Rays acquire recently DFA'd Tigers outfielder for roster depth

Tampa Bay struck a deal with the Tigers and fortunately, it didn't include a franchise star as the centerpiece. The Rays only lost some cash for a 25-year-old outfielder. Justyn-Henry Malloy was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Georgia Tech University. The New York native finished his college career with an impressive .308 AVG with 11 home runs. Malloy primarily played third base for the Yellow Jackets. He has transitioned to the outfield to better accommodate his ML pathway. The Rays are hoping to utilize his talented bat and flexible defensive abilities for the 2026 season.

Malloy's journey through the minor leagues was rather swift as he was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett in less than two seasons. However, the 6'1 utility man was traded to Detroit for reliever Joe Jimenez in 2022. His path to the majors was interrupted a little bit as he didn't make his debut with the Tigers until 2024.

In 2024, Justyn-Henry Malloy appeared in 71 games and produced a .203/.291/.366 slash line. He also collected eight homers to go along with 85 strikeouts. His strikeout rate was on a very concerning track in his rookie campaign as he finished the year striking out 42% of the time. His 2025 season was significantly worse in terms of power, but the right-handed outfielder struck out only 31% of his at-bats and produced an improved .221 AVG.

Despite the low offensive contribution, the Rays are banking on the young athlete's vast improvements and obvious talents. Also, Malloy will be fighting for a roster spot heading into Opening Day as the outfield situation in Tampa is pretty crowded. The front office has made some efforts to give some depth chart space to those positions when they traded former fan-favorite Jake Mangum and designated Christopher Morel for assignment.

The likely starters in the Tampa outfield are Cedric Mullins (CF), Josh Lowe (RF), and Chandler Simpson (LF). Although, the Rays previous center fielder Jonny DeLuca will get plenty of reps and Richie Palacios will certainly be in the mix. Also, recently acquired Jacob Melton, Jake Fraley, and Ryan Vilade will be stern competition during Spring Training, leaving Malloy with a difficult road ahead for a role on the MLB club. Nevertheless, competition brings the best out of players, and it will be interesting to see which of the talented outfielders will come on top.