The Rays announced that right-hander Chris Muller has been placed on release waivers.  Muller was designated for assignment yesterday, and appears to have quickly cleared the DFA waiver process.

Tampa Bay added Muller to its 40-man roster on May 12 when the 27-year-old received his first call-up to the big leagues, though he didn’t officially appear in a game before he was optioned back to Triple-A a few days later.  Now, the Rays have moved on completely from a player they initially selected as a 17th-round pick in the 2017 draft.  Muller has spent his whole pro career in the Rays’ farm system, apart from a brief stint in independent ball during the canceled 2020 minor league season.

Working as a reliever in all but two of his 133 career games in the minors, Muller has consistently produced a lot of strikeouts (29.8% career K%) but also a lot of free passes (12.25% walk rate) in 180 1/3 career innings.  His control problems have worsened as he has risen up the minor league ladder, contributing to his 4.92 ERA over 78 2/3 career frames at Triple-A.  Muller has pitched only at Triple-A Durham over the last two seasons, and his most recent outing saw him surrender four runs over two innings on May 19 against the Nashville Sounds.