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Rays Reinstate Shane McClanahan, Kevin Kiermaier; Designate Joey Krehbiel

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The Rays have reinstated left-hander Shane McClanahan from the 10-day injured list and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier from the COVID-related injury list.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Joey Krehbiel has been designated for assignment while righty Louis Head has once again been optioned to Triple-A Durham.  (Rays broadcaster Neil Solondz was among those to report the news.)

McClanahan is scheduled to start today’s game against the Tigers, and the southpaw will return after a minimal 10-day IL visit due to lower back tightness.  McClanahan has enjoyed a lot of success in his first MLB season, posting a 3.59 ERA/3.62 SIERA and very solid strikeout (27.5%) and walk (7.3%) rates over 22 starts and 110 1/3 innings.  While McClanahan allows a lot of hard contact, it hasn’t translated into much extra damage — if anything, McClanahan’s .339 BABIP indicates he has perhaps been a little unlucky.

While 2021 marked McClanahan’s first taste of regular season action, he actually made his big league debut during last year’s playoffs, delivering an 8.31 ERA over 4 1/3 innings.  The Rays will be hoping for much more from McClanahan in this year’s postseason, as the left-hander projects to be one of the few pitchers on Tampa’s roster that might be used more or less in a traditional starting role, though the Rays are likely to be very flexible in how they deploy their arms.

Kiermaier returns after a one-day precautionary stay on the COVID-IL, and Krehbiel (who was added to the active roster in Kiermaier’s place and demoted to Triple-A after Saturday’s game) will now hit the DFA wire.  Krehbiel’s one official day as a Ray saw him toss a scoreless inning in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Detroit, and it gave Krehbiel his first appearance in a Major League game since 2018, when he was a member of the Diamondbacks.

Krehbiel now has four total innings over his MLB career, to go along with 492 career innings in the minors while pitching in the Angels, Diamondbacks, and Rays organizations.  Krehbiel has a 4.19 ERA in 43 innings at Triple-A Durham this year, with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate.  These numbers could attract some attention on the waiver wire for the 28-year-old Krehbiel, if another team thinks he could be a late bloomer as a relief pitcher.

Rays Place Shane McClanahan, Matt Wisler On 10-Day Injured List

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Tightness in Shane McClanahan’s back has forced the Rays to place the rookie southpaw on the 10-day injured list yesterday. The injury is minor, however, and the Rays plan to have McClanahan back in the rotation as of September 19, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

McClanahan has made 22 starts for the Rays, which puts him first on the team in that category, while he’s second in innings pitched with 110 1/3 frames. Those innings have largely been quality: McClanahan has posted a 3.59 ERA/3.23 FIP with a strikeout rate roughly four percent better than average and a walk rate roughly one percent better than average.

In the meantime, Louis Head was recalled from Triple-A, and Chris Archer will move back into the rotation to start today’s game against the Tigers. The 31-year-old Head is in his first season with Tampa, a year in which he’s made his Major League debut and posted a 2.93 ERA/3.52 FIP in 27 2/3 innings. Archer has yet to find his groove, though he did soak up five innings during his last start on September 4.

In less promising news, Matt Wisler could be sidelined for the rest of the season due to inflammation in his middle finger. The team is hopeful he sees some improvement after a 10-day shutdown, but the outlook doesn’t look promising. Wisler has been stellar since joining Tampa from the Giants, pitching to a 2.30 ERA/2.17 FIP over 27 1/3 innings.

If Wisler is out for the year, the Rays could replace him with a familiar face: Nick Anderson should join the active roster for the first time this season on Sunday, per Topkin. That the Rays have succeeded as they have without Anderson all year speaks to their pitching depth. Anderson was a crucial piece of their pen last season and could be again if he appears on track heading into the postseason. Anderson has been out all year with a partial ligament tear in his elbow.

Rays Designate David Hess For Assignment

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The Rays have designated right-hander David Hess for assignment, placed outfielder Randy Arozarena on the paternity list and optioned righty Louis Head to Triple-A Durham, per a club announcement. That trio of moves clears a path for the previously reported promotion of top outfield prospect Josh Lowe and the reinstatement of first baseman Ji-Man Choi and righty Matt Wisler from the injured list.

It’s the third DFA of the season for Hess and his second with the Rays. The 28-year-old right-hander originally inked a minor league pact with Tampa Bay but was traded to the Marlins in early July and quickly immediately added to their MLB roster. The former Orioles righty had gotten out to a terrific start in Triple-A but was clobbered for seven runs in one inning at Coors Field in his second-to-last appearance with Miami, who designated him for assignment about a month after originally acquiring him.

Hess made his way back to the Rays on a new minor league deal, and he’s now been selected to the MLB roster and designated for assignment twice more. He didn’t get into a game the first time but did pitch two innings in his most recent call-up. Things didn’t go well, however, as he surrendered six runs in a pair of innings against the Red Sox. Because of the nature of that DFA carousel, Hess was pitching for just the fourth time in a span of nearly four weeks during his lone appearance in this most recent Rays stint.

On the whole, Hess has surrendered 22 runs in 20 big league innings this season. Most of the damage has come in that pair of ugly outings, but it’s still not a surprise to see a pitcher with that level of cumulative results bumped from the 40-man roster. He’ll now be placed on outright waivers or release waivers in the next couple of days. If he goes unclaimed, the Rays can assign him back to Triple-A Durham, where he’s pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate and a 5.4 percent walk rate in 35 2/3 frames of relief work this year.

Looking to the rest of the Rays’ moves, Lowe looks to be a short-term replacement for Arozarena, who can miss up to three games. Brief or not, the promotion will give Rays fans a glimpse at the future, as Lowe is widely viewed as a long-term building block in the outfield.

Head, like Hess, has been riding the shuttle between the big leagues and Triple-A with dizzying frequency. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times observes that this marks the staggering tenth time that Head has been optioned to Triple-A this season. Despite being bandied about between Durham and St. Petersburg, he’s held his own against MLB lineups, pitching to a 2.93 ERA with a 26-to-9 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 innings of relief. Head has similarly strong numbers in Triple-A, and while it’s surely frustrating to be unable to secure a long-term spot in the bullpen, he’s a 31-year-old who made his MLB debut this season, so even the brief and inconsistent days of Major League service time and pay are a welcome turn of events.

Choi, who’s hitting .250/.364/.435 in 236 plate appearances, missed a bit more than two weeks with a strained hamstring. He also missed time in June with a groin strain. Wisler missed a similar chunk of time with a finger injury on his pitching hand. He’s been excellent since the Rays acquired him from the Giants, pitching to a 1.98 ERA with a 32.7 percent strikeout rate and a 3.8 percent walk rate in 27 1/3 innings.

Rays Reinstate Randy Arozarena; Place Ryan Yarbrough On COVID-IL, DJ Johnson On 10-Day IL

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5:21 pm: Cash didn’t sound particularly optimistic regarding Johnson’s prognosis, noting that the righty’s shoulder injury is “pretty severe” and will require him to miss “substantial time” (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

1:37 pm: The Rays announced a series of roster moves, including the reinstatement of outfielder Randy Arozarena from the COVID-related injury list and the placement of right-hander DJ Johnson on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder sprain.  While these transactions were expected, the club also announced that southpaw Ryan Yarbrough has been placed on the COVID-19 list.  Righty Louis Head has been recalled from Triple-A to take Yarbrough’s roster spot.

League rules don’t require Yarbrough’s exact situation to be made public, so it isn’t known whether or not the lefty has tested positive for the coronavirus himself, or if he is being held out as a precautionary measure due to contact tracing or symptoms.  (Yarbrough had another brief one-day stint on the COVID-IL earlier this season due to vaccine side effects.)  Whatever the reason, it would now seem unlikely that Yarbrough will make his next scheduled start on Wednesday against the Red Sox, so the Rays may need to go with a bullpen game in this key AL East matchup.

Yarbrough has a 4.76 ERA/4.26 SIERA over 119 innings, usually working as a traditional starting pitcher but also making a few appearances as a bulk pitcher behind an opener.  The southpaw is among the league’s best pitchers at limiting hard contact and avoiding walks, though his 19.6% strikeout rate is far below average.

Arozarena returns after just a few days on the COVID-IL for being a close contact to a positive case.  Head is also back in the big leagues in short order after being optioned to Triple-A over the weekend, as teams are able to make quick recalls of players in the event of injury.

Johnson’s shoulder problem arose during Sunday’s game, with the right-hander falling to the ground after throwing a pitch.  Manager Kevin Cash ominously reported that Johnson said he felt a crack in his shoulder, though further tests revealed only a sprain rather than a more serious injury.  Johnson was making his third appearance for Tampa Bay after being acquired in a deadline deal with the Indians.

East Notes: Red Sox, Martinez, Houck, Rays, McHugh, Phillies, Anderson

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The Red Sox have placed designated hitter J.D. Martinez on the COVID-related injured list today after he wasn’t feeling well, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Martinez joins centerfielder Jarren Duran as players recently placed on the COVID-related IL. Test results have not returned for either Martinez or Duran, notes The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. Connor Wong has been added to the active roster in Martinez’s place.

  • Tanner Houck was also added to the roster to make a start in today’s doubleheader, notes Abraham. He will be their 27th man. Houck has a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings, which includes four starts and a pair of appearances out of the pen — his last start coming on July 28th. His Triple-A numbers haven’t been quite as good, but no matter where he’s pitched, he’s been striking out batters, owning a combined 31.3 percent strikeout rate on the year.
  • Elsewhere in the American League East, the Rays reinstated Collin McHugh from the injured list, optioning Louis Head to Triple-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Head has been tremendous when active, tossing 20 innings with a 1.35 ERA/2.71 FIP. McHugh is no slouch himself, however, with a 1.51 ERA/1.36 FIP across 41 2/3 innings. Both right-handers have been able to fill a role as a multi-inning reliever for manager Kevin Cash.
  • In the National League, the Phillies placed Chase Anderson on the 10-day injured list with right triceps tendinitis, recalling Nick Maton from Triple-A, per the team. With a 6.75 ERA/5.85 FIP on the year, one would think that Anderson’s rotation spot would be up for grabs if his absence.The first-place Phillies won’t need to fill his rotation spot until next Saturday, notes The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (via Twitter).

Rays Place Josh Fleming On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced that left-hander Josh Fleming has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain.  Right-hander Louis Head has been called up from Triple-A to take Fleming’s roster spot.

Fleming has worked as both a traditional starter and as a bulk pitcher this season, such as last night’s 4-3 Tampa win over the Angels —- after opener Andrew Kittredge handled the first two innings, Fleming allowed one unearned run over 3 2/3 innings of work.  If Fleming misses only the 10-day minimum, the Rays might not need a replacement for his spot in the rotation whatsoever, as the club has off-days on both Monday and Thursday of next week.

A fifth-round pick for the Rays in the 2017 draft, Fleming made his MLB debut last season and has posted a 3.19 ERA over 98 2/3 career innings in the bigs.  Fleming is an extreme groundball pitcher with a 60.7% grounder rate during his brief time in the Show, as he doesn’t miss many bats (16.4% strikeout rate) or possess a big fastball, preferring to throw his changeup and cutter over half the time.  While Fleming has benefited from a .239 BABIP and the Rays’ strong defense behind him, his 3.98 SIERA indicates that he is still providing solid overall performance.

Rays Select Louis Head, Place Diego Castillo On COVID IL

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The Rays have selected right-hander Louis Head, placed righty Diego Castillo on the COVID-19 injured list and recalled RHP Chris Mazza, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report.

This is a nice birthday present for Head, who turned 31 today. He was a 15th-round pick of the Indians back in 2012, but he hasn’t thrown a single major league pitch to this point. Head, who most recently pitched in the Dodgers’ system, has logged a solid 3.67 ERA in 410 minor league innings. However, he has struggled at the Triple-A level, where he owns a 5.46 ERA over 90 2/3 frames.

Before going on the IL, the 27-year-old Castillo was in the midst of yet another strong season. Through 9 2/3 innings, Castillo has posted a 2.79 ERA with six hits allowed and 13 strikeouts against three walks, and he leads the Rays with four saves in six chances. Jeffrey Springs and Trevor Richards are the only other Rays with saves this year.

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