Rays trade for Tampa native bulk pitcher, DFA minor league infielder

Alex Faedo is a Ray, Osleivis Basabe has been DFAd, and catcher Enderson Delgado is a Tiger.

Local Alex Faedo is now with his hometown team; will he be a starter, a reliever, or a bit of both? It will be an interesting storyline to monitor in Spring Training.
Local Alex Faedo is now with his hometown team; will he be a starter, a reliever, or a bit of both? It will be an interesting storyline to monitor in Spring Training. | Jason Miller/GettyImages

Alright time for a victory lap, because we called it.

We wrote about Alex Faedo when he was first DFAd by the Tigers, outlining his fit with the team and all the reasons for the Rays to either invest in (or stay away from) the former Florida Gator.

But now he's officially in a Rays uniform, with the team announcing their trade of catcher Enderson Delgado to the Detroit Tigers Monday afternoon in exchange for Alex Faedo, with a corresponding DFA of middle infielder Osleivis Basabe to make room on their 40-man roster.

Is this bigger than the recent Luka Doncic trade? Maybe not, but regardless, the Rays add yet another depth piece to their treasure trove of arms they can deploy in a variety of ways.

While the previous article we wrote about Faedo's prospects focused on his status as a reliever, because that's primarily how the Tigers used him, there's absolutely a world where the Rays shift his focus towards more of a bulk/starting role in their pitching staff.

While the Rays have more starting pitchers than they have rotation spots, as every team in baseball knows, injuries can make that depth disappear very quickly.

Faedo was primarily used as a reliever last year, but the good news is that he came up as a starting pitcher, racking up 100+ inning totals in 2018 and 2019 after being drafted in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

The common joke surrounding any deal the Rays make involving a pitcher is that he's going to be a Cy Young candidate within the year, and while Faedo has some upside, that might be too much to put upon a player recently DFAd by a team like the Tigers who could still use starting pitcher depth.

He's not without his flaws or his warts, but Faedo provides more stability as someone who has spent 2 seasons and thrown 175+ innings in the majors both as a starter and as a reliever.

The Rays know more than most that you can never have enough pitching, and the competition between Faedo and other potential bulk arms will be fierce, especially as minor injuries pop up undoubtedly pop up throughout their pitching staff during Spring Training.

On the other side of the coin, the Rays having to part ways with middle infielder Osleivis Basabe to make room on their 40-man roster was expected, as he was the odd man out in their group of infielders, and they sent catching prospect Enderson Delgado to Detroit in the deal.

Basabe could never quite figure it out as he reached the higher levels of the Rays' system, failing to reach a 100 wRC+ mark in AAA or during his brief time at the major-league level over the past couple seasons.

While not enough playing time to truly make a definitive statement about his defense, his early returns at short weren't great, as he posted a -2 OAA mark at the position over 156 innings with the Rays.

Delgado is a 20-year-old switch-hitting catcher that hit quite well last season in the complex league and at A, as he managed a 133 wRC+ over both levels in 2024.

His bat might not reach those levels as he advances through the higher levels of organized ball, as FanGraphs gives his hit and game power tools a future value of 30 each (not great), but he could be good enough defensively to stick around and progress, with a 60 future value for his glove.

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