Tampa Bay Rays Newcomer Jamie Westbrook Shows Out at Plate, Flashes on Defense

BRADENTON, Fla. — Despite starting him at second base on Friday, manager Kevin Cash still isn't all too familiar with Jamie Westbrook.

The 29-year-old utility man signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. He subbed in against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, then saw more action two days later against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Westbrook, who was targeted by the Rays' scouting department, finished Friday's Grapefruit League contest 2-for-3 at the plate. He hit a leadoff double in the third and a single in the sixth, on top of making a difficult sliding play in the first and turning a double play in the sixth.

"A guy that, when we signed, I didn't know much about him," Cash said. "But our scouts that signed him said he's a guy that can swing the bat – looks comfortable with a bat in his hands."

Westbrook made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2024, more than a decade after the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him straight out of high school. He wound up spending the better part of five seasons in Double-A before getting shots in Triple-A with the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

"That's a long time to be able to kind of withstand that," Cash said. "Shows you something about the guy."

Across 1,212 minor league appearances, Westbrook is a .279 hitter with a .782 OPS, averaging 18 home runs, 32 doubles, 85 RBIs and seven stolen bases per 162 games.

Westbrook jumped right onto a team that opened camp with 74 players, and he did so later than he ever had in his long career. His defense already earned praise from starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot, though, who said the Rays' clubhouse atmosphere is set up to spark rapport quickly.

"The locker room's the locker room, you go around and hang out with everybody," said pitcher Ryan Pepiot. "There's a little circle of people talking? I'm gonna hop in there and hang out and shoot it up with guys and it's just fun."

It remains to be seen how long Westbrook will be a member of that group, considering the Rays will start reassigning players to their minor league camp in mid-March. After that, the team will have to lock down a 26-man Opening Day roster.

There don't seem to be any nerves in the dugout just yet, which manager Kevin Cash credited to the team's longstanding veterans.

"You can try to communicate as much as possible, keep them comfortable," Cash said. "I think we've got enough older players here that have probably helped along with where to be, what to do, what not to do, all that type of stuff."

The Rays lost 3-2 to the Pirates on Friday, despite Westbrook's best efforts. Their next contest is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday against the New York Mets.