Rays add promising outfielder to 40-man roster after losing Jose Siri

The Jose Siri experience is now over for the Rays.

In a week where the stadium woes have dominated the news, the former Astros center fielder was dealt to the New York Mets.

Rays add minor league center fielder, Jake Mangum to 40-man roster

In a corresponding move, the Rays have added switch-hitting outfielder Jake Mangum to their 40-man roster.

The move didn't come as quite as big of a surprise to most, as Siri served a lot of time on the bench due to under-performance and attitude issues. Meanwhile, Jonny DeLuca's second half led many to believe the Rays had a cheaper, higher upside option.

Siri was due to make at least a solid payday in 2025, and the Rays desire to avoid paying anyone above the league minimum, especially for a player with as limited a ceiling as Siri's. He's failed to hit more than slightly below-average, with most of his value coming from the long ball.

His defense is always going to be elite with his big calling card in center, but the Rays decided it wasn't worth it.

Enter Mr. Mangum.

A similar glove-first type of outfielder, Mangum has yet to make his major-league debut, despite being at the advanced age of 28.

He's managed to put together fine seasons across all levels for the Mets, Marlins, and finally the Rays. The Mississippi native hovered around league-average in wRC+ through a very different approach than Siri.

Mangum does not hit many long balls, or at least he hasn't up to this point, instead providing value through a decent on-base rate and a solid amount of doubles.

It'd be unwise to suggest Mangum has some untapped power, as he's already made an adjustment to his swing in order to get at least serviceable pop, and making him more than a singles hitter.

His base running is above average, with a potential uptick in that category with the Rays' aggressive approach on the base paths.

All in all, the hope is that Mangum can be used scarcely as a potential injury replacement or a September call up as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

The Rays clearly have committed to DeLuca and his fun upside as an above-average center fielder in the field and average hitter, but it's always important to have built-in redundancies, which Mangum can serve as in that role.

If there's anything this team is known for, it is for building a fair amount of depth to withstand whatever injuries or under-achievements come during the 2025 season. It will be exciting to see how Mangum plays into the Rays athletic outfield core.