The Houston Astros traded baseball's former top pitching prospect, Forrest Whitley, for cash considerations less than a week after designating him for assignment. General manager Dana Brown probably didn't make much of it besides closing the book on a forgettable chapter in his history atop the franchise. But in hindsight, the front office presumably collectively spat out its coffee, knowing the hard-throwing right-hander landed with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay is where reclamation project hurlers go to thrive. Just ask Pete Fairbanks, Drew Rasmussen and Edwin Uceta, to name a few. If the Rays inquire about a struggling arm, there's a good chance they know something you don't. With that in mind, given where the 'Stros sent Whitley, history tells us Brown and Houston's brass must be prepared to live with the consequences.
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Rays acquiring former top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley from Astros should sound alarms in Houston
Brown probably feels like they would've gotten off scot-free for moving Whitley to any other franchise. However, with the 27-year-old headed to the Rays, doubt should begin to creep into the back of his mind ... if it hasn't already. This might be one of those "wait, did I really just do that?" moments.
Oddly enough, Whitley has only thrown 7.1 innings in 2025, 3.1 of which came against the Rays across three games. Tampa Bay rocked him in each encounter, accounting for all 10 of his earned runs. Meanwhile, he's held the rest of the Majors scoreless, albeit in a small sample size; what do they know?
Whatever the Rays saw up close and personal from Whitley stuck in their minds when the Astros DFA'd him. Tampa Bay ostensibly believes it can unlock his potential and resurrect a once-promising career, and their track record suggests that's well within the range of outcomes.
No one finds and develops maligned pitchers that haven't lived up to their potential and squeezes the juice out of them like the Rays. As a small-market club, they've truly embraced the "one man's trash is another's treasure" mantra and used it to their advantage. Tampa Bay has been the MLB's land of misfit twirling toys for well over a decade, and Whitley is their latest entrant.
The Rays have finished ninth or better in staff ERA each year since 2018, and are eighth this season as of this writing. It feels safe to say they know what to do when it comes to putting castaways in positions to succeed and become valuable assets. The Astros either forgot this when they agreed to send Whitley to Tampa Bay, or they just accepted the reality of the situation and took the only value they could get.