![\"Tampa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tampa-bay-rays-v-baltimore-orioles-baltimore-md-september-07-manager-kevin.jpg\")
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BALTIMORE, MD -SEPTEMBER 07: Manager Kevin Cash #16 of the Tampa Bay Rays addresses the media before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 7, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Tampa Bay Rays made a notable move Sunday afternoon, acquiring starting pitcher Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay sent minor leaguers right-handed pitcher Gary Gill Hill, infielder Emilien Pitre, and outfielder Aidan Smith to New York in the deal.<\/p>\n With the move, the Rays needed to clear a spot for Peralta on the 26-man roster, which they did hours after completing the trade.<\/p>\n Rays DFA Closer Craig Kimbrel<\/p>\n The Rays designated veteran closer and nine-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel for assignment to make room for Peralta, who will immediately join the team\u2019s starting rotation.<\/p>\n Kimbrel has appeared in 32 games this season and owns an 0-2 record with a 4.41 ERA.<\/p>\n He began the year with the New York Mets before joining the Rays, where he pitched in 18 games and posted a 3.06 ERA across 17.1 innings. He also recorded 16 strikeouts.<\/p>\n #Rays<\/a> have told RH Craig Kimbrel he is being DFA\u2019d to make room on 26-man roster in anticipation of newly acquired RH Freddy Peralta joining team in Colorado<\/p>\n \u2014 Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Kimbrel\u2019s MLB Career<\/p>\n Kimbrel\u2019s best years came during his six seasons with the Atlanta Braves and three-year stints with both the Boston Red Sox<\/a> and Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n However, since then, he has spent one season or less with seven different franchises. While he remains a reliable option out of the bullpen \u2014 as he showed with the Rays this season at age 38 \u2014 he is no longer the dominant pitcher he once was and has become expendable.<\/p>\n That said, Kimbrel has enjoyed an impressive career. He won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018 and has posted a 2.65 career ERA with 440 saves across 833 appearances.<\/p>\n Rays Right Now<\/p>\n Tampa Bay lost 9-1 to the Chicago White Sox<\/a> on Sunday, but the defeat did not change the fact that the Rays still own the best record in the American League at 65-46. They hold a 2.5-game lead over the New York Yankees<\/a>.<\/p>\n The AL remains wide open, and the Rays may not be done making moves<\/a> before Monday\u2019s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline as they look to bolster their roster for a potential World Series run.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCole Sullivan<\/a> Cole Sullivan is a sports journalist for Heavy.com covering the NFL, NBA, college football, and college basketball. A member of the United States Basketball Writers Association, he has written for FanSided, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, and Newsweek. Sullivan earned an Associate degree from Franklin Pierce University and a Bachelor’s degree from Lynn University, where he studied Communications and Media Studies with a focus on Sports Journalism. More about Cole Sullivan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty BALTIMORE, MD -SEPTEMBER 07: Manager Kevin Cash #16 of the Tampa Bay Rays addresses the media before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-361065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}