The Rays announced they’ve designated left-hander Ken Waldichuk for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for infielder Ben Williamson, acquired from Seattle in tonight’s three-team trade that sent All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan to the Mariners.
Tampa Bay picked up Waldichuk in a DFA trade with Atlanta a few weeks ago. They’re his third organization of the offseason. The Braves had claimed him off waivers from the A’s, who had themselves designated him for assignment after trading for Jeff McNeil. The 28-year-old finds himself in DFA limbo for the third time since December.
A fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2019, Waldichuk developed into a quality pitching prospect. The A’s acquired him at the ’22 deadline in the Frankie Montas trade. That was one of the more significant trades that summer but didn’t work all that well for either team. Montas struggled before undergoing shoulder surgery and wound up pitching nine times with a 6.15 ERA in pinstripes. The A’s end of the deal has panned out only slightly better. Waldichuk and Luis Medina have pitched poorly and battled injuries. JP Sears turned out to be the best piece of the return as a durable fifth starter who was traded to the Padres last summer as a secondary part of the Mason Miller deal.
Waldichuk started 25 of 31 MLB appearances between 2022-23. He gave up a 5.35 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk numbers. He hasn’t thrown a major league pitch in two years, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in May ’24 that kept him out until last July. Waldichuk spent the second half of the season in Triple-A, where he was tagged for 52 runs in 51 innings in a brutal environment for pitchers. A fastball that sat around 94 miles per hour in his rookie year was down to 91.6 MPH last year in the minors.
Atlanta and Tampa Bay nevertheless took fliers on Waldichuk to see if he’ll recapture some of his early-career promise as he gets further removed from injury. He still has a pair of minor league options and is signed for barely more than the league minimum after agreeing to an $825K contract in November. Waldichuk is under arbitration control for at least four seasons.