A former eighth-round draft pick by the Mets in 2021, Vasil didn’t have a good enough spring training for the Rays to justify keeping him after they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. The White Sox decided to take him, though. Chicago moved Prelander Berroa to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Vasil allowed two hits, walked three and struck out four while lowering his spring ERA to 5.91. We’re not sure there’s enough potential here for the Rays to justify carrying Vasil, especially when they have so much pitching talent on hand already. However, if they don’t keep him, someone else could pluck him off waivers before he gets back to the Mets.

Vasil was facing the lesser split-squad, if that matters. The Rays have plenty of pitching depth, so Vasil is going to have to make a strong impression this spring in order to stick. The 24-year-old struggled to a 6.04 ERA in Triple-A with the Mets last season, but he had great strikeout numbers previously and the Rays obviously think there’s something to work with here.

Vasil heads to Tampa Bay shortly after being gobbled up by the Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft. The 24-year-old prospect was left unprotected by the Mets after finishing last year with a calamitous 6.04 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 109/52 K/BB ratio across 134 innings (29 appearances, 27 starts) for Triple-A Syracuse. He’s likely ticketed for a relief role with the Rays where his stuff should play up.