The Rays and White Sox announced a one-for-one trade that sends lefty reliever Joe Rock from Tampa Bay to Chicago. Minor league infielder Oliver Dunn goes to the Rays. Chicago optioned Rock to Triple-A Charlotte and transferred Kyle Teel to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot; Tampa Bay’s roster count drops to 38.
A 6’6″ southpaw, Rock was a second-round pick by Colorado in 2021. The Rays acquired him in Spring Training 2024 for former first-rounder Greg Jones. Rock spent that season working out of the Triple-A rotation, struggling to a 4.58 earned run average. He made a very brief MLB debut last summer, pitching 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball with 11 strikeouts over three appearances.
Rock otherwise spent the season in a swing role in Triple-A, posting a 5.21 ERA across 96 2/3 frames. The Rays moved him to short relief this year in the hope that his stuff would play up in 1-2 inning stints. Rock has missed more bats, striking out 27 of 78 opponents (34.6%) in the minors. His 92.9 mph average fastball isn’t much above where it sat last year, though, and Rock has battled the worst control of his career. He has walked 17 batters and plunked four more, giving out free passes to more than a quarter of batters faced so far.
More to come.
