Ryan Roberts was told that the move to designate him for assignment this afternoon was a prelude to a trade, and the deal got done tonight, as the versatile veteran is on his way to Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league infielder Tyler Bortnick.
The Rays were looking for inexpensive infield help and got it here, as Roberts is due a bit less than $900,000 over the rest of the year. He’ll likely see plenty of action at third base until Evan Longoria returns before sliding into more of a utility role.
It will be interesting to see who gets dropped to make room for Roberts. Brooks Conrad is still the likely choice, but he hit a big two-run homer to help the Rays beat the Orioles 3-1 on Tuesday. Hideki Matsui has yet to contribute much of anything as an outfielder/designated hitter, so the Rays could drop him instead.
Bortnick, 25, was hitting .253/.352/.385 with four homers and 23 steals in 348 at-bats for Double-A Montgomery this season. He’s a long shot to make it as a utilityman in the majors. Mostly, the Diamondbacks were just happy to save some money here.
