The Brewers announced to reporters, including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, that outfielder Corey Ray has been outrighted to Triple-A Nashville.
Selected fifth overall in the 2016 draft, Ray came with a lot of hype when he first entered the organization, with evaluators giving praise to his athleticism and hitting ability. In 2017, Baseball America ranked Ray the #42 prospect in all of baseball. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan since then, with Ray struggling to get into a groove at the minors’ highest level.
In 2019, Ray reached Triple-A for the first time, but hit just .188/.261/.329 in 53 games that year. After the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, Ray made his MLB debut in 2021, though he got into just one game before being optioned back down to Nashville. For the rest of the year, he struggled to stay healthy and only got into 39 games. He did managed to put up a decent line of .274/.325/.500 when on the field, but has taken a step backwards this year to the tune of .141/.175/.263.
There was no previous reporting of Ray being designated for assignment, but the club evidently got him through waivers unclaimed at some point recently. He will now stay in the organization but without occupying a roster spot. The club’s 40-man roster count is now 39.