Austin Shenton

Austin P. Shenton (born January 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Career
Shenton attended Bellingham High School in Bellingham, Washington. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 34th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign and played college baseball at Florida International University. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was named a league all-star and the playoff most valuable player of Wareham's league championship run.

Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners selected Shenton in the fifth round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and he signed with the team. He started his professional career that year with the Everett AquaSox before being promoted to the West Virginia Power, batting .298 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs over 53 games between both teams. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He spent the summer as a member of Seattle's 60-man player pool. Shenton started 2021 with Everett before being promoted to the Arkansas Travelers.

Tampa Bay Rays
On July 29, 2021, the Mariners traded Shenton and J. T. Chargois to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Diego Castillo. He was assigned to the Montgomery Biscuits where he finished the year. Over eighty games between Everett, Arkansas, and Montgomery he slashed .295/.398/.549 with 14 home runs and seventy RBIs.

On November 14, 2023, the Rays added Shenton to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He was optioned to the Triple–A Durham Bulls to begin the 2024 season. However, following injuries to multiple players, Shenton was recalled to the Rays' Opening Day roster.