Fastball

Tampa Bay Rays Designate Former Trade Acquisition Austin Shenton For Assignment

Shenton was acquired in a deal with the Seattle Mariners back in 2021 and never could quite gain a footing with the Rays.

Brady Farkas

Tampa Bay Rays first base Austin Shenton (54) hits a single against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Tropicana Field on May 10.
Tampa Bay Rays first base Austin Shenton (54) hits a single against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Tropicana Field on May 10. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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The Tampa Bay Rays designated former solid trade acquisition Austin Shenton for assignment on Monday. The team needed to open up a 40-man roster spot in order to protect players from the Rule-5 Draft. Though the draft is in December, the deadline to have players on your roster is Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.

Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun had the news on social media:

The Rays have added LHP Joe Rock and LHP Ian Seymour to the major league roster.

To make room on the 40-man roster, INF Austin Shenton has been designated for assignment.

Additionally, the Rays have agreed to terms to a 2025 major league contract with RHP Cole Sulser.

Shenton was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in 2021 as the M's brought in reliever Diego Castillo and outfielder Denard Span. Back in 2022, Shenton was listed as the No. 20 prospect in the Rays organization, per MLB.com.

He was ranked No. 19 for Seattle in 2021, so he comes with a bit of a pedigree. As a result of being DFA'd, the Rays will have nearly a week to trade him or make him a free agent. Given his age (27), former prospect status and output with the bat, it wouldn't be surprising to see someone take a low-cost flier on him.

Though he's had a problem with strikeouts, he did hit 20 homers this past season at Triple-A Durham. He hit 29 minor league homers in 2023. He made his major league debut in 2024, playing in 19 games for the Rays.

Shenton hit .214.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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