The Tampa Bay Rays have added LHP Joe Rock and LHP Ian Seymour to their 40-man roster. To make room, INF Austin Shenton has been designated for assignment.
Rock, 24, joined the Rays from the Rockies on March 21 in exchange for outfielder Greg Jones. He posted a 7-8 record with a 4.58 ERA (139.2 innings, 71 earned runs) and 132 strikeouts across 27 games (23 starts) with Triple-A Durham in 2024. Rock is ranked as the Rays’ No. 22 overall prospect by MLB.com.
Seymour, 25, was named Tampa Bay’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He went 9-4 with a 2.35 ERA (145.1 innings, 38 earned runs), a .187 opponent batting average (97-for-518), a 0.95 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts in 27 starts between Double-A Montgomery (17 starts) and Triple-A Durham (10 starts). Seymour was 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA (91.1 innings, 24 earned runs) and 99 strikeouts for Montgomery, earning Organizational Pitcher of the Month for April and May with a 4-2 record, a 2.35 ERA (53.2 innings, 14 earned runs), and 70 strikeouts in 10 starts. He was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week for June 3-9 after throwing seven scoreless innings on June 5 at Biloxi, allowing one hit and two walks with three strikeouts.
Promoted to Durham on July 23, Seymour went 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA (54 innings, 14 earned runs) and 63 strikeouts. He led all Rays minor leaguers in ERA, innings, strikeouts, and WHIP, and ranked highly in starts (tied for first), opponent batting average (third), and wins (tied for third). His 2.35 ERA was the 10th lowest among all full-season minor league pitchers. Selected in the second round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of Virginia Tech, Seymour is ranked as the Rays’ No. 17 prospect by MLB.com.