BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles traded right-hander Shawn Armstrong to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash on Friday.
The right-handed reliever has spent parts of seven seasons in the majors. Armstrong has an 8.55 ERA in 20 appearances with the Orioles this season and was with triple-A Norfolk at the time of the deal.
The Rays have been both buyers and sellers ahead of Friday's trade deadline, acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins and shipping right-hander Diego Castillo to the Seattle Mariners for reliever JT Chargois and a minor league infielder.
Tampa Bay entered Friday trailing first-place Boston by 1 1/2 games in the AL East and leading the AL wild-card race.
Baltimore, which is last in the AL East, made another move Friday, claiming left-hander Ryan Hartman off waivers from the Astros. Hartman had been designed for assignment by Houston on Sunday.
