Rays release former Royals' promising relief pitcher

The Tampa Bay Rays have made the difficult decision of releasing a very talented left-handed pitcher. 30-year old hurler Jake Brentz was originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2013 MLB draft out of Parkway South High School. However, the Missouri native spent a lot of time in the minors before finally making his debut in 2021 with the Kansas City Royals. The hard-throwing reliever showed some very promising numbers in his rookie season, but a few lingering injuries forced him to miss most of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.

Brentz was searching for a path to return to the big leagues when the Rays signed him to a minor league deal in December. He would still have to earn his way onto the roster, but this was the opportuntiy that he longed for after missing back-to-back seasons. Unfortunately, the 6'1 lefty struggled with his command all spring as he produced a 6.23 ERA with seven walks in only 4.1 innings.

His short stint with the Rays certainly wasn't all negative. Brentz was actually able to impress the club with his electric velocity as he sat in the upper 90s the majority of his five outings. Nonetheless, this game is rarely forgiving and the injury-ridden reliever was likely already on a short leash due to the deep bullpen depth of the Rays.

Brentz's time with the Royals earlier in his career was a different story as he was able to exhibit very promising production. In his rookie season in 2021, he tossed 64 innings out of the Kansas City bullpen, finishing with a 5-2 record and a 3.66 ERA. Any club would add those results to their relief core in a heartbeat.

Although, the 2022 season began his slow decline as he started to experience unfortunate injuries that would end up sidelining him until this year's spring training. Brentz completed his Royals tenure with a 5.19 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 69 innings of work.

As we approach Opening Day, it's likely that Jake Brentz will go another year without toeing the rubber for a major league organization. Nevertheless, we wish this left-hander the best in his arduous journey and we hope another team gives him a chance to show off his outstanding abilities.