ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rays starting shortstop Willy Adames has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, the team announced on Friday.
Right-hander Trevor Richards is also included in the trade. In exchange, relievers Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen will be joining Tampa Bay.
The Rays acquired Adames via trade in 2014. He advanced from Class-A Bowling Green to the majors within the Rays organization, making his major league debut on May 22, 2018.
“Willy entered our organization as an 18-year-old in a significant trade himself. You can’t create a better human being than who Willy is,” General Manager Erik Neander said in a statement. “We watched him grow up in our organization, watched him be a part of winning clubs through the minor leagues and with our major league team as well, and we would not have accomplished all that we have over the last several years without Willy.”
Adames is known for his stellar defensive plays but was struggling offensively. He was hitting .197 with five home runs and 15 RBI while striking out 51 times. However, he had just started heating up, going 5-for-15 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI in his last five games.
More importantly, the 25-year-old is easily the most popular member of the clubhouse. Having worked his way up through the Rays' minor league affiliates, he knew just about everyone in the organization.
"I spent seven years here," Adames told 10 Tampa Bay's Grace Remington. "So this is kinda like family -- no, not kinda -- this is family. It's hard to leave the guys, to leave the staff, to leave everybody I know here."
Adames said his goodbyes to teammates at TD Ballpark in Dunedin on Friday, where Tampa Bay is starting a four-game series with the temporarily-relocated Toronto Blue Jays. He said he had received the news of the trade about two hours before batting practice.
"It's a mix of sad, but excited," Adames said. "It's just a new opportunity. That's how I see it. Obviously, I'm gonna miss my boys, the organization, the fans, the city."
Adames quickly became a fan favorite with his fun-loving personality. After Rays' home runs, he was the first player out of the dugout to greet the homerun-hitter with a handshake and hug.
Tampa Bay's farm system is deep with shortstop and middle infield talent, including the MLB's No. 1 overall prospect Wander Franco and No. 40 overall prospect Vidal Brujan. Taylor Walls -- who the Rays will call up Saturday -- Greg Jones and Xavier Edwards are also lurking in the minor league system.
But the team-first Adames was never concerned about keeping his spot on the roster, at least not publicly.
During spring training in February, he said: “I don’t have to worry about somebody taking my job. I want them to get better. Because I’m getting better too. It’s not that I’m just helping them and I’m staying at the same level. I’m trying to get to the next level.
“So I don’t (mind) helping Franco, Brujan, whoever. Because they have to do their thing to get to the big leagues and stay there. And I had to do my thing to stay here and continue to get better. So I don’t even think about that. I’m just another guy who tries to help the teammates.”
Adames broke into the big leagues in 2018 with the Rays, appearing in 85 games. His Major League debut was one to remember. On May 22 in his second-ever MLB at-bat, he knocked a ball into the left-field seats at Tropicana Field against Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox.
His best season with Tampa Bay came the following year in 2019, when he hit 20 homers. He also had a respectable pandemic-shortened season in 2020 and helped the Rays reach their second World Series in franchise history.
"I have a lot of good memories here," Adames said. "I feel like the whole ride was special. Obviously, the World Series. My call-up. Watching Randy do what he did last year. I wish the best for the whole organization and all the guys here."
Richards made six relief appearances with the Rays this season. He was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Miami Marlins "minutes" before the 2019 trade deadline.
J.P. Feyereisen, 28, made the Brewers Opening Day roster for the second consecutive season. He is currently 0-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 21 relief appearances. According to a release, he did not allow an earned run in his first 17 appearances this season. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 16th round of the 2014 Amateur Draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He was then traded to the New York Yankees in 2016 and then to the Brewers in 2019.
The Rays say 25-year-old right-handed pitcher Drew Rasmussen will report to Triple-A Durham. He made his first career Opening Day roster this season and went 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 15 relief appearances. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of high school but opted to attend Oregon State University, where he pitched the first perfect game in school history.
Rasmussen was selected 31st overall by the Rays in the 2017 Amateur Draft but didn't sign and underwent a second Tommy John surgery in September 2017, forcing him to miss the entire 2018 season. In 2018, he signed with the Brewers in the sixth round during that year's draft.
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