Jacob

Waguespack

Rodriguez made four relief appearances for the Brewers last season and figures to occupy a swingman-type role once he gets back to the big leagues. Williams was the big prize for Milwaukee in the Freddy Peralta trade back in the offseason and offers enough power/speed combo upside to make an impact in fantasy leagues once he reaches the majors. He isn’t too far away.

The Rays thought they had something interesting in Waguespack a couple of years ago, but he went on to miss most of 2024 with shoulder issues and he didn’t impress them enough in the minors to get a chance last season. He wound up with a 2.45 ERA and a 31/11 K/BB in 33 innings as a Triple-A reliever, with the last 10 of his 25 appearances coming after the Phillies picked him up. He’ll be a long shot to win a spot in the Milwaukee pen this spring.

Waguespack heads to Philadelphia as organizational relief depth. The 31-year-old righty was cut loose back in late July by the Rays after missing the last few months at Triple-A Durham due to injury.

The 31-year-old hurler had been designated for assignment earlier in the week and now gets the boot from the roster altogether. Waguespack has been sidelined since late May due to an undisclosed injury that he suffered at Triple-A Durham.

The Rays needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the return of Jonny DeLuca on Friday and Waguespack became the unfortunate roster casualty. The 31-year-old hurler has spent the entire season at Triple-A Durham where he posted a scintillating 0.46 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and an 18/4 K/BB ratio over 19 2/3 innings of work before landing on the injured list with an undisclosed injury in late May.

Simpson is the headliner here for fantasy purposes since his top-of-the-scale speed gives him immediate mixed-league relevance once the Rays opt to give him a shot in the big leagues following a surreal 104-steal campaign last year between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. Williams is universally regarded as the organization’s top prospect and offers some serious power-speed combo potential. He’s a phenomenal defender, which will keep his bat in Tampa Bay’s lineup, but there are some serious contact concerns, which he may never solve and limit his ceiling.

Waguespack was limited to just four appearances (one start) this past season due to a shoulder injury after spending the prior two years overseas in Japan. The 30-year-old figures to operate in a versatile swingman role for Tampa Bay, which is highly unlikely to translate into a tangible impact for fantasy managers.

Both pitchers had to be added to the 40-man roster by today, so this is mainly a procedural move. McClanahan was reportedly healthy enough to pitch in MLB games at the end of the 2024 season, but the Rays had nothing to plan for, so he’ll return to the mound in 2025. He will be more than 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery by opening day and should be in the rotation and headed for around 140-150 innings for Tampa Bay. As one of the better pitchers in baseball, he could be back on the radar as a fantasy ace as early as next season.

Waguespack is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list July 7. The 30-year-old right-hander went down with a shoulder strain, and he has a chance to help the Tampa Bay pitching staff — but probably not fantasy managers — in the second-half of the year.

The procedural move opens up a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster for newly-acquired lefty Richard Lovelady. Waguespack hit the injured list earlier this month with a right shoulder strain.