ST. PETERSBURG (620 WDAE) -- The Tampa Bay Rays made a pair of deals Friday, sending a pair of the biggest names on the team out west.
The Rays send outfielder Denard Span and closer Alex Colome to the Seattle Mariners, in exchange for minor-league pitchers Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero.
Span, 34, was acquired in the offseason from San Francisco in the deal that also sent third baseman Evan Longoria to the Giants. The Rays also acquired infielder Christian Arroyo in that deal. He was hitting .238/.364/.385 with four home runs and a team-high 28 RBI.
Colome, 29, leaves the team with the second-most saves in franchise history with 95, trailing only Roberto Hernandez's 101 saves for the Devil Rays. In 2018, he was 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA and 11 saves in 23 appearances.
The official release from the team is below
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Tampa Bay Rays Communications) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired right-handed pitching prospects Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-handed pitcher Alex Colomé, outfielder Denard Span and cash considerations. Moore has been added to the 40-man roster and will report to Triple-A Durham.
Moore, who turns 24 on June 2, pitched in 11 games (nine starts) over four stints with Seattle in 2017, going 1-5 with a 5.34 ERA (59-IP, 35-ER) and only 8 BB allowed. He did not yield a walk in the majors until his 70th batter faced, and threw at least six innings in six of those nine starts. This season, Moore is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA (50.1-IP, 17-ER) in nine starts for Double-A Arkansas. He ranks fourth in the Texas League in ERA, and ranks among league leaders with 47 SO (fifth), 1.03 WHIP (second), .210 opponents’ avg. (third) and 9.66 baserunners per nine innings (second). Moore was selected by Seattle in the second round of the 2015 June Draft out of Oregon State University.
Romero, 20, is 3-3 with a 2.45 ERA (44-IP, 12-ER) with 54 SO in nine starts for Class-A Clinton. He ranks seventh in the Midwest League in ERA, fifth in strikeouts and third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.05). Selected in the 15th round out of Eastern Florida State College, he made his pro debut in the Arizona League last summer and over parts of two seasons has totaled an 8-4 record and a 2.27 ERA, holding opponents to a .221 avg. (68-for-307) with only one home run. Romero entered the season rated as the Mariners No. 26 prospect, according to Baseball America. He will report to Class-A Bowling Green.
Colomé, 29, leaves the Rays ranked second in club history with 95 saves, trailing only Roberto Hernández (101). This season he is 2-5 with a 4.15 ERA (21.2-IP, 10-ER) and 11 saves in 23 appearances. In 2017, he became the first pitcher in franchise history to lead the majors in saves (47). Colomé emerged as the Rays closer in 2016 and was named an American League All-Star, recording 37 saves and a 1.91 ERA that year. He had spent his entire 12-year professional career with the Rays after signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2007, including parts of six seasons (2013-18) in the majors, and was the only current Ray who wore Devil Rays green as a minor leaguer.
Span, 34, was acquired by the Rays in the Dec. 20, 2017 trade that sent third baseman Evan Longoria to the San Francisco Giants. This season he is batting .238/.364/.385 (34-for-143) with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, 28 RBI and six stolen bases in 43 games (35 starts). His 28 RBI are his most ever through the team’s first 48 games. An 11-year major league veteran of the Minnesota Twins (2008-12), Washington Nationals (2013-15) and Giants (2016-17), Span is one of eight Tampa-born players to wear a Rays uniform. He was selected by the Twins in the first round (20th overall) of the 2002 June Draft out of Tampa Catholic High School, where he played on the 2001 state championship team and was all-state as a junior and senior.