Tampa Bay Rays Executive Reveals What Plan Was For Nationals Rule 5 Pick

The Tampa Bay Rays had a plan set for pitcher Evan Reifert before the Washington Nationals took him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Jul 12, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; An Washington Nationals hat and glove sit in the dugout during batting practice prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals surprised some by selecting a pitcher, Evan Reifert, in the Rule 5 Draft earlier this month at the MLB winter meetings.

Reifert was a part of the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization. Because he had met certain limits on his time in the Rays’ minor league system, the franchise either had to move him to the 40-man roster or leave him exposed to the Rule 5 Draft.

Organizations sometimes gamble that a player won’t be selected, especially if the room on the 40-man roster is limited. The Rays gambled and they lost.

Now, Reifert is with Washington. But, Tampa Bay could get him back if he doesn't make the Nationals' roster and stay there all season.

So, he may end up back in Tampa anyway.

If he does, Tampa Bay has a plan for him. In fact, Rays assistant general manager Kevin Ibach said the organization already had a plan for him in 2025, if they hung onto him.

Ibach revealed that plan to MLB.com.

“We had planned on him going to [Triple-A] Durham this year and competing for that bullpen role there,” Ibach said.

MLB Pipeline was high on Reifert’s array of pitches, which is part of the reason the Nationals selected him. He has a slider that he threw 54% of the time and it leads to a 70% whiff rate. In layman’s terms, it’s a swing-and-miss pitch that will probably play in the Majors one day. He also has a fastball that can hit up to 97 miles per hour. It’s not triple-digits, but with the slider that fastball can play.

But, he hasn’t pitched above Double-A, which is where he went 2-0 with 1.96 ERA in 41.1 innings. Still, Ibach said that Reifert is a player that can make a team coming out of spring training.

“Evan’s a heck of a talent,” he said. “I think we saw it in the Arizona Fall League a few years ago, when it seemed like he was striking everybody out there. When we had Spring Training at Disney a few years back, he was making big league hitters look pretty silly up there. So he’s got all the arm talent in the world. Had some setbacks, health-wise, over his career, but I think he ended the season in a really good place in Montgomery.

The Nationals have not made a significant move in free agency, but Washington does have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft and a rising pool of talent filtering up to the Majors.