The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to send right-handed pitcher Shane Baz to the Baltimore Orioles, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
According to multiple reports, the Rays are receiving outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, righty pitcher Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and a Competitive Balance Round A pick in return.
Baz, 26, pitched to a 4.87 earned-run average in his first full season of work in the majors in 2025 with the Rays, The former top prospect – No. 8 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list in 2022 – made his MLB debut in 2021, pitching in three games, but had Tommy John surgery in 2022 and only fully recovered for the 2025 season.
The lanky righty struggled with baserunners and home runs in his first full season, but also recorded 176 strikeouts in 166.1 innings.
The deal comes just weeks after the Orioles sent former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Taylor Ward.
de Brun, 18, was selected in the first round of the 2025 MLB Entry Draft by the Orioles, and has yet to see any playing time in professional ball. Bodine, 21, hit .326 in 11 games in his first taste of pro ball in Single A in the Orioles system after he was also taken in the first round in this year’s draft.
Forret, 21, pitched to a combined 1.58 ERA in 19 games between Double-A and High-A in the Orioles’ system. Overn also split time between High-A and Double-A this season, hitting .249 with 13 home runs in 114 games.
Per MLB Pipeline, the Rays are receiving the No. 6 (de Brun), No. 10 (Bodine), No. 11 (Forret) and No. 30 (Overn) prospects in the Orioles system.
