Rays Acquire Aguilar From Brewers In Exchange For Faria

Image credit: Jesus Aguilar (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

With the stretch run of the season coming quickly, the Rays made a small deal to fortify their lineup against one of the strengths of the American League East. In doing so, they also continued clearing space on their 40-man roster, which they’d also done in deals that sent out Casey Sadler, Andrew Velazquez, Anthony Bemboom and Nick Solak. 

 

RAYS ACQUIRE

Jesus Aguilar, 1B
Age: 29

A year ago, Aguilar was an all-star who hit 35 home runs. This year, he’s a platoon player whom the Rays acquired to help match up against the plethora of lefthanders they’ll face in the AL East. The Yankees and Red Sox alone feature CC Sabathia, JA Happ, James Paxton, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez, Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor. Aguilar has a career .460 slugging percentage against lefthanders, so he could easily find himself in an important role as the Rays battle for a playoff spot. He’s not eligible for free agency until 2023. 

BREWERS ACQUIRE

Jacob Faria, RHP
Age: 26

Faria filled a spot in the back end of the Rays’ rotation in each of the last two seasons, but has worked exclusively out of the bullpen in his 10 big league appearances this season. He’s bounced back and forth between the majors and Triple-A Durham, but could fill a bigger role in Milwaukee, which has dealt with inconsistency in its starting rotation all season long. Faria is arbitration-eligible in 2021 and will be a free agent in 2024.