Baz, 26, is heading from one AL East team to another


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As part of a pair of notable Friday trades involving Tampa Bay, the Orioles have acquired hard-throwing right-hander Shane Baz from the Rays in exchange for outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn, and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in this year's MLB Draft, the Athletic reports. The other Rays Friday deal was a three-way trade with the Pirates and Astros that saw them part with slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe.

Baz, 26, is coming off a 2025 season in which he registered an 84 ERA+ and an FIP of 4.37 in 166 ? innings for the Rays. That marked the first time Baz had logged a qualifying number of innings in a major league season. Indeed, he underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2022, and that cost him all of the 2023 season and a good chunk of 2024. For his career, Baz has an ERA+ of 95 across parts of four big-league seasons. The Orioles, though, are betting on Baz's stuff. Last season, he averaged 97 mph with his fastball – elite velocity for a starting pitcher – and his knuckle curve has wipeout potential. Baz is under team control through the 2028 season, after which he'll be eligible for free agency.

The Rays originally acquired Baz as part of the 2018 trade that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates in exchange for Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows. Baz was the player to be named later in the deal.

On the Tampa Bay side, Bodine was the No. 30 overall pick in last year's draft, and de Brun was No. 37. Forret, 21, has an ERA of 2.90 and a K/BB ratio of 3.31 across parts of two minor league seasons. In 2025, he reached Double-A. Overn, a former third-rounder out of Southern Cal, has an OPS of .772 in 135 minor league games. He likewise reached Double-A last season.

The other trade in which the Rays were involved in on Friday sent Lowe to the Pirates from the Rays and right-hander Mike Burrows from the Pirates to the Astros. The Rays, meantime, received a pair of young players.

Here's how the full trade, if finalized will look, according to Ken Rosenthal:

o To Astros: RHP Mike Burrows
o To Rays: OF Jacob Melton, RHP Anderson Brito
o To Pirates: INF Brandon Lowe, LHP Mason Montgomery, OF Jake Mangum

Lowe, 31 and going into his walk year, is a primary second baseman with good power. He's coming off a 31-homer season in 2025, and in 2021 he hit a career-high 39 home runs for the Rays. For his career, Lowe has an OPS+ of 123 and a WAR of 17.8 across parts of eight MLB seasons. Burrows, 26 and a rookie last season, pitched to a 109 ERA+ and a 4.00 FIP in 96 innings last season. Of his 23 games pitched in 2025, 19 were starts. Burrows averaged 95.5 mph with his fastball last season and earned a 43.1% whiff rate on his changeup.

Melton is a lefty-swinging outfielder who popped up on the occasional top-100 prospect list coming up through the Houston system. He made his MLB debut last season, and he's 25 years of age. Brito, 21, has an ERA of 2.36 in two minor league seasons. He's struck out 147 batters in 103 professional innings, and he spent the majority of last season at High-A.

From the Rays' standpoint, these deals restock their reserves of young talent, give them more years of control, and shed the arbitration salaries of Lowe and Baz. As well, the recent signing of Steven Matz gave the Rays some measure of flexibility when it comes to trading from their rotation depth.

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