Bob Seymour had to grind through the minor leagues as a former 13th-round pick, and in 2025, he finally broke through.
Seymour’s four years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization had been a long, impressive power display, as he hit a total of 89 home runs in 410 minor-league games. That earned him a promotion to the Rays in mid-August, and he got his first 26 games of major league action.
However, the Rays clearly did not like what they saw in those 26 games, because they decided Seymour was no longer worth a 40-man roster spot as the calendar flipped to next season.
Seymour released by Rays on Wednesday
Aug 31, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Bob Seymour (41) prepares to bat against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
Last Thursday, Seymour was designated for assignment in a slough of transactions as the Rays returned players from the 60-day injured list. But on Wednesday, he was surprisingly given his outright release, according to the official MLB.com transactions log.
Seymour, 27, had a rough go of things in 78 at-bats for the Rays in his major league debut. He hit .205 with just a .535 OPS and one home run, and the real kicker was his 35 strikeouts. He’ll always be a player who has a little extra whiff in his game, but over this sample, he simply looked overmatched.
In a way, it could be beneficial to Seymour that he was released. It appears he went unclaimed on waivers, and had the Rays not released him, he could have been outrighted to Triple-A Durham and lost his 40-man roster spot.
Of course, he now has no roster spot of any kind, but some team is bound to see the fact that he hit 30 home runs in 105 Triple-A games this year and believe there’s talent worth tapping into.
The most limiting factor in Seymour’s game, though, is that he exclusively plays first base or designated hitter, so his offense has to be immense to keep him on the field. Still, a team without a clear plan at those positions could easily bring him in on a minor-league deal to compete for a spot.
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