A few days ago, the Tampa Bay Rays made several roster moves to bring in some fresh arms on the pitching staff.
After throwing 46 pitches across 3.1 innings of work against the Boston Red Sox on May 8, Mason Englert was optioned to Triple-A Durham so that he could rest. Taking his place on the roster was Aaron Brooks.
Alas, Brooks was not on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move had to be made to clear space. The Rays designated outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy to make room for the veteran pitcher on the roster.
Now days later, Malloy has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham after clearing waivers. Because he has not previously been outrighted or racked up three years of service time, he does not have the option to reject the assignment and become a free agent.
As a result, Malloy is going to operate as organizational depth for the franchise as a non-roster player.
This is the second time in less than a year that he was designated for assignment. The Rays originally acquired him from the Detroit Tigers after he met the same fate with them. A sixth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves , he was traded to the Tigers as the headlining player in the deal that sent relief pitcher Joe Jimenez to the Braves.
His production in the minor leagues created a lot of intrigue around him as a prospect. While not ranked in the top 100, he was someone that evaluators kept a close eye on because of how well he produced.
Alas, his production with Triple-A Durham has been disastrous thus far in 2026. In 132 plate appearances, he has produced an underwhelming .128/.273/.266 slash line with four home runs and three doubles.
It has been a struggle even to make hard contact. His hard-hit rate of 30.4% is the lowest he has ever recorded during a season at Triple-A or in the Major Leagues.
Even with that disastrous start, Malloy still owns a Triple-A career slash line of .270/.409/.456 across 1,341 plate appearances. He has hit well at every level of the minor leagues, but has yet to see that production translate to the Big Leagues.
In 123 games and 357 plate appearances, he has a .209/.311/.346 slash line with nine home runs, 13 doubles and one triple. He has struck out 117 times and drawn 43 walks.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rays/onsi as Rays Outright Outfielder To Triple-A Durham After Clearing Waivers .
