Rays land Carlson from Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Dylan Carlson to the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Shawn Armstrong, the team announced Tuesday.
Carlson has struggled over the last three years after being named a 2021 NL Rookie of the Year finalist. The 25-year-old has recorded 13 homers and 80 RBIs with an 87 wRC+ over a combined 263 games between 2022-24.
"In all honesty, it just wasn't working here," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. "We were going to be left on a tough decision on what to do. ... He's a talented guy, but his (playing) time here, it wasn't fair to him and it wasn't helping us."
The former top prospect is under team control through the 2026 campaign.
Armstrong has authored a 5.40 ERA with 9.6 K/9 over 45 2/3 innings in 2024 after recording a 1.38 ERA with 0.90 WHIP over 39 appearances last year.
The 33-year-old right-hander can become a free agent at the end of this season.