On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Tampa local pitcher Alex Faedo from the Detroit Tigers in a trade, for which they sent catcher rookie Enderson Delgado and cash compensation. To free up space for the 40-man roster, the Rays designated infielder Osleivis Basabe.

Transaction details
Team Rays wins: Right pitcher Alex Faedo
The Tigers get: minor league catcher Enderson Delgado and cash

Faeddo, 29, was a first-round pick at the University of Florida in the 2017 draft and was designated last week for the Tigers to sign backup pitcher Tommy Kahnle. Injuries hampered his development as a starting pitcher, but he found his role in the Tigers' bullpen until last August, when he was placed on the 60-day injury list with a right shoulder strain, ending the season.

Joining the Rays was a "homecoming" for Faedo, who pitched at Alonso High School before attending the University of Florida. His father, Landy Faedo, was a longtime coach at Alonso High School and served as an assistant coach at Gaither High School, where Rays head coach Kevin Cash attended. Faedo said he watched "countless games" at Tropicana Field as a child and pitched for the Tigers at the stadium in May 2022.

This year, he will have the opportunity to board for the Rays at Steinbrenner Field, just 20 minutes from the high school pitching rink.

The addition of Faedo will increase competition for the Rays Bullpen once spring training begins. The team has a number of back-up pitchers back, including finisher Pete Fairbanks, right-hand pitchers Edwin Uceta, Kevin Kelly and Manuel Rodríguez, and left-pitchers Garrett Cleavinger and Mason Montgomery Montgomery）。 In addition, right-hand pitchers Hunter Bigge, Cole Sulser, Eric Orze, Jacob Waguespack and Rule Five pick Mike Vasil are in contention.

Faedo pitched 57.1 innings in 37 appearances last year, including six starts, with a 3.61 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 28 warranties. He relied heavily on sliders (39.6 percent usage and 43 percent swing rate), with 94-mile average speedballs, variable balls (19.9 percent, mostly against left-handers) and stretch balls (5.4 percent, all against right-handers).

Faeido was sent to minor leagues in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He spent less than five years in the major leagues and minor leagues due to injury, so he was given a fourth minor league option last offseason. The Tigers did not use that option, but since last year was Faedo's fifth year, the additional option could not be renewed.

Tigers baseball operations president Scott Harris said it was a "very difficult decision" when removing Faedo from the roster and praised Faeddo's popularity as a teammate and his performance on the pitcher's mound.

The Rays paid 20-year-old catcher rookie Delgado to get Faedo. Delgado spent last year between single-A Charleston and the rookie-caliber Florida General League, batting a 0.259 batting average, four home runs and 30-point bounce in 65 games and receiving a good rating at the catcher position. According to MLB Pipeline, he didn't make the team's top 30 rookie list.

In order to free up space for the 40-man roster, the Rays also gave up on Barsabe. The 24-year-old infielder didn't return to the major leagues last year after making his major league debut at the end of the 2023 season. He batted 0.218 in the major leagues and 0.587 in OPS, hitting 0.248/0.293/0.336 in 66 games in Triple A Dehan, but provided the team with multi-position depth in the infield.