The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired outfielder Dylan Carlson and cash considerations from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Shawn Armstrong.
Carlson, 25, hit .198/.275/.240 (24-for-121) with five doubles, 11 RBI, 12 walks and 12 runs scored over 59 games for the Cardinals this season. He began the year on the 10-day injured list (left AC sprain) before being reinstated on May 5. The Elk Grove, California native has appeared in 447 games in his major league career, batting .239 with 81 doubles, 10 triples, 34 home runs and 161 RBI. In 2021, he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting and was named to Baseball America’s All-Rookie Team after setting Cardinals franchise records for a rookie switch-hitter in hits (144), extra-base hits (53), total bases (237), doubles (31), RBI (65) and walks (57).
In 2019, Carlson was named Texas League MVP and Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .292 (143-for-489) with 62 extra-base hits, 60 RBI, 58 walks, 95 runs scored and 20 stolen bases over 126 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. He was selected by St. Louis in the first round (No. 33 overall) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Elk Grove (Calif.) High School. Baseball America rated him as the Cardinals No. 1 prospect in both 2019 and 2020. He reached as high as No. 9 on the publication’s top 100 prospects list.
Armstrong, 33, went 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA (46.2IP, 28ER) in 38 appearances (7 starts) with the Rays this season. He spent parts of four seasons with Tampa Bay (2021-24), going 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA (169.2IP, 66ER) and three saves over 131 appearances (16 starts).
