By Dan Hock
July 26, 2024
The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister, outfielder Matthew Etzel and infielder Mac Horvath from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin and cash considerations.
Baumeister, 22, went 1-3 with a 3.06 ERA (70.2IP, 24ER) and 91 strikeouts in 18 starts for Class-A Aberdeen. He ranked among the South Atlantic League in starts (1st) and strikeouts (T5th). Selected by Baltimore in the Competitive Balance Round B (No. 63 overall) in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida State University, Baumeister is rated by MLB.com as the Orioles No. 17 prospect.
Etzel, 22, hit .289 (87-for-301) with 15 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, 47 RBI and 41 steals in 83 games between Class-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie. He ranked among Orioles farm hands in triples (1st), steals (2nd), hits (T3rd), total bases (T5th, 134) and RBI (7th). Making his professional debut across three levels of the Orioles system in 2023, he hit .323 (31-for-96) with eight doubles, two triples, two home runs, 25 RBI and 21 steals in 30 games. Etzel was selected by Baltimore in the 10th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern Mississippi.
Horvath, 23, hit .232 (63-for-271) with 19 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 41 RBI and 26 steals in 71 games for Class-A Aberdeen. Making his professional debut last season, Horvath hit .321 (25-for-78) with seven doubles, five home runs, 11 RBI and 14 steals in 22 games across three levels of the Orioles system. He was selected in the second round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of North Carolina after attending high school at IMG Academy. He is rated by MLB.com as the Orioles No. 10 prospect.
Eflin, 30, went 5-7 with a 4.09 ERA (110.0IP, 50ER) in 19 starts with the Rays this season. In 2023, Eflin finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting, setting career bests in wins (16), innings pitched (177.2) and strikeouts (186) while posting the lowest ERA (3.50) and WHIP (1.02) of his career.
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