ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Tampa Bay Rays have selected RHP Yoniel Curet and INF Austin Shenton to the 40-man roster. To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Cooper Criswell and RHP Calvin Faucher have been designated for assignment.
Curet, 21, was named Tampa Bay’s 2023 Organizational Pitcher of the Year after going 8-1 with a 2.94 ERA (104.0IP, 34ER) and 144 strikeouts in 26 games (22 starts) between Class-A Charleston and Class-A Bowling Green. Curet ranked among Rays minor leaguers (min. 75.0IP) in opponent batting average (1st, .149), ERA (2nd) and WHIP (4th, 1.19); he also tied for the organizational lead in strikeouts (144). Curet is rated as the Rays No. 22 overall prospect by MLB.com.
Shenton, 25, was named Double-A Montgomery team MVP after batting .307/.415/.567 (78-for-254) with 21 doubles, 15 HR, 49 RBI and 46 walks in 73 games with the Biscuits. Following his July 14 promotion to Triple-A Durham, Shenton hit .301/.432/.603 (66-for-219) with 24 doubles, 14 HR, 50 RBI and 48 walks in 61 games for the Bulls. Between his stints with Montgomery and Durham, Shenton paced all Rays farmhands in RBI (99), doubles (45), walks (94), total bases (276) and runs scored (102) while ranking second in OPS (1.007) and hits (144). Shenton is rated as the Rays No. 26 overall prospect by MLB.com.
