Michael Wacha was impressive against Atlanta on Thursday, while the Tampa Bay Rays announced a pair of Spring roster cuts the last few days, whittling the Spring Training roster down to 33.
First and foremost, apologies for the last two days of radio silence, we were having domain and website difficulty which precluded us from posting anything.
Now that that’s over and out of the way…
Wacha threw 47 of 69 pitches for strikes (68% strike rate) and scattered four hits and walk across five-plus innings, hitting one batter while striking out five. The right-hander limited Atlanta’s presumed Opening Day lineup to 0-5 wRISP including a pair of punchouts. He eventually was charged with his first run of the Grapefruit League season in the sixth inning, however, it came after he left the game.
Everything was coming out really nice. I felt like me and (Zunino) got on a good little rhythm there. We were just attacking the zone, getting ahead of guys, and were able to put them away. And whenever things got a little hairy, a little trouble out there on the bases we were able to lock it down.
— Michael Wacha
Thus far, Wacha has allowed just the one aforementioned run on six hits and a pair of walks with 10 strikeouts across 12 Spring frames. He will get one last tuneup on Tuesday when the Rays face the Tigers. Following the game, Wacha said he hopes to carry this momentum into the regular season.
Whenever you’re working on some stuff, you want to see some positive results, so it’s been really nice. I’ve been real happy with working with (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) in the side sessions before getting out into the game action. I feel like we’re able to translate the stuff we’ve been working on into games, and it’s been working well.
— Michael Wacha
Meanwhile, the Rays moved two steps closer to finalizing their Opening Day roster, whittling down the Spring Training roster from 46 to 33.
On Tuesday, they reassigned pitchers Stetson Allie, Adrian De Horta, Chris Ellis, Dietrich Enns, and Joey Krehbiel as well as catcher Rene Pinto, infielder Tristan Gray and outfielder Ryan Boldt to Minor League camp. Rays manager Kevin Cash was impressed by several players, including Enns.
How can you not be excited about where Dietrich Enns is. Envision him playing a significant part. He’s holding the velocity. The stuff continues to improve with the velocity jump.
— Kevin Cash
Cash told Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) Ellis has been challenged to use his secondary pitches more than he has and that Allie can be a back-end reliever if he consistently throws strikes. Cash also was impressed with Boldt and Gray and the improvement they’ve shown.
On Thursday, David Hess, Dalton Kelly, Miles Mastrobuoni, Joseph Odom, and Brett Sullivan were reassigned to Minor League camp, reducing the Spring Training roster to 33 players, which includes injured players Ji-Man Choi, Kevan Smith, Brett Phillips, and now potentially Nick Anderson, who reportedly suffered a partial ligament tear in his right elbow (more on that below). The only active non-roster player that remains in camp is right-hander Andrew Kittredge, who now could be assured a spot with the news of Anderson’s alleged injury.
According to Adam Berry (MLB.com), Tampa Bay will be without Anderson, the high-leverage reliever, at least through the All-Star break and possibly into August. Per Berry, “surgery was not initially recommended for Anderson, according to a source, but he will be shut down from throwing for eight weeks. After that, the 30-year-old right-hander will be reevaluated before potentially restarting a throwing program.”
The team has not officially confirmed Anderson’s diagnosis.
The right-hander sat out the better part of a week due to elbow soreness and inflammation before returning to the mound on Wednesday afternoon against the Twins. Yet, Anderson’s fastball velocity was noticeably diminished, sitting between 89-92 mph.
The injury will create an open spot on the active roster and 40-man roster, assuming he is placed on the 60-day injured list. In his place, Tampa Bay could rely even more on late-inning relievers, Diego Castillo and Pete Fairbanks. Right-handers Chaz Roe and Ryan Thompson, and southpaws Cody Reed and Ryan Sherriff also represent additional options for Cash and the Rays.
The New What Next
The Rays will play host to the Red Sox on Friday. David Hess will open the game for left-hander Josh Fleming. Jeffrey Springs and Cody Reed also are expected to take the mound vs. those Massholes. We will post the starting lineup upon availability.
Rays 3/26/21 Starting Lineup
TBA
Noteworthiness
— Rich Hill pitched four innings on the backfields on Wednesday, the same day right-hander Chris Archer pitched against the Twins. In fact, both hurlers have pitched on the same day their last two times out. Things that make you go hmm…
— Ji-Man Choi resumed baseball activities Wednesday and said his right knee feels “back to normal.” The first baseman/DH took swings in the batting cage and played catch, and his goal is to get back on the field as soon as possible.
I don’t know how long, but what I do know is that I’m going to try my best to be on the field as early as possible. As of right now, it’s a great sign that my knee’s feeling this way, but we’ll see how this rehab goes. … I’m just disappointed that I can’t help my team at the start of the season, but I know this is a long season ahead of us. What I can do is just be healthy from now on and just never be in this position again.
— Ji-Man Choi, through interpreter Steve Nam
The Rays will lean on Yandy Díaz and Yoshi Tsutsugo at first base in the interim, while Mike Brosseau is also capable of playing anywhere in the infield.