Tampa Bay Rays trade Austin Pruitt to Astros

Thursday night stayed busy for the Tampa Bay Rays as they completed a second deal, this time with the Houston Astros.

The Tampa Bay Rays sent right-handed pitcher Austin Pruitt to the Houston Astros for outfielder Cal Stevenson and pitcher Peyton Battenfield.

The 30-year-old Pruitt was drafted by Tampa Bay in the ninth round of the 2013 draft. He made his MLB debut in 2017 at the age of 27-years-old.

Pruitt has a career ERA of 4.87. He has logged 199.2 major league innings with 147 strikeouts and a 1.36 WHIP.

His career strikeout rate stands at 6.6 per nine with a respectable 2.3 walks per nine. Pruitt was born in Texas and attended the University of Houston.

Pruitt is expected to immediately compete for a back-end rotation spot with the Houston Astros.

The Rays will receive left-handed outfielder, Cal Stevenson and right-handed pitcher, Peyton Battenfield.

Cal Stevenson is 23-years-old and was taken in the 36th round of the MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 770 minor league plate appearances, Stevenson has slashed .315/.433/.431 with 34 stolen bases, 30 doubles, 11 triples, and seven homers.

Peyton Battenfield was taken in the ninth round of last season’s draft by the Astros. He only appeared in 39.1 minor league innings last season. In a small sample size, he posted a 1.60 ERA, .97 WHIP, and struck out 46 batters in the 39.1 innings.

In three seasons at Oklahoma State, he posted a career 4.19 ERA in 122 innings, striking out 140 batters with a 1.38 WHIP.

The trade allows the Rays to add two talented players to their stacked Minor League pool after trading Matthew Liberatore for Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena. With the move, the Rays are able to clear Austin Pruitt’s spot on the 40-man roster.

What do you think of the Rays’ off-season so far?