The Philadelphia Phillies finally got one over on the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 when they acquired Cristopher Sánchez for Curtis Mead on November 20, 2019. For over a decade, the adage went: don’t trade anyone to the Rays; their scouting department and development team will make a star of anyone.
After several years of hand-wringing when Mead became a “can’t miss” prospect, the Sánchez trade became a sea change when he broke out in 2023. The Rays were mortal; they could make mistakes like anybody else.
Philadelphia fans will just have to hope that continues after the Tampa Bay signed erstwhile Phillies minor league reliever Levi Stoudt last week.
Last year, the 28-year-old Stoudt pitched 22.2 innings between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In those frames, he didn’t allow a single earned run, surrendering only nine hits, walking nine, and striking out 23, with a 2.71 FIP.
Stoudt’s season ended in July when an injury cost him the second half of the year. It’s the second major injury he’s had in his career after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022. The Pottstown-born former starter was a third-round pick out of local Bethlehem University in 2019, so signing with the Phillies last year was a homecoming for him.
After making his debut in 2022 with the Cincinnati Reds—pitching 10.1 innings to a ghastly 9.58 ERA—he transitioned to a relief role and finally settled into the job last year on the Phillies’ farm.
What can the Tampa Bay Rays make of Levi Stoudt's revamped repertoire
Stoudt changed his repertoire completely, abandoned most of his tertiary offerings, and began throwing sliders for 85% of his pitches, paired with a fastball that sits at 96 mph.
Intriguing to any player development group, the Rays saw those numbers and signed Stoudt to a minor league free agent deal as soon as the season—and his contract with the Phillies—ended.
As an outsider, it’s easy to dream on a guy like Stoudt going to the Rays. Just in recent years, they’ve rehabilitated the careers of minor league journeymen relievers like Garret Cleavinger, Cole Sulser, Jason Adam, and Peter Fairbanks, among many others.
Could Stoudt be the next name added to that list?
More than likely not, just based on probability. But his chances of turning into a quality Major League player are higher with the Rays than perhaps anywhere else in baseball. Phillies fans may be upset to lose a promising reliever, but baseball fans should be excited to see what the Rays do with a player like Stoudt.
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