Tampa Bay Rays Have Used Eight Catchers In Two Years And 14 This Decade

TAMPA: Pete Fairbanks (l.) of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates with Hunter Feduccia after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 at George M. Steinbrenner Field on August 2, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/Getty Images)

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In an eight-game stretch from July 26 in Cincinnati to August 2 in Tampa against the Dodgers, the Tampa Bay Rays started four catchers: Danny Jansen, Matt Thaiss, Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia. They have used five this season, eight the past two seasons and 14 have squatted behind the plate this decade for manager Kevin Cash, a former catcher, who hit .161 in 13 games with the then-Devil Rays in 2005.

The list of catchers this decade ranges from one who slugged 33 homers during an all-star season to one who did not play a home game in his ever-so-brief tenure with the Rays. Here is the list, which is arranged alphabetically.

Christian Bethancourt

Acquired by the Rays in July 2022 for a pair of minor leaguers, the Panamanian hit .235 with 18 homers in 148 games through the 2023 season with Tampa Bay. Bethancourt was waived following that season and latched on with a couple of clubs before Toronto signed him in January. He is currently with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

Logan Driscoll

The product of George Mason University was acquired from the Padres along with Manuel Margot in exchange for Emilio Pagan prior to 2020 spring training. Driscoll, who was drafted by San Diego (No. 73) in 2019, climbed through the system and made his Tampa Bay debut last season when he was called up September 1 and spent the final month with the parent club. He drove in the game-winning run in his MLB debut and went 6-for-35 (.171) in 15 games. Driscoll, who was sent to Triple-A Durham in spring training, has not played this season due to injury.

Hunter Feduccia

A 12^th-round pick of the Dodgers in 2018, Feduccia was acquired by the Rays at Thursday’s deadline and debuted with the team against his former club Saturday. The 28-year-old came to Tampa Bay in exchange for three players, including Ben Rortvedt (below), who was at Triple-A Durham. The lefty-hitting Feduccia was batting .299 with nine home runs in 79 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City when he was acquired. Saturday marked his first MLB game this season and eighth of his career.

Nick Fortes

The 28-year-old Miami native made his Tampa Bay debut Tuesday in the Bronx after he was acquired from the Marlins. He was drafted by the Marlins in 2018 and broke in with the club in 2021. A .224 career hitter with a .621 OPS, Fortes played in a career-high 110 games last season. He played collegiately at Ole Miss and was with the Rebels at the same time new teammate, outfielder Jake Mangum, was at rival Mississippi State.

Alex Jackson

Acquired from Milwaukee at the 2023 trade deadline, Jackson finished that season at Triple-A Durham before joining the Rays in 2024. To say he struggled at the plate would be the utmost understatement given he batted .122 in 58 games (139 ABs) with three homers. The sixth overall pick of the Mariners in 2014, Jackson is a career .143 hitter (139 games) and has bounced between the Reds, Yankees and Orioles since the end of last season. He is currently on the Baltimore roster and homered against the Rays last month at Steinbrenner Field.

Danny Jansen

Jansen signed for one-year and $8.5 million in December and hit .204 with 11 homers in 73 games with the Rays. He was traded to the Brewers in his home state of Wisconsin on Monday for a minor league infielder. Jansen was acquired at last year’s deadline by the Red Sox from Toronto, for whom he hit 71 homers with a .733 OPS in seven seasons.

Francisco Mejia

The 5-foot-8 switching-hitting catcher had his moments in a Tampa Bay uniform, including three games of at least four RBI in a two-month stretch of 2021. That was Mejia’s first of three seasons with the Rays, and he batted .260 with a .738 OPS while platooning with Mike Zunino. All told, Mejia hit .245 with 17 homers and a .682 OPS in 227 games with TB. He was released the day before last season’s opener. He spent the first part of this season in the Mexican League before signing with the Nationals and is currently with Triple-A Rochester.

Joseph Odom

A product of Division-III Huntingdon (Ala.) College, Odom was called up in April 2021 after reliever Ryan Sherriff was placed on the restricted list. He went 0-for-2 in two games (both at Fenway Park) and was designated for assignment six days later and never again appeared in the majors. Odom, who also played 18 games with Seattle in 2020, retired after spending the 2022 season with the Mariners’ Triple-A club in Tacoma.

Michael Perez

Perez spent seven years in the Diamondbacks’ system prior to being dealt to Tampa Bay for Matt Andriese at the 2018 trade deadline. He spent parts of three seasons (2018-20) with the Rays, playing in 84 games and hitting .221 with two homers in 204 at-bats. Perez was waived after the 2020 season and claimed by the Pirates, for whom he hit .145 in 109 games over parts of two seasons. His last MLB action was with the Mets in 2023 before kicking around the minors. He was released by Arizona in June.

Rene Pinto

Pinto was the longest-tenured player in the Rays’ organization before he was waived following the 2024 season. The Venezuelan was signed at age 16 by Tampa Bay in 2013, made his MLB debut in 2022 and hit .231 with 10 homers in 82 games over parts of three seasons. Pinto was selected off waivers by the Orioles in November, waived in January and plucked by the Diamondbacks. Still only 28, he with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno.

Ben Rortvedt

The left-handed hitter was acquired the day before the Rays’ 2024 season opener (ending Mejia’s time with TB) in a three-team deal that involved the Marlins and Yankees, for whom he played in 2023. Rortvedt hit .340 in his first month with the Rays and checked in at .270 with a .733 OPS at the season’s halfway point. He batted .140 the duration of his tenure with the club, including the first two months of this season before he was designated for assignment. Rortvedt, who hit .204 in 138 games with Tampa Bay, was at Triple-A Durham when he was included in the deal with L.A. that landed Feduccia.

Kevan Smith

The former two-sport athlete at Pitt, where he was a backup quarterback, was a seventh-round selection of the White Sox in 2011 and played parts of three seasons with the Pale Hose. After a year with the Angels, Smith was signed by the Rays as a free agent in January 2020. He went 9-for-35 (.257) in parts of two seasons before he was acquired by Atlanta for cash considerations in May 2021. He played the rest of that season with the Braves in what was his last hurrah in professional baseball.

Matt Thaiss

Thaiss began this season with the White Sox (.212, 85 ABs) before he was acquired by the Rays on May 28 – resulting in Rortvedt’s exit – for minor league outfielder Dru Baker. He hit .212 in 25 games with Tampa Bay before he was designated for assignment Friday. The lefthanded hitter was selected 16^th overall by the Angels in the 2016 draft out of Virginia. He hit .208 with 22 homers in 225 games for the Halos, for whom he debuted in 2019.

Mike Zunino

The former Florida Gator was the third overall pick of the Mariners in 2012 and played six seasons with Seattle before the Rays acquired him following the 2018 season. Zunino hit .161 in his first two years with Tampa Bay before exploding for 33 homers (333 ABs) and slugging .559 in 2021, a season that earned him a trip to Denver for the all-star game. Zunino played one more year with the Rays – after the team picked up his option – and half a season with Cleveland before he was released. He announced his retirement in March 2024. During his time with the Rays, ‘Z’ hit .183 with 51 homers in 263 games. His HR total is the most by a catcher in the team’s 28 seasons.