Tampa Bay Rays acquire Oliver Drake, designate Jaime Schultz for assignment

The Tampa Bay Rays have re-acquired right-handed pitcher Oliver Drake from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. To clear room on the 40-man roster for trade, they have designated right-handed pitcher Jaime Schultz for assignment.

This is Drake’s second stint with the Rays this offseason as they claimed him off of waivers in early November, only to designate him for assignment later that month. The well-traveled Drake has now been a part of five organizations since the start of 2018 season, including now two stints both with both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rays.

Drake hasn’t excelled much in his brief MLB career, but he did display the ability to miss bats in 2018 with a high swinging strike percentage. The Rays will hope to improve upon this in the spring and the upcoming season.

Jaime Schultz’s rise though the Rays finally brought him to the major leagues in 2018, after being taken in the 14th round of the 2013 amateur draft and was at one point, one of the top pitching prospects in the Rays system. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily with command, which hampered him throughout the year.

The Rays will now have seven days to trade, release, or outright Schultz off of the roster and risk losing him on the waiver wire.