Levi Stoudt’s stay on the open market was brief.
Just three days after electing free agency, the right-hander reportedly reached a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, Nov. 5, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay, the defending American League champions, will also invite Stoudt to major league spring training.
Stoudt spent the 2026 season in the Phillies organization after signing a minor league contract with Philadelphia in December 2025. He made 17 appearances between the club’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates and did not allow a run.
The 29-year-old has bounced between the injured list and the minors over the last three seasons. He also appeared in four games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2023 and owns a 0-1 record with a 9.58 ERA in 10.1 big league innings.
There were signs of life before a season-ending injury in July. In 22.2 innings, Stoudt struck out 23 and limited opponents to a .118 average, numbers that helped back up the 0.00 ERA he posted in that stretch.
At Triple-A, Stoudt worked with a four-seam fastball that reached 97.8 mph, along with an 87-mph slider and an 84-mph sweeper.
Back in June, he told the Morning Call that he felt things clicked when he leaned on his slider more and stopped getting behind in counts as often at Triple-A.
A Pennsylvania native, Stoudt was included in a blockbuster 2022 trade to the Reds with Seattle Mariners teammates Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Moore and Noelvi Marte in the deal that sent Luis Castillo to Seattle.
Tampa Bay is now the fifth organization of Stoudt’s career.
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