Guardians & Rays Complete Trade

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Guardians today announced the following transactions:

Acquired 1B KYLE MANZARDO from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP AARON CIVALE.

Activated RHP NOAH SYNDERGAARD from the 15-day Injured List.

Manzardo, 23, is currently the #2 ranked first baseman, the #37 MLB prospect overall and the #4 Rays prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The Coeur d’Alene, Idaho native was selected to play in the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game this past July in Seattle as part of MLB All-Star festivities. In 179 career Minor League games, he is slashing .291/.392/.543/.935 with 50 2B, 35 HR and 127 RBI. This season, he owns a .238 (63-for-265) batting average with 19 2B, 11 HR, 38 RBI and a .784 OPS for AAA Durham (73 games). He has been on the IL since July 10 due to a left shoulder sprain.

In 2022, Manzardo was named Minor League Player of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations Department, hitting .327 (106-for-324) with 26 2B, 22 HR, 81 RBI and 59 BB in 93 games between High-A Bowling Green and AA Montgomery (.426/.617). He led all Rays MiLB players in batting average, OBP, SLG, and OPS. He earned Rays Minor League Hitter of the Month honors in August 2022, batting .375 (27-for-72) with 7 2B, 5 HR and 24 RBI in 23 games.

Manzardo was originally selected by Tampa Bay with the 63rd overall pick (second round) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Washington State. With the Cougars, he had a .365/.437/.640 slash line with 11 HR and 60 RBI in 47 games his junior season and was named a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He was the first WSU player to earn first team All-American honors since John Olerud in 1998.