Rays acquire OF Stuart Fairchild from Braves for cash considerations

Brandon Lowe goes to the 15-day IL with plantar fasciitis.

The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations following his designation for assignment following their addition of C Sandy Leon.

To make room on the roster, the Rays have placed 2B Brandon Lowe on the 15-day Injured List due to plantar fasciitis. Accordingly, utility man Jose Caballero can shift his focus to an infield role, opening up playing time in the outfield for Fairchild. Thus far in 2025, Caballero has 35 games played in the OF (22 starts), and 66 appearances in the infield (39 starts).

Fairchild’s right handed bat will get him in the lineup on the short side of the platoon, but also makes him a little redundant once the roster is healthy given that the team has a similar player already in Christopher Morel.

This gives the “fleet-footed” Fairchild a two week opportunity to make an impression on the Rays brass, or possibly less if outfielders Jonny DeLuca or Richie Palacios return from the IL — both have been injured since the very start of the season.

It’s hard to do much better than Fairchild in a fourth outfielder role. The 29-year old is capable in all three outfield positions and as a pinch-runner, and his Z-O swing decisions are elite, potentially the best in baseball (h/t Cole Mitchem).

Drafted 38th overall in 2017 by the Reds, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in 2020 as part of the Archie Bradley trade, where he made his major league debut in 2021 before being DFA’d in an April 2022 roster crunch. He bounced around on waivers then to the Mariners, Fiants, and back to the Reds where he played until this year, when he was sent to the Braves after not making the Opening Day Roster during Spring Training 2025.

Fairchild is reportedly one of three Taiwanese-American players in the majors that the Chinese Taipei national baseball team has been trying to recruit for next year’s World Baseball Classic. Previous Rays players of Taiwanese decent include Chih-Wei Hu (2017-2018) and Yu Chang (2022).

To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Manuel Rodríguez (right forearm strain) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.