Rays' Heath Hembree: Reaches MiLB deal with Tampa Bay

Hembree agreed Wednesday with the Rays on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to MLB spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The journeyman reliever has seen big-league action in each of the past 10 seasons, but even though he'll get a chance to compete for a spot in the Tampa Bay bullpen in spring training, he'll likely face an uphill battle to break camp with the big club. Hembree walked a career-high 15.9 percent of the batters he faced over his 22 big-league innings between the Dodgers and Pirates in 2022, and he was hit hard when he wasn't issuing free passes, giving up six home runs.