The Minnesota Twins acquired right-hander Taj Bradley from the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at the MLB trade deadline in exchange for right-handed reliever Griffin Jax, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Bradley will head to Minnesota after recently being demoted to Triple-A. Before being sent down, the 24-year-old former fifth-rounder in 2018 struggled for the Rays to a 6-6 record, 4.61 ERA (4.19 FIP) and a 1.28 WHIP with 95 strikeouts and 44 walks in 111 1/3 innings pitched over his 21 starts. The Twins will now be looking to turn around one of the Rays' previous top prospects after he posted a 4.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 378:130 K:BB in his first three years in the big leagues. In his lone start with Triple-A Durham, he tossed seven shutout innings with three K's. With Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober and David Festa all on the IL, Bradley has a decent shot at returning to the big leagues in Minnesota's starting rotation.

The Tampa Bay Rays have optioned right-hander Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The club made the move after Bradley's rough start against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Bradley didn't factor into the decision in an 11-9 loss, but he put the Rays behind the 8-ball by surrendering four runs in 1 2/3 innings. He allowed four hits, walked three, and didn't record any strikeouts over 55 pitches (32 strikes). The 24-year-old pitched well during a previous three-start stretch in which he allowed just four earned runs in 17 2/3 frames. Overall, though, Bradley has pitched to an uninspiring 4.61 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP and 95:41 K:BB across 111 1/3 innings. Bradley's name has come up in recent trade speculation, making this an intriguing situation to monitor leading up to the July 31 deadline. For now, the team seems likely to turn to Joe Boyle to take Bradley's rotation spot.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Taj Bradley showed off a high ceiling during a dominant stretch last season, but the promising righty has struggled this season. His strikeout rate has dropped from 26.6% to 20.4% while his ERA has ballooned to 4.60 with a 1.27 WHIP. His FIP, SIERA, and xERA indicate he has gotten a little unlucky to give up so many runs with the quality of contact against him, but he hasn't been able to really find a good groove. He was a top prospect at one point and still has an extremely high ceiling, so if the Rays are willing to move him at a reasonable price, many teams will be interested in his high upside. The raw potential is there for Bradley, but he may need a new team to get him to find the consistency to be a front-line starter.

USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale writes that the Tampa Bay Rays are listening to offers for right-handed starter Taj Bradley and are officially open for business after acquiring reliever Bryan Baker from the Baltimore Orioles recently. The Rays really limped to the All-Star break and are now sitting at 50-47, in fourth place in the American League East and 5.5 games out of first place. Once one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, the 24-year-old Bradley has not lived up to expectations in his first three years in the majors with the Rays. He's currently sporting a 5-6 record with a 4.60 ERA (4.14 FIP), 1.27 WHIP and 89:40 K:BB in 103 2/3 innings over his 19 starts. Bradley's strikeout rate sits in just the 37th percentile, while his whiff rate is in the 27th percentile, and his hard-hit rate is in the 65th percentile. Perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley logged his worst start of the season in a no-decision against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. The Rays staged an improbable comeback in a 12-8 win, but Bradley yielded seven runs (six earned) on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 1 1/3 innings to put them in a big hole early. He allowed a pair of three-run homers - one to Colton Cowser and the other to Ramon Laureano - during the disastrous showing. This has been an inconsistent season for the 24-year-old, who has mixed several quality starts with a handful of awful performances. Having surrendered five or more earned runs four times, Bradley owns an unimpressive 4.95 ERA over 80 innings. Bradley will attempt to lower that number Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals. He limited the Royals to two earned runs across seven innings in a 3-1 loss on April 29.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley received his fifth loss of the season on Sunday against the Astros despite striking out 10 and allowing only one unearned run over seven innings. He gave up three hits and walked two. This is the second straight outing where he's gone seven strong innings and still gotten stuck with the loss. The 24-year-old has been much more efficient this season than in past years with eight quality starts in 12 tries. In 2024, he achieved that in only 10 of his 25 starts. However, the efficiency seems to have come at the cost of getting fewer strikeouts, as the 26.6% K rate he posted last season is down to 21.9% this year. The youngster will carry a 3.95 ERA into his next start, which is set to be against the Marlins.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley turned in a solid start but took the loss in Tuesday's 4-2 game against the Twins. Bradley pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits (including a solo home run) and two walks with six strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Bradley's effort was overmatched by Joe Ryan, who turned in a quality start and earned a win. The 24-year-old has been decent overall this season, going 4-4 with a 4.38 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 7.63 K/9 rate in 11 starts and 63 2/3 IP. Bradley's low strikeout mark is worth noting from a fantasy perspective, although he has provided improved numbers in his last three starts. His next scheduled start will be a tougher matchup at the Astros, a lineup that does not strike out much. Bradley is worth starting in points leagues, but fantasy managers may consider sitting him in roto leagues.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings of work, but did not factor into the decision in the 3-2 victory over the Brewers on Saturday. The 24-year-old seems to have righted the ship after a six-run blowup against the Yankees a few weeks ago, posting three quality starts in his last four outings, now with five quality starts on the year (out of eight). The righty owns a 4.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and an 8.4 percent K-BB% so far in 2025. With an 18.3 percent strikeout rate that is well below his 25.9 percent career rate, hopefully he can start striking out a few more batters in these quality starts, which would make the former fifth-round draft pick much more serviceable for fantasy, and he'll get that opportunity against the Marlins next week, a team with the sixth-highest strikeouts-per-game average in the majors.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley looked solid on the mound during Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The 24-year-old struck out seven batters while allowing two earned runs on seven hits across six innings of work. The biggest issue for Bradley has been his control and he seemed to hitting his spots on Sunday. The Rockies lineup isn't exactly stacked with talent, so we'll see how Bradley does during his next start against the Texas Rangers. Bradley isn't an elite fantasy option, but he's worth rostering in most 12-team standard formats right now.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley was inconsistent in his spring training start on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays. He went 5 innings and allowed nine hits, three earned runs, two walks, and only four strikeouts. It's not necessarily the start fantasy managers were looking for, as Opening Day is less than a week away. Bradley enters the 2025 season as the No. 4/5 starter for the Rays, and although he has shown a lot of upside in his first couple of seasons in the MLB, he has shown just enough clunkers, similar to his start on Thursday. Hopefully, he can showcase more consistency in 2025 to live up to his potential and help the Rays compete for an AL East title.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley unveiled a new pitch during Tuesday's spring training contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. Bradley's new pitch is a modification of his cutter that moves like a slider. Bradley noted that this pitch will look to limit hard contact. Last season, the right-hander showed flashes of potential times but struggled to find consistency as he struggled to keep the ball in the park. He allowed a high 10.2 percent barrel rate with a 42.9 percent hard-hit, which placed him in the ninth and 15th percentile, respectively. The 23-year-old also allowed a high 1.4 HR/9, which was one of the worst marks among starting pitchers last season. However, he was able to generate strikeouts at a strong 26.6 percent rate and whiffs at a 27.4 percent rate. If this new pitch finds him success during camp, he could become an intriguing late-round target when looking for an upside starting pitcher.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley tossed six innings of shutout ball in Friday's 2-1 victory over the Red Sox, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out seven on the way to earning his eighth win of the season. It caps off an up-and-down season for the righty, as he had a nine-game stretch where he pitched to a 0.82 ERA in the middle of the season, but allowed four runs or more on eight other occasions. Still, his final 4.11 ERA and 1.22 WHIP were improvements over 2023, and his 3.69 SIERA might offer a ray of hope for next season's fantasy prospects as the 10.04 K/9 ability should remain intact.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley continued his recent struggles in Monday's 6-1 loss to the Astros. Bradley pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits (including two home runs) and two walks with six strikeouts. He also hit a batter. The 23-year-old is now 6-7 on the season with a 3.49 ERA, a 10.57 K/9 rate, and a 3.12 BB/9 rate in 17 starts and 95 1/3 IP. While his season numbers are solid, he has struggled in his last three starts, allowing 15 earned runs in just 14 IP. Things won't get easier for him in his next start, which will be against a surging Diamondbacks lineup. Fantasy managers may consider sitting him if they can afford to.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Taj Bradley continued his recent run of dominance Thursday, firing six shutout innings and earning his sixth win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Bradley struck out seven hitters en route to another strong performance. Bradley is now 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 97 strikeouts in 81 innings. Bradley has been a bright spot in a mediocre year for the Rays, becoming their de facto ace in the process. Bradley gets the Miami Marlins in a home game next Tuesday.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Taj Bradley stifled the New York Yankees lineup on Saturday with seven innings of one-hit ball. Bradley struck out five and walked two, nabbing his fifth win of the season on the road. The 23-year-old right-hander has been impeccable in three July starts, going (2-0) with a 0.45 ERA, allowing only one earned run and striking out 18 in 20 innings. Bradley has been one of the top prospects in the Rays system for a long time, and it looks like he's putting it all together. He next lines up to take the mound in Toronto against the last-place Blue Jays and should be started in all fantasy formats.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley continued his stellar first half of the season on Friday and struck out eight batters in seven innings of shutout ball during the Rays' 2-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians. He decreased his ERA to 2.90 and improved his record to 4-4. Bradley now has five straight starts at home where he has struck out seven or more batters, particularly notable against the normally strikeout stingy Guardians (19.6% K% in 2024, fourth lowest in MLB). Though Bradley's 4.26 xERA suggests he's been the beneficiary of luck, the 23-year-old has started to figure things out and become more seasoned in 2024. Fantasy managers are unlikely to find Bradley on their waiver wire, but DFS managers may want to continue targeting Bradley in home starts where he's especially solid with a 1.76 ERA.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley pitched well on Sunday, earning the victory in a 5-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals. Bradley pitched into the sixth inning, surrendering no runs on only three hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters. Bradley earned his third win of the year and sports a 3.42 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and 72 strikeouts in 55 innings for the Rays this season. He has provided stability for an at times rocky rotation. Bradley gets the Texas Rangers in his next start this coming weekend.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley had a confounding start in Monday's 5-0 loss to the Red Sox. He pitched seven innings and struck out 10, but he also allowed five runs on five hits, including two home runs. The 23-year-old has looked good overall in his first three starts this season, going 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA, an 11.50 K/9 rate, and a 1.50 BB/9 rate in 18 IP. As a top fantasy prospect last season, Bradley flashed strikeout skills but also showed a propensity for giving up the long ball. Fantasy managers may not be fully ready to trust him now, but it will be easier to forgive him if he continues to strike batters out at a high rate. His next projected start will be against a hot-hitting Royals lineup.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley (pectoral) fanned seven New York Yankees in his 2024 debut on Friday but took the loss in the team's 2-0 defeat at Tropicana Field. Reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, the 23-year-old allowed one earned run on four hits over his six innings while also walking a pair of batters. Bradley tossed 93 pitches, with 59 crossing home plate for strikes. Bradley's fastball topped out at 99.2 mph. He is projected to remain in the Rays rotation and will make his next start this Wednesday when the Rays visit the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Tampa Bay Rays reinstated right-hander Taj Bradley (pectoral) from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, and he'll take the rotation spot of fellow right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who was placed on the 15-day IL on Wednesday with a left lower-leg contusion. Bradley is expected to make his season debut for the Rays on Friday at home against the division-rival New York Yankees after looking strong during his minor-league rehab assignment. The 23-year-old initially suffered his pectoral injury while pitching in spring training. Bradley, one of the team's former top prospects, was inconsistent in his major-league debut in 2023 with a 5.59 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, but he also walked just 39 and struck out 129 in 104 2/3 innings over 23 appearances (21 starts). He needs to be rostered in most mixed fantasy leagues now that he's about to make his 2024 debut.