Rays Shake Up Roster Ahead of Series Opener vs. Reds
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The Tampa Bay Rays recalled left-hander Mason Montgomery from Triple-A Durham, the team announced Friday.
The Tampa Bay Rays have recalled LHP Mason Montgomery from Triple-A Durham.
— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) July 25, 2025
The move comes ahead of Tampa Bay’s three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds and after the club optioned starting right-hander Taj Bradley to Durham. After a difficult outing against the Minnesota Twins on July 6 resulted in a blown save, the Rays optioned Montgomery to Durham while recalling right-hander Mason Englert.
The Rays selected Montgomery, 25, in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Texas Tech. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 5, 2024, against the Twins, striking out one batter and surrendering a walk in one inning of work.
Montgomery’s 2025 season has been rocky. In 40 appearances, he has a 1-2 record with one save, two blown saves and nine holds. Montgomery possesses a 5.74 ERA with 41 strikeouts while allowing 33 hits, 20 earned runs and 19 walks.
Before being sent down to Durham, Montgomery appeared in three games in early July, going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA. He struck out two batters while allowing four walks, a home run and two earned runs.
In five games with Durham this season, Montgomery is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. He has seven strikeouts and only one earned run in five innings of work.
Despite producing dissatisfying end results, Montgomery continues to display good metrics. His fastball velocity is in the 97th percentile, while his whiff percentage is in the 95th percentile and his chase rate is in the 91st.
Reintroducing Montgomery into the fold could give the Rays' bullpen a boost in late-game situations.
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Don Strouble is a sports journalist who covers Tampa Bay Rays baseball and other sports for the ‘’On SI’’ network. He is a Northeast Ohio native and currently lives in Orlando, Fla.
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