How the Pieces from the Shane Baz Trade are Developing for the Rays
Catcher Caden Bodine, named Carolina League Player of the Month in early May, was promoted to the High-A Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods on May 19 after a dominating six-week stay in Charleston.
Charleston RiverDogs/Provided
One of the bigger moves this winter was the Rays shipping Shane Baz to the Orioles for four of their top 20 prospects in the O's farm system. As you may have seen before on Baseball Scoops, it’s been deemed that the Rays came out on top in that trade. Not that Shane Baz is a bad player, but the ceiling for the players received in return is huge for Tampa's future, especially when you see what the pitching staff is doing this season. So, now let’s take a trip down to the farm and see how these four players are developing. Also in Big Tampa news is that Theo Gillen has been promoted to Double A. Exciting times.
For the first time in a long time, the Rays finally have a legitimate catching prospect. This isn’t even ruling out that they could draft Vahn Lackey with the second overall pick – talk about one of the best young tandems behind the dish. It's a great time to be a Rays fan. Given the logjam at the position, the Rays capitalized and they are seeing results immediately.
Caden Bodine was a great hitting catcher at Coastal Carolina and that’s translated to the minor league systems. He saw 11 games in Low-A last season and slashed .326/.408/.349 with a .757 OPS. Bodine began the season in Low-A and saw those numbers elevate themselves. He slashed .379/.433/.614 with a 1.047 OPS. What’s been most impressive is the power and that’s translated as he was promoted to High-A.
In High-A, Bodine is slugging .500, which is a step above what he was doing this season in Low-A. He already has four home runs, which is one fewer than he had in Low-A and in six fewer games.
Bodine is capitalizing on his RBI opportunities and, most notably, is walking more than he is striking out. He’s a very easy kid to root for and was a great talent evaluation by the Rays when they swung this big trade.
Rays top 5 prospects for 2026 (Baseball America)
de Brun is currently on the injured list and has yet to suit up in a professional game since the big trade. However, there is a lot to love about the player; he's another huge grab in the 2025 Draft class.
He fits the Rays like a glove, as he may not possess the raw power, but thrives on making contact and putting the ball in play. Approach is everything and he has it in spades. de Brun is also a good defender with good range and great athleticism to make plays. Pinch me if you’ve heard that before; a speedy athletic Rays outfielder.
This is a guy who could get the offense going and allow the bigger bats to drive in the runs, while giving the team adequate defense. It’s unfortunate we haven’t seen him yet, but just know that there is plenty of upside and a reason he was the 6th ranked prospect in the Orioles system at the time of the trade.
Michael Forret
Forett had a really good season in 2025 across High-A and Double A combined. He logged 74 innings, averaged 11.07 K/9, a 1.58 ERA, 2.46 FIP, .154 WHIP, 32.3 K%, and a 7.4 BB%. There’s a reason the Rays targeted his arm and we’ve seen over the years what this organization can do with pitching.
In the Rays system, he made 10 starts in Double A, having a 2.15 ERA, but a 4.30 FIP. Compared to last season, he’s seeing his walk rate rise 3% and the strikeout rate lowered by nearly 7%. He got bumped up to Triple A, and in 10.2 innings is still averaging a 10.4 BB% and has given up just as many earned runs in 44 fewer innings.
He has gotten some really rotten BABIP luck, but there are good things that he does. He limits hard contact, doesn’t get barreled to death, excels at getting batters to chase, and doesn’t get beat by the deep ball.
Forrett has an advanced arsenal and something he commands really well. The latest example was his second start with the Durham Bulls. He throws his changeups and sinkers to lefties and leans with his high rise four-seam fastball. Furthermore, he had five different pitches that he threw at least 10% of the time. You love to see that.
Austin Overn is a player that managed to ascend a bit in the Orioles system and reached the Double-A level. Now that he is with the Rays, he is still in Double-A, but what he’s doing this season is a step above what he was doing a season ago.
When you dive into his overall slash line, his batting average went from .266 to .309, on base percentage .326 to .375, slugging percentage .427 to .533, and his OPS .753 to .908. It’s more than that.
One thing that stands out from an overall grade perspective is his raw power (50/55). This season, his ISO (isolated power) went from .150 to .224. In 114 games all of last season he managed to hit 13 home runs. Right now he sits at 7 in only 38 games, so just about halfway there. Magnificent.
Overn is putting the ball in play (.444 BABIP), and excels at pulling the ball in the air. The overall body of work is great to see – this year he's showing growth as a player. Always remember, development isn’t linear.
There are some areas of his game to improve on. He strikes out 32.1% of the time and his walk rate is in the 26th percentile. You want to see that approach change a bit, but when you are hitting the way he is you’ll take what he’s doing.
In the grand scheme of things, the Shane Baz trade is something the Rays would do again, 10/10. The farm is thriving and as we can see, the pitching staff is more than fine.