One of the Rays’ better pitching prospects was promoted to the Majors on September 5. That would be Ty Johnson, who joins Tampa Bay after he mowed down hitters regularly between Double-A and Triple-A over the last two years.

Rays call up Johnson

The Rays selected pitcher Ty Johnson from Triple-A Durham.

Johnson was one of three players the Rays acquired two years ago when the club shipped Isaac Paredes to the Cubs. The other two were Christopher Morel and reliever Hunter Bigge. Both Bigge and Morel, now with the Mets, saw time in Tampa. But Johnson could be the best of the three.

A 24-year-old right-hander, Johnson was a swing-and-miss machine down in the Minors. Through early July, Johnson was one of the top pitchers in that regard among Triple-A hurlers; he was fifth on a list that included several now-Major Leaguers. But that timeframe is also notable, as Johnson missed three weeks and moved to a bullpen role shortly thereafter.

Johnson’s fastball played to 96 MPH out of the bullpen. He struck out a ton of batters as a Minor Leaguer; last season with Montgomery, he punched out 149 over 110.1 IP. Aside from a rarely-used changeup, though, he’s a primary fastball/slider pitcher.

Ross finds new team

The Blue Jays claimed catcher Shawn Ross from the Mets. Ross, who was with the Pirates before landing with the Mets, was designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Ross has just played two games in the Majors, with most of his 2026 campaign spent down in the Minors. But he’s for power, including in his very brief MLB stint, as Ross hit a home run in his second big-league contest on July 26.

He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Recalls & options

Jasson Dominguez (Yankees), Ricky Tiedemann (Blue Jays), and Javier Assad (Cubs) were recalled from the Minors.

Ryan Walker (Giants) and Tyler Ferguson (Cubs) were optioned.

Other notes

The Rays designated infielder Oliver Dunn for assignment.

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