D-backs acquire Souza from the Rays and Widener from the Yankees

The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired OF Steven Souza Jr. (SOO-zuh) (@SouzaJr) from the Tampa Bay Rays and RHP Taylor Widener from the New York Yankees. The D-backs traded INF Brandon Drury to the Yankees and LHP Anthony Banda and 2 players to be named to the Rays. The Rays also acquired INF Nick Solak from the Yankees.
D-backs Executive Vice President & General Manager Mike Hazen (at Salt River Fields) & Steven Souza Jr. (via conference call) will be available tomorrow, February 21 (Time: TBD).
"We are excited to add a quality bat and defensive-minded outfielder to our team," said Hazen.
Souza, 28, was named the Rays' Most Valuable Player by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 2017 after he set career highs in most offensive categories, including games (148), runs (78), hits (125), doubles (21), triples (2), home runs (30), RBI (78), walks (84), slugging pct. (.459), OPS (.810) and stolen bases (16). Souza's 84 walks were tied for fifth in the American League, with Jose Bautista, behind Aaron Judge (127), Edwin Encarnacion (104), Mike Trout (94) and Carlos Santana (88). Souza's 7.35 plate appearance-to-walk ratio was sixth in the AL behind Judge (5.34), Trout (5.39), Encarnacion (6.43), Todd Frazier (6.94) and Joey Gallo (7.09).
Souza, a right-handed hitter, was 1 of 6 righties in in the Majors last season with 30+ home runs and 84+ walks, joining new teammate Paul Goldschmidt (36 HR/94 BB), Giancarlo Stanton (59 HR/85 BB), Encarnacion (38 HR/104 BB), Judge (52 HR/127 BB) and Trout (33 HR/94 BB). He also was 1 of 5 right-handed hitters with 30+ home runs and 16+ stolen bases along with Goldschmidt (36 HR/18 SB), Trout (33 HR/22 SB), Brian Dozier (34 HR/16 SB) and Wil Myers (30 HR/20 SB). Souza's 6 games with a home run and a stolen base were the most in the Majors.
The 6-4, 225-pounder played in 138 games (136 starts) in right field and 3 games (2 starts) in center last season, collecting an overall 7 defensive runs saved, tied for ninth-most in the AL. He also led the AL and was tied with Adam Duval for second in the Majors with 5 "5-Star" catches, defined by StatCast as any ball caught with a 0-to-25 pct. catch probability.
Souza has appeared in 399 Major League games over parts of 4 seasons with the Washington Nationals (2014) and Rays (2015-17). He is a career .236 AVG/.325 OBP/.426 SLG hitter with 53 doubles, 4 triples, 65 home runs, 169 RBI, 164 walks and 35 stolen bases. He was originally selected in the third round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft by the Nationals out of Cascade (Wash.) High School.
Widener, 23, will receive a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training. He made 27 starts for Single-A Tampa in 2017, going 7-8 with a 3.39 ERA (45 ER in 119.1 IP), 129 strikeouts, 50 walks and a .206 opponent average. He ranked among the Florida State League leaders in several categories, including opponent average (1st), WHIP (1st, 1.15), strikeouts (3rd) and ERA (T-3rd). He was promoted to Double-A Trenton for the Eastern League playoffs and went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (2 ER in 6.0 IP) and 8 strikeouts in 2 relief appearances, including throwing the final 5.0 innings (7 strikeouts) of a combined no-hitter vs. Binghamton on September 8.
The 6-0, 195-pounder has gone 10-8 with a 2.68 ERA (47 ER in 157.2 IP) and 188 strikeouts against 57 walks in 40 games (29 starts) over parts of 2 Minor League seasons. He was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina.
Drury, 25, hit .267 AVG (119-for-445)/.317 OBP/.447 SLG with 37 doubles, 2 triples, 13 home runs and 63 RBI in 135 games for the D-backs in 2017. In parts of 3 Major League seasons in Arizona, he batted .271 AVG/.319 OBP/.448 SLG with 71 doubles, 3 triples, 31 home runs and 124 RBI.
Banda, 24, made his Major League debut in 2017, going 2-3 with a 5.96 ERA (17 ER in 25.2 IP), 25 strikeouts and 10 walks in 8 games (4 starts). He was 40-34 with a 3.83 ERA and 625 strikeouts against 239 walks in 130 games (113 starts) over parts of 6 Minor League seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers (2012-14) and D-backs' systems (2014-17).
The D-backs have 39 players on their 40-man roster. There are still 59 players in Major League camp.