Tampa Bay Rays designate former Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher for assignment

The right-hander was selected to the Rays' roster ahead of the 2024 season.

He spent most of last year either on optional assignment or battling a rotator cuff injury. He tossed just ten innings for the big league club with a 5.40 earned run average.

The Rays signed Waguespack to a restructured deal early last offseason. He's making $1.3MM this season and has a $1.5MM club option for next year. That'd escalate to $2MM if he reaches 20 «points» this season.

Waguespack would receive one point for each MLB relief appearance and two points per big league start. He has spent the '25 season to date on optional assignment to Triple-A Durham.

He was optioned to Triple-A Durham at the start of this season. He was placed on the minor league injured list in May with an undisclosed issue and hasn't pitched since May 20th.

Working as a pure reliever for the Bulls, Waguespack has reeled off 14 innings of two-run ball. He has fanned 15 hitters against three walks while getting ground-balls at a lofty 60% clip. It hasn't earned him a major league call yet, but he should be up before too much longer if he keeps performing at that level.

Waguespack spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He made four MLB appearances with Tampa Bay last year but lost a good portion of the season to a rotator cuff injury.

Though his health status is unclear, the Rays have decided to clear him off the 40-man. Injured players can't be placed on outright waivers, so he'll likely be released in the coming days.

He'll then be free to sign with any club, though the interest will depend on his injury status.