ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—In advance of tonight’s reserve list deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays have selected three players to their 40-man roster: outfielder Josh Lowe, right-handed pitcher Drew Strotman and infielder Taylor Walls. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays have designated infielder/outfielder Brian O’Grady and outfielder Hunter Renfroe for assignment.

Lowe (low), 22, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. He is a career .253/.336/.398 (373-for-1,476) hitter with 37 home runs, 190 RBI and 72 stolen bases over four minor league seasons and is currently ranked by MLB.com as the No. 10 prospect in the Rays system. Following the 2020 season, he was tabbed by Baseball America as the Best Defensive Outfielder in the Rays system for a third consecutive year. He spent the 2019 season with Double-A Montgomery, batting .252/.341/.442 (113-for-448) with 18 home runs, 62 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 121 games. He was named to the midseason Southern League All-Star Team and ranked among league leaders in runs (70, tied for second), home runs (tied for fifth), RBI (ninth), extra-base hits (45, sixth), total bases (198, fourth), walks (59, tied for sixth) and stolen bases (third). He tied for third among Rays minor leaguers in home runs, tied for seventh in RBI, tied for second in extra-base hits and ranked third in stolen bases. He was selected in the first round (13th overall) of the 2016 June Draft out of Pope (Ga.) High School and signed a letter of intent to play at Florida State University before signing with the Rays. He is the younger brother of Rays first baseman/third baseman, Nate.

Strotman, 24, was not part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season but pitched in the Instructional League in October. He is 5-6 with a 2.98 ERA (120.2-IP, 40-ER) in 29 appearances (25 starts) over three minor league seasons. In 2019, he went 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA (24-IP, 12-ER) in nine starts between the GCL Rays and Class-A Charlotte. He made his season debut on July 11, returning from Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. Koco Eaton on June 11, 2018. He made six starts for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League and ended the 2019 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 25 prospect in the Rays system. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 June Draft out of St. Mary’s College of California.

Walls, 24, was part of the Rays 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and spent the summer at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla. He is a career .277/.364/.414 (276-for-998) hitter with 17 home runs, 124 RBI and 64 stolen bases over three minor league seasons and is currently ranked by MLB.com as the No. 17 prospect in the Rays system. Following the 2020 season, he was tabbed by Baseball America as the Best Defensive Infielder and Best Infield Arm in the Rays system. In 2019, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations department for a second consecutive year. He split the season between Class-A Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery, earning Florida State League midseason All-Star honors and batting .270/.343/.452 (99-for-367) with 10 home runs, 46 RBI and 28 stolen bases between the two levels. He ranked among Rays minor leaguers in extra-base hits (40, tied for eighth) and stolen bases (fourth). He was selected in the third round of the 2017 June Draft out of Florida State University, where he was captain of the 2017 team that advanced to the College World Series. He was the highest-drafted FSU shortstop since Stephen Drew in 2004.

O’Grady, 28, spent the majority of the 2020 season at the alternate training site outside of two stints with the Rays from August 4-5 and August 29–September 1. He appeared in 2 games (one start), both during his second stint on the active roster. He was acquired by the Rays from the Cincinnati Reds in November 2019. He is a career .213/.302/.447 (10-for-47) hitter over two major league seasons.

Renfroe, 28, appeared in 42 games and made 34 starts in his first season with the Rays, batting .156/.252/.393 (19-for-122) with five doubles, eight home runs and 22 RBI. He was on the Rays roster for the entirety of the postseason and appeared in 12 games and made 6 starts of the team’s 20 postseason games, batting .174/.208/.478 (4-for-23) with two home runs and 7 RBI. In Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, he hit the first grand slam in Rays postseason history and became the second player in major league history to see his first career postseason hit go for a grand slam, joining CIN Mark Lewis in 1995. In Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he became the first player in World Series history to homer and record two outfield assists in the same game. He was acquired by the Rays from the San Diego Padres in December 2019 and is a .228/.290/.486 (330-for-1,445) hitter over five major league seasons.