Tampa Bay Rays reportedly trade Brent Honeywell to the Oakland Athletics

With the deadline passed for the Rays to make additions to their 40-man roster, the team has reportedly made a trade that is sending former top prospect, RHP Brent Honeywell, to the Oakland Athletics.

Honeywell at one time was among the top prospects in all of baseball, possessing an arsenal full of dazzling pitches. Unfortunately, as he was on the cusp of reaching the big leagues, Honeywell suffered a UCL tear that required him to undergo Tommy John surgery. That was during spring training in 2018.

It has now been over three years and Honeywell’s health woes have only continued to plague his career, suffering a fractured elbow that would also require surgery in 2019. Honeywell finally put his injuries behind him 2021, however his velocity had diminshed since his top prospect days leading to lackluster results as well as a lack of confidence from the front office.

Honeywell did manage to make his big league debut in 2021, appearing in three games for the Rays. Over those outings, he allowed four runs on five hits, yielding three walks, and picked up four strikeouts acrossed 4 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

The trade opens up a spot on the Rays 40-man roster, as the Rays look to protect their next wave of prospects from the Rule 5 draft in December.