The Tampa Bay Rays have announced the acquisition of RHP Joe Boyle, INF Will Simpson, RHP Jacob Watters, and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft in exchange for LHP Jeffrey Springs and LHP Jacob Lopez.

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Tampa Bay Rays

Joe Boyle, 25, pitched 47.2 innings for the Athletics in 2024, recording a 3-6 record with a 6.42 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 13 appearances (10 starts). Notably, Boyle’s 97.7 mph average on his four-seam fastball ranked seventh among MLB pitchers who threw at least 500 of them. Boyle made his MLB debut in 2023 with a 2-0 record and a 1.69 ERA in three starts.

Will Simpson, 23, had a productive 2024, batting .282/.378/.482 with 31 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 90 RBI, and 76 walks across 127 games between Class-A Lansing and Double-A Midland. Simpson ranked among the top Athletics minor leaguers in several categories, including RBI (2nd), total bases (2nd, 224), hits (3rd), doubles (T3rd), extra-base hits (4th, 53), and walks (4th). He is currently ranked as the Athletics’ No. 16 prospect by Baseball America and No. 28 by MLB.com.

Jacob Watters, 24, posted a 7-3 record with a 5.23 ERA in 63.2 innings across 18 appearances (10 starts) between Class-A Lansing and Triple-A Las Vegas last season.

Jeffrey Springs, 32, returned from Tommy John surgery in 2024, going 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA, 11 walks, and 37 strikeouts over 33 innings in seven starts. Springs had a successful tenure with the Rays from 2021-24, recording an 18-8 record with a 2.63 ERA over 229 innings. This marks the lowest career ERA in franchise history among pitchers with at least 200 innings. Springs was initially acquired from the Red Sox in February 2021.

Jacob Lopez, 26, had a 5.23 ERA over 10.1 innings in four appearances (one start) for the Rays in 2024. In Triple-A Durham, he went 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA over 88.2 innings in 21 appearances (19 starts).

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