The Tampa Bay Rays claimed Jake Reed off waivers four days after he was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reed is the third player the Dodgers have lost to a waiver claim this season, joining Travis Blankenhorn and Ashton Goudeau. Nate Jones cleared waivers but elected free agency.
Reed signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers last month and joined the Major League roster on July 6. The right-hander made his MLB debut that night and pitched as an opener the following game against the Miami Marlins.
Reed originally was a fifth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2014 out of the University of Oregon. He remained in the Twins organization until 2020 when he signed a Minor League contract with the L.A. Angels.
After not playing last year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Reed began 2021 with the Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake City affiliate, making eight appearances and posting an 8.44 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in 10.2 innings before getting released on June 2.
Reed allowed three runs (two earned) in 5.1 innings pitched over six games (one start) for the Dodgers. He was designated for assignment as a corresponding 40-man roster move to the Dodgers acquiring Billy McKinney in a trade with the New York Mets.
Reed following wife in Tokyo Olympics
While Reed making his MLB debut was a career milestone, his wife Janie was not able to be in attendance due to already having departed for Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics beginning.
“The time change is obviously pretty dramatic so I woke her up yesterday when I got the call from Doc, it was probably like 3 in the morning there, so I called her, FaceTimed her, she woke up luckily and we had a quick conversation and she was half asleep,” Reed said last month.
“But it was cool. Obviously wish she could be here but it was a special phone call. She’s been with me through a lot of this, through my career, grinding it out with me in the Minor Leagues and it was a really cool thing to be able to call her and to call my parents. Just a special day.”
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