Kodi Whitley will return to the Rays organization in 2026. According to Matt Eddy’s minor league transactions roundup at Baseball America, the right-hander has signed a new minor league pact with the club.
Now 30 years old, Whitley joined the Cardinals organization in the 2017 draft and made his MLB debut for St. Louis in 2020. Over parts of three seasons with the Cardinals, he pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings of mostly low-leverage relief before he was outrighted at the end of the 2022 campaign. He has not pitched in the major leagues since.
Whitley spent 2023 at Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) and, after his mid-July release, the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves). Unfortunately for the righty, his 5.49 ERA and 5.12 FIP in 57.1 innings seemed to scare off potential suitors the following year. The Braves organization released him weeks before Opening Day in 2024, and he went unsigned the rest of the season.
A year later, however, the Rays came calling, inking Whitley to a minor league deal. While he missed about half of 2025 with injuries and failed to make his way back to the big leagues, he showed signs of promise when he took the mound. In 28.2 innings of minor league work, he struck out 38 batters and walked only four. Evidently, the Rays saw enough to want to take another look at his arm in 2026. If Whitley manages to make it back to the majors, he will have one option year remaining, which could help him to stick around on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.