The Rays designated Heasley for assignment Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Tampa Bay is bringing up a fresh arm in Andrew Wantz, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. Heasley threw 64 pitches across four innings of relief in Wednesday's 11-2 loss to the Orioles, allowing five runs on eight hits with two strikeouts.
The Rays selected Heasley's contract from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday. Heasley had been serving as a swingman at Durham this season, making seven appearances (four starts) while logging a 3.90 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 27.2 innings. Though he could eventually be an option in the Tampa Bay rotation, for the time being, Heasley is expected to settle into a bullpen role. He'll give the Rays another arm who's capable of covering multiple innings after Tampa Bay placed Jesse Scholtens (wrist) on the 15-day injured list Tuesday.
Heasley signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on Tuesday. Heasley has been a free agent since the White Sox released him at the end of March and hasn't pitched in a game at any level this season. The 28-year-old righty owns a 5.89 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP through 139 career innings in the majors and will likely serve as organizational depth while pitching for Triple-A Omaha.