Rays add three prospects in trade for Lowe

Trade season is in full effect for the Rays and Rangers.

Tampa Bay acquired prospects Osleivis Basabe, Heriberto Hernandez and Alexander Ovalles in exchange for Nate Lowe, Jake Guenther and a player to be named later, the clubs announced on Thursday.

We’ve made a trade with the Texas Rangers pic.twitter.com/F8NpRyMVX1

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) December 10, 2020

Basabe, who was Texas’ No. 20 prospect, is a 20-year-old shortstop signed out of Venezuela in 2017. In two pro seasons, Basabe has a composite .334/.386/.439 slash line with 66 RBIs, eight walks and 21 strikeouts over 89 games between Rookie ball and Class A Short Season Spokane. The right-handed hitter swiped 19 bags in 27 attempts over the two seasons.

Hernandez was also signed by Texas in 2017. The Dominican Republic native brought a lot of value on both sides of the ball through his first two campaigns. He split time between catching, first base and right field with first getting a slight plurality of his time. At the plate, the 20-year-old teammate of Basabe tallied a .320/.450/.635 slash line with 23 homers and 98 RBIs over 113 games in 2018 and 2019 combined en route to being named the organization’s No. 24 prospect

While not as highly ranked as the other two, Ovalles has followed a similar path, signing out of the Dominican in 2017 and playing in Rookie ball and at Spokane. But this 20-year-old outfielder was first signed by the Cubs and dealt to the Rangers on Aug. 18, 2018. In his pro career thus far, Ovalles has a .299/.376/.456 slash line with 29 extra-base hits, 41 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 70 games from the left side of the plate.

On the other side of the deal, Guenther was a 2019 seventh-round pick out of TCU. The 23-year-old first baseman had a strong introduction to pro ball, hitting .320/.431/.423 with 10 doubles and 30 RBIs in 48 games for Rookie Advanced Princeton. His .431 on-base percentage led the club.

Lowe, who burst onto the Major League scene with an electric debut in 2019, turned heads in the Minors in 2018 when he hit .330 with 27 jacks and 102 RBIs as he climbed from Class A Advanced to Triple-A. The 25-year-old played 21 games in the Majors this year, notching an .883 OPS before getting tapped for one game in the Wild Card Series. He went 0-for-3 against the Blue Jays. Lowe's brother Josh is currently a prospect in the Rays system.

Reds pick up Rivas from Halos: Cincinnati added No. 25 Angels prospect Leonardo Rivas on Thursday as the player to be named later in the Monday trade that sent Raisel Iglesias to LA.

Rivas is a 23-year-old, switch-hitting shortstop who stands out most for his run and fielding tools. He last hit .236/.328/.377 with six homers and four steals over 73 games for Class A Advanced Inland Empire during the 2019 season. The Venezuela native also saw time at second base, third base and center field in that campaign, and that versatility could help his chances in the Reds system.