Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted yesterday that starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow is making progress in his rehab from an oblique strain he suffered this spring. Glasnow, who’s in the first year of the two-year extension he signed with the Rays last summer, has managed just 6 2/3 innings of work since he underwent Tommy John surgery partway through the 2021 season and hasn’t broken 100 innings in a season since 2018. When he is on the mound, however, he’s among the most dominant starters in the game, with a 2.75 ERA (152 ERA+) in 212 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2019 season with a phenomenal 36% strikeout rate.
Topkin notes that Glasnow is set to begin throwing off a mound this week, and that the Rays hope he will be built up to 5 innings around the middle of May. That puts him slightly behind the six-to-eight week timeframe that was announced alongside Glasnow’s diagnosis at the end of February, though when he does return he’ll join a rotation of Jeffrey Springs, Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and Zach Eflin that has been dominant to open the 2023 season, with those four starters having combined for a 1.29 ERA in their first seven starts of the season.
As phenomenal as that front four has been, there’s more questions surrounding the fifth spot in the rotation, at least until Glasnow returns to solidify it. Lefty Josh Fleming received the first start of the season in that spot, though Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times notes that he won’t be starting tomorrow’s game against the Red Sox after allowing five runs on ten hits in three innings of work to the Nationals, with the club instead set to give the ball of lefty Jalen Beeks as an opener, taking advantage of the club’s well-rested bullpen. Beeks, who had a 2.80 ERA in 61 innings last year, made seven starts for the club in 2022. That being said, the lefty went longer than two innings just once all season, in a relief appearance that lasted 2 1/3 innings.
While the club appears to be set up well regarding the pitching staff, there’s reason for concern on the other side of the ball, as the day after center fielder Jose Siri went on the injured list with a strained hamstring, it now appears possible that shortstop Taylor Walls may join him. Walls suffered an injury to his elbow on Friday and hasn’t played this weekend, with Ackert noting the club plans to send him for imaging on Monday. If Walls requires a stint on the injured list, Ackert notes that infielder Jonathan Aranda is traveling with the team and will likely step in to take over Walls’s roster spot. Walls struggled with the bat in 2022, slashing a meager .172/.268/.285 in 142 games.
Aranda, who was among the Rays’ top prospects prior to losing rookie eligibility in 2022, struggled in his MLB debut, slashing just .192/.276/.321 in 32 games. Aranda has always torn the cover off the ball in the minor leagues, however, with a career .915 OPS in 111 career games at the Triple-A level. A potential injured list stint for Walls could also open up playing time for Vidal Brujan, who was added to the roster in the wake of Siri’s injury. Brujan was among the top prospects in the sport when he made his debut in 2021, but in 62 games from 2021-2022, the young switch-hitter failed to establish himself at the major league level. Still, he has 223 career steals in the minors and experience in all three outfield spots in addition to third base, second base, and shortstop, leaving him as a valuable utility option should he prove himself capable of hitting in the major leagues.
Vidal Brujan hasn’t impressed yet so a J Aranda call up, couldn’t hurt.
Losing T.Walls isn’t to terrible, for the offense and Brujan, technically can cover, for the time being.
Most impressive though is the Rays fantastic start, lights out pitching and unexpected contributions from Paredes, H. Ramirez and WANDER starting to cook!
More injuries seems to equal more wins for the Rays in the early going.
Braves started out that way too, but eventually every team runs out of depth. Luckily for the Rays, the injury bug hasn’t hit their rotation, so they’re still able to keep themselves in games while only needing a few runs from their offense in order to gain the upper hand.
The Rays always fascinate me with how well they’re ran as an organization. There’s a part of me that wishes they had even a marginally top payroll, but I don’t think they’d be where they are today without having to make such difficult decisions.
Then again, more money typically allows for more mistakes, and can sometimes lead to a level of complacency, they’re forced to constantly stay ahead of the curve if they want to remain competitive.
More money means you take chances and over pay for older players, when they get hurt it’s impossible to unload them. The rays don’t need a top payroll. They would be suited to have the ability to add 20-30 million for one year. That way they can add at the deadline or sign an older free agent for one year (not 2 or 3 years).
True, and well said. As a Yankees fan, the NYY spending has been counter-productive, to say the least. Our IL is routinely more expensive than a lot of teams’ payrolls. Curious to see what will happen in San Diego, since they apparently print their own currency these days.
“Rays have an issue with their fifth starter, as his 2.80 ERA in 2021 is almost a run higher than the rest of their rotation combined’
Meanwhile we all got to watch the magic that is the Angels bullpen last night…
Unlike other teams the Rays actually understand the need for a dozen solid BP arms. The Angels cant be bothered.
That was fun, wasn’t it?