The Rays announced that lefty Steven Matz placed on the 15-day injured list, beginning May 4, with left elbow swelling. The right hand Chase Solesky has been selected to take his place on the active list. The 40-man roster had a vacancy due to the righty Yoendrys Gómez he was appointed to the assignment a few days ago, so that Solesky could take that place without a corresponding movement.
Matz’s status is unclear. He’s had a great season so far, with a 3.86 earned run average in seven starts. He last took the ball on Sunday and pitched six one-run innings against the Giants. Obviously, something happened between that start and today. The severity is not publicly known but it is enough that radiation will put him on the shelf for at least a few weeks.
Tampa’s rotation has been great this year and has been a key part of their early season success. The Rays are 22-12 and have a 3.16 ERA against their starters. That includes some openers and is therefore slightly skewed but the third-best ERA in the majors, behind only the Yankees and Dodgers.
Despite the positive results, there are concerns. Ryan Pepiot he will miss the entire season due to hip surgery. Joe Boyle is in IL with elbow strain. Even in a healthy cycle, there are questions. Shane McClanahan he will miss the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons and may face load management questions at some point. Drew Rasmussen he has many injuries on his record. Nick Martinez he has a 1.71 ERA but is a 35-year-old pitcher who has often been pushed to the bullpen in recent years. Jesse Scholtens a nice guy with no experience who was just called off waivers last year.
High hopes Brody Hopkins he’s in Triple-A but probably won’t be called up anytime soon because he has a whopping 20.2% walk rate so far this year. The depth is enough to worry that the club plans to extend both Griffin Jax again Mason Englert.
The Rays will have to shake things up for at least a few more weeks or so, depending on the timeline with Matz. Their next day off will come next Thursday. Martinez started last night. Rasmussen and McClanahan are scheduled for tonight and tomorrow, respectively. Thursday could be the Jax/Scholtens combo, which the Rays have done the last two times in the rotation. That would leave Friday open for a bullpen game or starting spot, before returning to Martinez on Saturday.
Solesky, 28, is currently being called. It’s his first major league debut. A 21st round pick of the White Sox from 2019, he has never been on the radar of prospect scouts. He was in the Nationals’ program last year and had a 5.17 ERA in Triple-A. He signed a minor league deal with the Rays at the start of the season and has a 6.57 ERA in Triple-A so far this year.
He may still be on the roster for a while to pitch some innings, if needed. He has been hitting as a starter and went 5 1/3 innings on Thursday. The results have not been great but he can do the pinch work and spare the rest of the bullpen, if the situation calls for it. Even if in the end it seems like it’s a short time on the show, it could be an interesting experience for a guy who has been on the grind for a while and turns 29 in a few months.
Photo courtesy of Pablo Robles, Imagn Images
