players with at least three years of big league service time.