Dylan Carlson's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays non-tendered outfielder Dylan Carlson and left-handers Colin Poche, Tyler Alexander and Richard Lovely on Friday, making them all free agents. Once one of the St. Louis Cardinals' top outfield prospects, Carlson now finds himself on the open market this winter after being traded from the Cardinals to the Rays at the deadline this summer. The former first-rounder in 2016 was slightly better in his time with Tampa but still had an overall disappointing slash line in 2024 at .209/.287/.277 with a career-worst .563 OPS, only three home runs, 25 RBI, two steals and 19 runs scored in 97 total games with St. Louis and Tampa. The 26-year-old switch-hitter will surely latch on with another organization, but he's going to need to play much better to have a shot at a platoon role wherever he lands.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Dylan Carlson homered in Friday evening's series-opening walk-off win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks at Tropicana Field, adding a stolen base. Before hitting an RBI single in the eighth inning, Carlson cranked a solo home run off Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson to right field to cut the Rays' deficit within 2-1 in the fifth frame on Friday against the D-backs. In his last 12 games since joining Tampa Bay, the 25-year-old former top prospect has gone 9-for-34 (.265) with three big flies, eight RBI, four runs scored, and one steal.

The St. Louis Cardinals sent former top prospect Dylan Carlson to the Rays for veteran reliever Shawn Armstrong. The Rays are widely known for their reclamation projects and hope to bring Carlson back to his 2021 form, where he finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .266 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI. 2022 and 2023 were not nearly as kind to Carlson, as he regressed statistically across the board in all major categories, finally leading to his current .198 average and zero homers. A change of scenery might do Carlson some good. At only 25 years old, he still has youth on his side and also comes with a first-round draft-pick pedigree. With the Rays making a flurry of deadline moves of their own, there should be enough at-bats available for Carlson to prove himself. Don't discount the Tampa Bay front office; if they think highly enough of him to buy low, he should at least be added to all watch lists and kept a close eye on, especially over the next few weeks.