The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired OF Justyn-Henry Malloy from Tigers in exchange for cash considerations, according to the team’s official social media account.
The Rays have added another outfielder to
their 40-man roster with the acquisition of Malloy from the Tigers.
The Tigers designated Malloy for assignment on December 20th to clear a spot on the 40-mn roster for Kyle Finnegan. Malloy was originally selectd by the Atlanta Braves in the 6th round of the 2021 draft and after a couple of seasons in their system, he was packaged with Jake Higginbotham in a trade to the Detroit Tigers for Joe Jimenez. During his time in Detroit’s system, Malloy became one of their top prospects, getting placed at 6th on their Baseball America rankings.
The 25-year old has Malloy been one of the best hitters in all of minor league baseball the past few seasons, hitting .286/.424/.478, registering a 143 wRC+ over 1209 plate appearances. That 143 wRC+ is the 3rd highest among players with at least 500 PA in Triple-A since the start of the 2022 season; Jonathan Aranda and Jake Cave are the only players above Malloy on that list.
However, his production in Triple-A has failed to translate to the big leagues. Malloy debuted with Detroit in 2024 and hit .203/.291/.366 over 230 plate appearances, striking out 37.0% of the time over 230 plate appearances. His follow up campaign wasn’t mich better as he hit .221/.346/.308 but did manage to drop his strikeout rate to 25.2% while he walked 15.7% of the time.
Defensively, the Tigers tried him out for 2 innings at first base in 2025 but he has mainly played left and right field with below average results (-3 career DRS). Meanwhile in the minor leagues, Malloy also spent some time at third base while in the minor leagues with the Braves.
Malloy still has options remaining, allowing the Rays to stash him in Triple-A should he not making the Opening Day roster, serving as a solid depth piece in Durham.
With the addition, the Rays now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
This article is being updated.
