Jake

Mangum

Tuesday is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster or risk losing them to the Rule 5 draft, and the Rays won’t take the chance. Mangum performed well in his first year in the Tampa Bay system with an .800 OPS, 20 stolen bases and .317 average with Durham in 2024 over 104 games.

No real surprises here among the latest batch of cuts from Rays camp, but Uwasawa stands out as one of the more notable ones since he signed a minor league pact with the Rays during the offseason to attempt to make the jump to the majors from Japan.

He’s 6-for-12 with a homer and three steals this spring. Mangum was one of the three rather modest prospects the Rays got from the Marlins for Vidal Bruján and Calvin Faucher over the winter. He’s already 27 and he hasn’t showed much power in the minors, but he offers contact ability and speed. It could allow him to surface as a reserve outfielder at some point.

This move puts a lid on the November 17th deal that saw INF Vidal Bruján and RHP Calvin Faucher head to the Marlins in exchange for RHP Andrew Lindsey, INF Erick Lara, and a PTBN (Mangum). The Mississippi State product has four seasons played in the minors now, racking up 18 HR and 61 SB, in 328 career games. He spent 2023 in Triple-A where he flirted with .300 (.298) and swiped 16 bases.

Berry was the sixth overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft and was in camp for the first time with the Marlins. He’s the most notable inclusion among the first batch of spring cuts for Miami. Rizzo and Mangum might have a shot to contribute at some point this season.

Mangum went unselected in this week’s Rule 5 Draft and will head to Miami as the player to be named later in a trade earlier this month. The 26-year-old outfielder hit .306/.363/.441 with four homers and 14 steals in 318 plate appearances over 72 games last year across three levels in New York’s minor league system. He’ll open the 2023 season as organizational outfield depth at Triple-A Jacksonville.