Mastrobuoni was traded from the Rays to the Cubs on Tuesday in exchange for a low-level pitching prospect, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
As Topkin notes, this will open up a 40-man roster spot for the Rays that they can use to protect a prospect from the Rule 5 draft. Mastrobuoni can play second base and the outfield and hit .300/.377/.469 with 16 home runs and 23 steals in 129 games as a 26-year-old at Triple-A this past season. He will compete with Zach McKinstry for lefty-hitting utility work in 2023.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Optioned to minors
Rotowire
The Rays optioned Mastrobuoni to Triple-A Durham on Monday.
During his first stint in the majors, Mastrobuoni saw action in eight games and slashed .188/.235/.188 with a stolen base across 17 plate appearances. He'll be replaced on the 28-man active roster by another utility type in Vidal Brujan, who was called up from Durham in a corresponding move.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Gets first call to majors
Rotowire
Mastrobuoni's contract was purchased from Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Mastrobuoni had seemed like a potential utility prospect for several years thanks to his solid hit tool and defensive versatility. This is the first year in six minor-league seasons the 26-year-old logged an ISO over .150. He hit .300/.377/.469 with 16 home runs and 23 steals in 129 games at Triple-A. Mastrobuoni played 56 games at second base, with another handful of starts coming at shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Showing well this spring
Rotowire
Mastrobuoni, who slugged his second home run of spring in Wednesday's Grapefruit League win over the Pirates, is hitting .294 (5-for-17) across 10 exbibitions.
Mastrobuoni's well-rounded line includes two doubles, two homers, three RBI, two walks and six runs -- rock-solid numbers for a prospect who's never actually demonstrated much pop at the minor-league level. However, the 25-year-old has been an above-average on-base presence and has recorded double-digit steals at three different professional stops. His spring showing and the fact that he got four games of exposure to the Triple-A level back in 2019 makes it likely he opens the campaign there again in 2021.
