Fastball

Tampa Bay Rays Trade Acquisition Joe Boyle Turning Heads Because of Elite Stuff

Boyle, acquired from the Athletics on Sunday, features an arsenal of big-time stuff that the Rays will try to harness.

Brady Farkas

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Joe Boyle (35) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Aug 24.
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Joe Boyle (35) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Aug 24. / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
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On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays traded left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs to the Athletics for a package highlighted by pitching prospect Joe Boyle.

The 25-year-old Missouri native made his major league debut in 2023 and has 16 games of experience under his belt at the major league-level. He's gone 5-6 with a 5.23 ERA in that time period.

However, when you look under the hood, people are very excited about what Boyle has the potential to bring to the Rays.

Per Rays Metrics on social media:

The Rays have acquired Joe Boyle (25) from OAK. He has an incredibly lively 4-seam that has been up to 102, and a devastating slider to go with it.

The command however is bottom tier and the Rays will try to get him in the zone more often. He has worked in both SP and RP roles.

And from "Fuzzy" over at Underdog Fantasy:

Rays fans, introducing Joe Boyle

He's 6'7 and throws a million miles an hour, and has an insane slider. Across 93 innings in MLB/AAA last year, he had 127 strikeouts... and 79 walks!!!!!

If the Rays can somehow figure out his command, he could be an absolute demon

It's unclear how the Rays see Boyle at this time, as they figure to have Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz and Zack Littell as rotation options ahead of Boyle. If the team wanted to put Boyle in the bullpen, he could become a late-game weapon for manager Kevin Cash.

The Rays will be spending their 2025 season playing in the minor league George M. Steinbrenner Stadium due to the damage undertaken by Tropicana Field in Hurricane Milton.

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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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