CURTIS MEAD NEWS

Sent down to minors The Rays optioned Mead to Triple-A Durham on Tuesday.

Impact Mead had been receiving the bulk of the starts at third base following the trade of Isaac Paredes, but he went 3-for-21 at the plate in August while showing shaky defense at the hot corner. Junior Caminero is taking Mead's spot on the roster and will be the team's new everyday third baseman.

AUGUST 13 • ROTOWIRE

Playing time trending upward Mead will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Astros, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

Impact After picking up starts in four of the Rays' last five matchups with right-handed pitching, the righty-hitting Mead will stick in the lineup Monday while the Astros send southpaw Framber Valdez to the hill. Though he appears to be challenging Taylor Walls for a regular spot in the Tampa Bay infield, Mead will likely need to show better production at the plate before he fully displaces Walls. Through his first six games in August, Mead has gone just 2-for-18 with no extra-base hits and one walk.

AUGUST 12 • ROTOWIRE

Mead hits tiebreaking sacrifice fly in 8th, Rays avoid 3-game sweep by beating Orioles 2-1

Curtis Mead had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Baltimore Orioles 2-1

AUGUST 11 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Three hits in return to majors Mead went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Saturday against the Yankees.

Impact Mead was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Saturday to take Yandy Diaz's roster spot (personal) and immediately was in the lineup as the designated against lefty Nestor Cortes. It's unclear how long Diaz will be away from the team, but it's possible that Mead will continue to serve in a short-side platoon role at a combination of second and third base as well as designated hitter.

JULY 21 • ROTOWIRE

First baseman Yandy Diaz put on the restricted list by the Tampa Bay Rays, Curtis Mead recalled First baseman Yandy Diaz was put on the restricted list by the Tampa Bay Rays, who recalled infielder Curtis Mead from Triple-A Durham

JULY 20 • WASHINGTONPOST.COM

First baseman Yandy Díaz put on the restricted list by the Tampa Bay Rays, Curtis Mead recalled

First baseman Yandy Díaz was put on the restricted list by the Tampa Bay Rays, who recalled infielder Curtis Mead from Triple-A Durham

JULY 20 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Recalled from Triple-A The Rays recalled Mead from Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact Mead will rejoin the Rays as infield depth to replace Yandy Diaz (personal), who landed on the restricted list Saturday. Mead was optioned to Triple-A in early May after slashing .218/.269/.276 through 93 plate appearances, and he's since posted an .847 OPS in the minor leagues. He's unlikely to see regular playing time while with the Rays and will likely return to Durham once Diaz rejoins the team.

JULY 20 • ROTOWIRE

Hits bench Monday Mead is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.

Impact Mead had started at second or third base in each of the past 11 games, producing only two extra-base hits while getting on base at a .238 clip over that stretch. Though the 23-year-old remains one of the Rays' top prospects, he could be at risk of losing out on an everyday role once either Jonathan Aranda (finger) or Brandon Lowe (oblique) return from the 10-day injured list. In addition to Aranda and Lowe, Junior Caminero is back to full health at Triple-A Durham and has been sizzling at the plate of late, potentially making him a candidate to join the big club if the Rays want to swap out one infield prospect for another.

APRIL 29 • ROTOWIRE

Curtis Mead, Randy Arozarena homer as Rays battle back to beat Tigers, 7-5 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Curtis Mead’s first extra-base hit of the season was huge for himself and his team. The rookie second baseman, who ha...

APRIL 25 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Curtis Mead's homer carries Rays past Tigers Curtis Mead lofted a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays salvaged one win in their three-game series with Detroit...

APRIL 25 • SACBEE.COM

Mead hits 1st homer of the season and Rays beat Tigers 7-5 to avoid the 3-game sweep

Curtis Mead hit his first homer of the season and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 to avoid a three-game sweep

APRIL 25 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Roster spot not guaranteed Mead may lose out on a roster spot to begin the season after the Rays signed Amed Rosario, John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Mead was expected to have a strong chance to make the Opening Day roster as a backup at second and third base. However, Rosario is also a versatile infielder and right-handed batter, and this fits a similar projected role as Mead. Positively, manager Kevin Cash has praised Mead for the progress he's made with the glove, which could open up opportunity later in the season -- if not immediately.

FEBRUARY 26 • ROTOWIRE

Rays stop 33-inning postseason scoreless streak on Mead's 7th-inning RBI single

The Tampa Bay Rays ended the second-longest postseason scoreless streak at 33 innings when Curtis Mead lined a seventh-inning, two-out RBI single off Texas Rangers starter Nathan E...

OCTOBER 4, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Getting start at second base Mead is starting at second base and batting fifth in Tuesday's Game 1 of the Wild Card Series versus the Rangers.

Impact Mead didn't even seem to be a given to be included on the roster, so the fact that he's starting Game 1 and batting fifth has to be a nice boost to the rookie's confidence. He and his teammates will be squaring off against left-hander Jordan Montgomery.

OCTOBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Springer throws out Mead | 09/24/2023 George Springer makes a strong throw from right field to get Curtis Mead out at second base in the bottom of the 3rd inning against the Rays

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 • MLB.COM

Pops first homer Mead went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-2 loss against the Blue Jays.

Impact Mead hit his first career home run in the seventh inning with a 337-foot liner off Blue Jays' starter Chris Bassitt. The 22-year-old rookie has struggled to see much playing time during the Rays' playoff push as he's only received five starts and 21 plate appearances since being recalled Sept. 12. Mead is slashing .281/.359/.421 in 64 big-league plate appearances.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Back in big leagues Mead was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact He's taking the roster spot of the injured Jose Siri (hand). Mead will provide some infield protection with Isaac Paredes (hand) banged up, although Paredes' return to the lineup is seemingly imminent.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sent back to minors Mead was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Mead had posted an .823 OPS during a modest six-game hitting streak, but he hasn't been playing much. The Rays have elected to replace him with the more versatile Vidal Brujan.

AUGUST 24, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Making most of limited chances Mead went 1-for-4 with two walks, two RBI, two runs scored and a double in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Angels.

Impact Mead stepped into the lineup with lefty Patrick Sandoval on the mound, while Brandon Lowe was out of the lineup. Of Mead's seven starts since being promoted, four have come against southpaws. Though his playing time has been limited, he has at least one hit in each of his last four starts and has scored five runs in that span. Mead has shown the potential to be a productive big leaguer, but for now, he'll need to wait for more consistent playing time.

AUGUST 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Breaks through with three hits Mead went 3-for-5 and scored twice in Monday's 10-2 win against San Francisco.

Impact All three of Mead's hits went for a single, but it was nonetheless a positive performance after he went just 2-for-16 with seven strikeouts over his first six MLB games. The rookie infielder has posted a .302 batting average over 1,048 career minor-league at-bats, so chances are that it's only a matter of time before he starts hitting in the majors. Monday's effort was a step in that direction, though Mead has yet to pick up his first extra-base hit or RBI, and his playing time hasn't been consistent enough to make him a must-roster player in most redraft fantasy formats.

AUGUST 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Collects first major-league hit Mead made his big-league debut in Friday's 8-0 win over the Tigers. He singled in his lone at-bat.

Impact Recalled earlier in the day, Mead wasted no time collecting his first big-league base knock. He entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning -- perhaps not the dream scenario for a debut, but Mead now has his first hit out of the way and won't have that pressure on him when he makes his first career start, likely Saturday against lefty Tarik Skubal. Widely considered a top prospect in the organization, Mead has hit .291/.379/.453 with three homers and three steals in 46 games with Triple-A Durham this season.

AUGUST 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Rays call up Curtis Mead (No. 31 overall prospect) The Rays on Friday called up infielder Curtis Mead, their No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, before their three-game series in Detroit on Frid...

AUGUST 4, 2023 • MLB.COM

Rays calling up top prospect Curtis Mead The infielder gets the roster spot opened up with starter Shane McClanahan’s move to the IL.

AUGUST 4, 2023 • TAMPABAY.COM

Getting call to majors Mead was recalled Friday from Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Mead missed all of May and most of June because of a wrist injury, but the 22-year-old top infield prospect had slashed .355/.460/.438 in 113 plate appearances since returning to Durham's active roster. He doesn't offer a ton of immediate counting-stats upside, but Mead is a very polished hitter for his age with the capability of playing either third base or second base for the Rays. He should at least draw starts against lefties as he arrives in the majors for the first time.

AUGUST 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Returns with big weekend Mead (wrist) was reinstated from Triple-A Durham's 7-day injured list Thursday and went 5-for-9 with two doubles, one triple, two walks, four runs and two RBI in his first two game...

Impact Mead ended up missing two months with the wrist injury, which he suffered when he was hit by a pitch April 29. The prolonged absence likely means that Mead's big-league debut isn't imminent, though the 22-year-old didn't help his case for a promotion by posting a modest .646 OPS in 22 games prior to being shelved with the injury. The fact that Mead has turned in a pair of strong hitting performances since being activated is at least a promising early sign that his power hasn't been compromised by the recent wrist injury.

JULY 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE