Rays, Jake Woodford Agree To Minor League Deal

The Rays are signing right-hander Jake Woodford to a minor league contract, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. He elected free agency after being waived by the Cubs last week.

Woodford has some familiarity with the Rays’ coaching staff. He was with the team in Spring Training after signing an offseason minor league deal. Woodford failed to break camp with Tampa Bay but leveraged an upward mobility clause into an MLB roster spot with Milwaukee. He has spent the regular season in a low-leverage role between the Brewers and Cubs.

The 29-year-old has combined for 26 1/3 innings of 7.18 ERA ball over 18 appearances. He has finished 16 of those contests, as Woodford essentially only sees action as a long man in a blowout. Chicago pushed him off the roster by acquiring multiple pitchers on deadline day.

Tampa Bay can keep Woodford stretched out in a multi-inning role at Triple-A Durham. They recently placed Griffin Jax on the injured list and may need to rely on a few bullpen games to navigate one of their rotation spots.