Whitley was once the Astros #1 prospect for three consecutive years
The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly acquiring right-handed pitcher Forrest Whitley from the Houston Astros.
Whitley, 27, was once one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, peaking at #5 by Baseball America entering the 2019 season. Unfortunately injuries have significantly derailed his career. He lost his role as a starting pitcher and had to transition to the bullpen. This move helped lead him on a path to the big leagues with Whitley making his Major League debut in April 2024.
With the amount of promise Whitley showed early on in his professional career, the Astros were forced to add him to the 40-man roster following the 2020 season. However, injuries kept Whitley from playing all that much. Thus the Astros had to burn through Whitley’s options in order to keep him on the 40-man roster. So when Whitley finally made his big league debut last April, he only had one option year remaining. Now in 2025, with Whitley struggling, the Astros finally decided to designate Whitley for assignment.
Whitley made 5 appearances for Houston this season, registering a 12.27 ERA | 7.30 FIP with a 20.5 K% & 15.4 BB% over 7 1⁄3 IP.
The Rays will have to add Whitley to their active roster and now they have 39 players on their 40-man roster.