ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays parted with a controllable starter on Friday to significantly bolster their Minor League system, trading Shane Baz to the Orioles for four prospects and a 2026 Draft pick.
In exchange for Baz, the Rays received outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and a Competitive Balance Round A pick, No. 33 overall.
TRADE DETAILS
Rays get: OF Slater de Brun, C Caden Bodine, RHP Michael Forret, OF Austin Overn, Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick
Orioles get: RHP Shane Baz
All four prospects will join Tampa Bay’s Top 30 Prospects list, according to MLB Pipeline: Forret at No. 5, de Brun at No. 6, Bodine at No. 11 and Overn at No. 20. The Competitive Balance Round A pick will give the Rays another opportunity to add talent, and even more bonus pool space, in a Draft where they will pick second overall.
But that return came at the cost of Baz, a 26-year-old right-hander with a ton of upside coming off his first full, healthy season in the Majors. The former first-round pick, acquired from the Pirates as part of the Chris Archer trade in 2018, posted a 4.87 ERA with 176 strikeouts over 166 1/3 innings while making a career-high 31 starts this past season.
Dealing Baz creates an opening in Tampa Bay’s rotation, although it could be filled from within or by signing a free agent. The Rays are set to have Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot and Steven Matz on their starting staff, and they could turn to Ian Seymour, Joe Boyle, Yoendrys Gómez or Jesse Scholtens to round out the group if they don’t add another veteran.
For Baz, the Rays received a haul that was immediately regarded as significant by rival evaluators. De Brun and Bodine were both first-round picks by the Orioles in the 2025 Draft.
Perhaps ironically, the toolsy de Brun landed in Baltimore with the Competitive Balance Round A selection that Tampa Bay dealt away in exchange for former Orioles reliever Bryan Baker. Bodine has received rave reviews for his defensive work behind the plate, and the Rays are always in search of long-term solutions at catcher.
Forret was a 14th-round pick in the 2023 Draft who posted a 1.58 ERA and 0.82 WHIP at two Minor League levels this year and finished the season in Double-A. The right-hander ranked second among all Minor League pitchers (minimum 70 innings) in both ERA and WHIP, and his .157 opponents’ average was the fifth-lowest mark in the Minors (minimum 260 batters faced).
Overn was a third-round pick in 2024 who hit .249/.355/.399 with 13 homers and 64 steals across two levels this year while also finishing in Double-A.
The Rays could pivot and use some of their newfound prospect depth to fortify their big league roster, as they’ve been rumored to have interest in D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte.
Or they could be focusing on the future, as the Baz trade came on the same day they were working toward a three-team trade sending second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery to the Pirates in exchange for Astros prospects Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito.