With the Rule 5 Draft deadline approaching Tuesday, and some teams in need of making room on their 40-man rosters, the Indians and Rays completed a minor trade Monday. Tampa Bay sent right-hander Chih-Wei Hu to Cleveland in exchange for infielder Gionti Turner.
Hu, 25, made five relief appearances with the Rays in 2018, but he spent the majority of the season at Triple-A Durham. With Durham, he posted a 4.66 ERA in 24 games, including 19 starts, striking out 92 and walking 28 in 102 1/3 innings. With the Rays, he had a 4.15 ERA in 13 innings, striking out 12 and allowing just a .149 average against.
A native of Taiwan, Hu was initially acquired by the Rays in the 2015 deal that sent Kevin Jepsen to the Twins at the non-waiver Trade Deadline. He was a Sirius/XM All-Star Futures Game participant in 2016.
Hu goes from the Rays' 40-man roster, which now stands at 39 players, to the Indians' 40-man, which now stands at 36 players.
Turner, 18, does not need to be added to a 40-man roster. He was the Indians' 27-round draft pick this year and hit .296 (50-for-169) in the rookie-level Arizona League.