Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Erasmo Ramirez is Getting Better

Erasmo Ramirez reacts on the mound after allowing a two-run home run to Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees. (Photo credit: Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Erasmo Ramirez reacts on the mound after allowing a two-run home run to Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees. (Photo credit: Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
There isn’t much to say about Monday night’s Rays/Yankees contest under the big top. El Caballo left too many pitches in the zone and the Yankees made him pay. All four of the Yankees homers against Colome came with two outs, and New York’s hitters had some pretty comfortable swings against the Rays starter, who really didn’t make strides to knock them off the plate and reclaim the zone. While Colome threw strikes – 99 pitches, 67 strikes (68% K%) – they weren’t quality strikes, resulting in eight runs through six innings.

Might he have been tipping his pitches?

Rays manger Kevin Cash turned to Erasmo Ramirez for the eighth and ninth innings. After throwing a clean eighth frame, Ramirez hit Alex Rodriguez with an errant change-up, then allowed a two-run homer to Mark Texiera. In all fairness, Ramirez threw a good thigh-high pitch on the outside corner of the plate. Credit Texiera for being able to put a good swing on the pitch.

Erasmo Ramirez strikezone plot (credit: Brooks Baseball).
Erasmo Ramirez strikezone plot (credit: Brooks Baseball).
Speaking of Ramirez, what follows is a piece I wrote for another site. I updated the numbers since the righty hurled a pair of innings on Monday.

After a long clip of relatively smooth, injury free sailing, the Tampa Bay Rays have finally caught up with the rest of the league. Currently six pitchers have either gone under the knife, or are expected to. And while Matt Moore and Jake McGee are expected to return soon (relatively speaking, that is) the other four — Jeff Beliveau, Burch Smith, and most recently Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly — are expected to miss a significant amount of time.

Subtract the re-injured Smyly’s three starts (where he struck out 21 in three games), and Tampa Bay still ranks in the top 10 in strikeouts. The team has done a remarkably good job in the absence of their two best-projected starters (Cobb and Smyly).

Where will the team go from here?

In an ideal world, no one else would get injured and the pitchers would continue their consistent ways, but losing the dynamic duo calls for a response. It is the opinion of Marc Topkin that RHP Erasmo Ramirez is the likely in-house replacement for Smyly, conceding that Enny Romero and Everett Teaford could also fit the bill.

We can all agree that Erasmo’s first two appearances ranked toward the bottom of the confidence-meter. Since converting back to relief, however, he has been much better over his last 12-innings of work.

It goes without saying Ramirez is the type of pitcher who needs to work ahead of batters in order to be successful — and successful he was not during his first two appearances (5-1/3 total innings) against Miami and Toronto. The righty faced 37 batters and quickly fell behind 24 of them.

Ramirez threw first pitch strikes only 35% of the time (13-for-37). Opposing batters also tagged him for five first pitch hits over that span, three of which resulted in runs and put runners into scoring position. The gaudy results spoke for themselves, Ramirez allowed 16 total runs — 15 earned.

However, he improved his attack and command from the ‘pen, and pitched well because of it. In the subsequent 14 innings of work, Ramirez threw first pitch strikes 55% of the time (27-for-49) and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and a walk.

The progression of his wOBA and OBP speak to the fact that he is a much better pitcher when he works ahead and attacks the zone with quality strikes:

Erasmo Ramirez through counts

It begs the question, has Ramirez improved because of his recent use out of the bullpen? While it’s hard to infer what his mindset might be, I have my doubts. After all, one of his more dreadful outings came in relief, yet he put together a pretty good one run, a four-hit start against the Blue Jays on April 25th.

One thing is certain, in the words of Joe Strummer, the future is unwritten. Could Ramirez continue his streak of solid pitching over the next month or so, while we await the highly anticipated return of Matt Moore? Sure, why not. Might he regress and be replaced by the likes of Enny Romero? That’s a possibility as well. Could the Rays just keep Matt Andriese and Andrew Bellatti in a tandem until Moore is ready? Sure, but Ramirez only uses one roster spot.

To be clear, while I’m not sold on Ramirez, I remain cautiously optimistic — something that isn’t easy for a baseball grump like myself. Now, no whammies.

The New What Next

Chris Archer looks to bounce back after a pair of less than savory outings when he toes the rubber against Nathan Eovaldi and the New York Yankees on Tuesday. The 25 year-old righty has a high octane fastball, a slider with a good amount of depth and run that generates a lot of whiffs, and a splitter that’s been used as a change-up. You can read more about the pitching matchup in our series preview.

Rays 5/12/15 Starting Lineup

Kiermaier CF
Souza RF
Longoria 3B
Loney 1B
Forsythe 2B
DeJesus DH
Cabrera SS
Guyer LF
Rivera C
Archer RHP

Noteworthiness

— Cash and the Rays haven’t made a decision “quite yet,” on who will start for the Rays in the series finale on Thursday:

We have to get through today, see kind of where we’re at.

The loss of LHP Drew Smyly has left the fifth spot in the rotation perpetually dangling.

Ramirez might be out of the running for a start Thursday after throwing 21 pitches Monday night. Then again, he might be available for a long relief type of appearance.

The combination of Andriese, Bellatti and Erasmo — all of those just kind of see what their usage is the next couple of days, Cash told Bill Chastain (MLB.com).

The possibility also exists that the Rays could make a roster move before Thursday’s game.

— According to Matt Stein (Sports Talk Florida), the impending return of Nick Franklin is nigh. The activation of Franklin will assuredly create a tough roster decision moving forward. It would seem that either Logan Forsythe or Tim Beckham could be effected by the decision, although the team could option a reliever and work with a deeper four-man bench.

It’s not going to be an easy decision. Despite being in the throes of a 2-29 skid, Beckham, who is out of options, is tied for the team lead with 12 runs batted in. He has also been productive off the bench, slashing .438 BA/.471 OBP/1.125 OPS with three home runs. Forsythe has been one of the most productive hitters in the lineup all season, and he’s been extremely hot as of late, hitting .323 BA/.364 OBP/.419 SLG over an eight game span.

Stein also contends that since Beckham could be the odd man out, Franklin could also just remain with Durham until there is an obvious need for his bat.

If what manager Kevin Cash said is indicative of anything, Franklin could be activated as soon as the coming road trip:

We’ll definitely have some decisions to make on the roster in the upcoming week.

— Entering play, Asdrubal Cabrera has accrued 999 career hits. His next hit would make him the 10th active switch-hitter to get to 1,000. Moreover, Chris Archer takes the mound tonight with a 5-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in six starts against the Yankees.

Rays 5/11/15 Starting Lineup, Etc

The Yankees starting pitcher tonight Grimmace...urm, CC Sabathia. (Photo credit: theheckler.com)
The Yankees starting pitcher tonight Grimmace…urm, CC Sabathia. (Photo credit: theheckler.com)

Rays 5/11/15 Starting Lineup

Guyer CF
Souza RF
Longoria 3B
Forsythe DH
Butler LF
Loney 1B
Cabrera SS
Beckham 2B
Rivera C
Colome RHP

Noteworthiness

– Haven’t read our Rays/Yankees series preview yet? Get on that now, my friends.

– As Ian Malinowski (DRaysBay) wrote,

Every win has been a bonus, and every loss could be shrugged off, because pretty much the whole team was on the disabled list. “Just keep it close for awhile,” we said, because the league would be in trouble when Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly came back.

But now, Cobb and Smyly are not coming back. Who knows about John Jaso’s wrist, and for that matter Desmond Jennings’s knee. The wagons are circled, but there is no cavalry on the way.

That means that if this team is going anywhere, it’s up to the guys here right now.Asdrubal Cabrera and Rene Rivera must hit up to their expectations. Steven Souza needs to figure out how to strike out less often. Erasmo Ramirez needs to show that his recent flashes of command are real, and the rotation as a whole must continue to be the best in baseball despite the absence of its two best pitchers.

The New What Next: Rays vs. Yankees, Part Three — A Series Preview

Kevin Kiermaier scores on an RBI sigle by Brandon Guyer. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Kevin Kiermaier scores on an RBI sigle by Brandon Guyer. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
The Tampa Bay Rays split their first of two consecutive four-game sets on Sunday, and they’ll welcome the New York Yankees into the Trop on Monday.

The Rays salvaged the series finale against the Yankees in 13 innings on April 29 in New York, although they’ve have lost four straight against the Evil Empire at home — extending back to 2014. Sure, the Yankees have posted a 5-1 record against the Rays this season, however, the good guys were not competitive in only one of those losses.

Strong performances from the bullpen have kept the New York Yankees at the top of the AL East. Yet Tampa Bay’s relievers have also pitched well, allowing just one run over the last 15-1/3 innings. That said, it is incumbent upon Tampa Bay to score early and hold the lead throughout. The undisputed leader of the Rays, Evan Longoria, has been quiet against New York this season, going 4-22. But, he’s started to get toasty and is fully capable of putting good numbers against CC Sabathia on Monday. He’s owned the swarthy lefty over his career, going 24-58 (.414 BA) with six homers, eight doubles, 14 RBI and a 1.390 OPS.

A caveat, they’ll need to neutralize Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann. Rodriguez went 4-10 with two home runs and six runs scored during the previous meeting at Tropicana Field, and Gardner scored four runs with three steals in the same series.

Sitting just three games out of first, Tampa Bay has vs an excellent opportunity to gain some ground on New York.

Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 10.06.26 PM
Rays and Yankees series starters.

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Rays and Yankees offensive production over the last 14 days.

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Rays and Yankees by the numbers.
CC Sabathia: Sabathia is off to one of the worst starts of his career. He’s allowed at least four runs in four of his six starts and at least one home run in his past three. Furthermore, he ranks among the worst pitchers in baseball with 11.13 hits allowed per nine innings. Key match-ups: Asdrubal Cabrera (3-11, HR, RBI, BB), David DeJesus (16-57, 7 2B, HR, 6 RBI), Logan Forsythe (4-9, 2B, HR, RBI), James Loney (5-20, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (24-58, 8 2B, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB).

Nathan Eovaldi: Per Rotowire, Eovaldi (3-0) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three in 5.2 innings in Thursday’s win over the Orioles. The 25 year-old righty has a high octane fastball, a slider with a good amount of depth and run that generates a lot of whiffs, and a splitter that’s been used as a change-up. The problem with his splitter, batters have figured out the pitch. Case in point, after throwing four straight to Pablo Sandoval, the swarthy third baseman absolutely crushed the last one of the sequence (see below).

GI credit: FanGraphs
GIF credit: FanGraphs
Adam Warren: Per Rotowire, Warren allowed two runs over 4-2/3 innings in Friday’s win over the Orioles. Lest you forget about Warren’s four pitch repertoire: fastball (both four and two seam, averages 94 mph), a whiffy change-up (averages 85 mph, has good depth and run), slider/cutter (averages 86 mph, has good depth and run), and curveball (averages 80 mph, has decent depth and run). Tampa Bay got to Warren to the tune of four runs on six hits on April 17th, yet didn’t fare well against him the next time they faced him. Warren held the Rays to one run on five hits through 5-2/3 in that outing. Whatever the case, the see-saw pitcher has relinquished four earned runs in three of his six starts. Key match-ups: Asdrubal Cabrera (2-7, 2B), Logan Forsythe (2-6, HR, RBI), James Loney (4-9, HR, 5 RBI), Evan Longoria (4-13, BB), Rene Rivera (1-2), Steven Souza Jr. (2-5).

Chase Whitley: Per Rotowire, Whitley got tagged for five runs on six hits (including three home runs) and two walks in 5-2/3 innings Saturday against the Orioles, striking out five. Whitley was very good against the Rays in April, allowing only one run on six scattered hits. Tampa Bay’s hitters hope to see that latter Whitley, not the former. As I wrote previously, the righty has a fastball in the low 90s, a change-up that drops into the mid to low 80s, a slider and a sinker. His change-up induced whiffs 23% of the time last season. Though his BB/9 fell dramatically over the last two seasons, it spiked up to 3.18 in Triple-A in his last 17 innings of work. Key match-ups: Asdrubal Cabrera (3-4, 2B, RBI), Logan Forsythe (1-2, BB), Kevin Kiermaier (2-2, 2B), James Loney (1-3).

Noteworthiness

— RHP Alex Colome enters Monday’s start having not issued a walk in his two previous outings — the first time he has had back-to-back starts without a walk in his career. Juxtapose that with his previous five games when he walked 10 and averaged 4.3 BB/9 in his career.

— SS Nick Franklin resumed his rehab assignment for Triple-A Durham on Sunday, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

— Closer Jake McGee is expected to make his fifth rehab appearance for Durham on Monday. He could return to the fold by weeks end.

— Enny Romero allowed three hits and one walk in five scoreless innings for Durham. He fanned four in his first Triple-A start of the season, after a back injury derailed his spring.

— LHP Drew Smyly will undergo a second MRI today on his left shoulder to get a second opinion after the first MRI taken last week that revealed a tear in the labrum, writes Roger Mooney (Tampa Tribune). A decision on Smyly has yet to be made by the team.

— Our next watch party is just around the corner, on Saturday May 16. Hope to see all of you at Green Bench Brewing Company.

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Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Win 7-2, Smyly Likely to Need Season Ending Surgery

Steven Souza Jr. celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Texas Rangers reliever Anthony Bass in the fifth inning on May 9, 2015. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Steven Souza Jr. celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run off Texas Rangers reliever Anthony Bass in the fifth inning on May 9, 2015. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr., and Asdrubal powered the Rays to their second straight victory over the Texas Rangers by a 7-2 score, Saturday night. Reliever Andrew Bellatti was the winning pitcher in his major league debut, while Brad Boxberger was credited with the save — his eighth of the season. Tampa Bay maintains solid footing in the AL East — just a game behind the Yankees — after winning four out of its last six, and six of its last 10.

Longo gave starter Matt Andriese an early three-run cushion with a homer off the batter’s eye in center field. It was Longoria’s fourth homer, and third in a seven at-bat stretch.

The three-run shot off Rangers’ starter Ross Detwiler came on the heels of a Brandon Guyer leadoff single and a walk of Souza. Guyer applied the pressure on Detwiler by swiping third, while Souza advanced to second when the pitch to Longoria was in the dirt.

In the fourth inning, the benches and bullpens emptied after a pickoff play at second base.

Cabrera made a headfirst dive back to the bag and second baseman Adam Rosales appeared to block the base with his knee — the point of contention to Cabrera. Angry, and rightly so, Cabrera used his forearm to push away Rosales.

I’ve played both sides, second and short, and I know that’s not fair to put a knee on the base, Cabrera said.

Cough…in contrast to the brawls involving the Kansas City Royals, both Cabrera and Rosales made amends for the play, shaking hands after the scrum just prior to the challenge of the safe call by Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister. The call was ultimately confirmed after a 3-1/2 minute delay.

The Rays stretched their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rene Rivera led-off the inning with a walk and Guyer moved him to second, singling the end of Detwiler’s night. Reliever Anthony Bass entered the game, and Souza promptly welcomed him with a three-run blast to the left-field seats on a 2-2 pitch — Souza’s team-leading fifth homer of the season.

Cabrera, who came up with a huge 3-4 night with an RBI and a run, capped the scoring by absolutely destroying a middle-up pitch in the eighth inning. In the words of BA, Cabrera threatened the back wall of the Trop with the massive no doubter. His homer snapped a 49-game homer-less drought by Cabrera extending back to last season

Matt Andriese got the start for Jake Odorizzi and put up zeroes in the first three innings. However, things changed for Andriese in the fourth after he allowed a one-out, two-run homer to Carlos Peguero. Credit where it’s due, Andriese did a great job through the front 3-2/3 innings, especially when you consider that he only tossed two innings of work after being optioned back to Triple-A Durham on April 29th.

The ground ball machine that is Andriese coaxed six grounders out of the Rangers’ hitters, and could play an integral role with the team taking into account the situation surrounding Drew Smyly. It would be interesting to see what the righty can do given the opportunity to get fully stretched out.

Andriese departed from the game two outs into the fourth, as manager Kevin Cash called upon Brandon Gomes got the final out of the inning. Gomes went on to pitch into the fifth before getting pulled in favor of Steve Geltz, who got Gomes out of a two-on two-out jam by fanning Peguero.

Andrew Bellatti made his major league debut in the sixth, and did a terrific job. The 23 year-old righty threw 3-1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory. Bellatti, who arrived at the ballpark a little more than two hours before game time, gave up one hit and one walk while striking out a pair of hitters.

The righty conceded that he was a bit amped up upon entering the game:

I definitely calmed down. The first inning I was pretty pumped. I was kind of looking at the crowd. Then I kind of got into a zone.

Bellatti was a bouncer up the middle, which could’ve been a game-ending double play, away from finishing the game. Yet the former 12th-round draft pick was pulled in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and one out, and the specter of Prince fielder looming on deck. Brad Boxberger entered and got consecutive outs for his eighth save.

The New What Next

The Rays will wrap up their four-game set with the Rangers, with a Mother’s Day matinee. Jake Odorizzi is expected to start opposite of LHP Wandy Rodriguez. You can read about the matchup in our series preview, and I’ll post the starting lineup.

Rays 5/9/15 Starting Lineup

Guyer LF
Souza RF
Longoria 3B
Forsythe 1B
Butler DH
Cabrera SS
Beckham 2B
Kiermaier CF
Rivera C
Odorizzi RHP

Noteworthiness

— Umpires, upon request from Cash, reviewed a play two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Adrian Beltre grounded to Logan Forsythe at third, and he skipped his throw to James Loney. Initially Loney bobbled the ball before snatching it out of the air. Beltre was called safe at first, prompting the challenge. After 1:16, the call on the field was overturned, snapping Cash’s 0-for-11 record for challenges.

Cash said the team had a good time after he and video coordinator Chris “Chico” Fernandez got the safe call. Fernandez ended up in the beer shower with Andrew Bellatti. Cash told the media “Chico has been celebrated on,” in his post game presser.

— According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), Drew Smyly’s recurring shoulder problems include a tear in his labrum that seems likely to require season-ending surgery.

Smyly was placed on the 15-day DL Friday (retroactive to May 6) after experiencing left shoulder stiffness and tightness during and after his start in Boston on Tuesday.

Smyly told the media Saturday that he was awaiting an MRI exam scheduled for Monday, followed by further examination to pinpoint exactly what is wrong.

The lefty could opt for rehab first. Although if he opts for surgery instead, Smyly would be the third starter (and fourth pitcher overall) sidelined for the season — a list that includes Burch Smith (Tommy John), Alex Cobb (Tommy John this week), and Jeff Beliveau (left labrum surgery).

Per Marc Topkin, Erasmo Ramirez seems the likely in-house replacement for Smyly. After allowing 15 earned runs in just 5-1/3 innings of work to start the season, Ramirez has given up just one run on seven hits and a walk in 12 combined innings out of the bullpen.

Movement between Triple-A Durham and the big league team is also a very realistic possibility — Enny Romero will likely arrive at some point in the not so distant future, while fellow lefties Jordan Norberto and Everett Teaford also remain as possibilities.

…injuries are a reality in this game and one that we have to help prepare for and make sure that we have the requisite depth to get through, said Rays President of Operations Matt Silverman.

Silverman conceded that depth, “is definitely being tested.”

The Rays also are expected to look outside the organization for help, although they will likely seek depth rather than an established major-league hurler.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays the Romp Rangers 8-2, Drew Smyly Placed on the DL

David DeJesus gave the Rays an early lead with a solo shot to right center. (Photo credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

A little hope and a little despair. On the day that Alex Cobb was officially placed on the 60-day DL, Nathan Karns put together a solid seven plus inning outing, as the Tampa Bay Rays rolled to an 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Brandon Guyer extended the Rays lead with a sixth inning, pinch hit homer to back Karns’ solid start. Yet the night ended on a sour note, with news of another Ray, Drew Smyly, who was placed on the DL.

Karns, who was lifted after 66 pitches his previous outing, threw almost 50% more pitches on Friday night for a career-high 117. He struck out nine and held a shutout through seven innings.

Though Karns struggled with spotty command throughout the course of his start, getting into five three-ball counts (including two walks) in the front five innings, yet he was able to work through those issues and hold the Rangers to just four base runners through seven innings. It didn’t hurt that he was able to make that all important big pitch when he needed to.

Karns spoke about his start with the media following the contest:

In light of the current situation plaguing the pitching staff, one can’t help but worry that the decision to leave Karns in the game for almost two times as many pitches could pay negative dividends in the long-run. It’s a safe assumption that the number five pitcher, who was once likely to be optioned back to Triple-A Durham upon the reactivation of Matt Moore, will play an integral role in the starting rotation if Drew Smyly misses a significant amount of time.

The Rays gave the starter some cushion with a four-run rally in the sixth. The uprising started when shortstop Elvis Andrus committed his eighth error of the season on Kevin Kiermaier’s ground ball. Steven Souza Jr. followed by bouncing into a 5-4 fielder’s choice, yet James Loney followed with a single to left, moving Souza up 90 feet. Evan Longoria as next, working the count full before lining an RBI single to right with the runners in motion. Longo’s RBI base hit chased Yovani Gallardo, and moved Loney to third.

Rangers reliever Alex Claudio entered the game and threw one pitch to pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer — a middle-middle fastball — which he deposited into the left field seats. Guyer’s three run blast broke the game open after the Rays clung to a 1-0 lead, thanks to a David DeJesus solo shot in the second inning. Until the sixth, it was the only hit (and run) that Gallardo relinquished.

In spite of a 5-0 lead, the game almost got out of control in the eighth inning. Karns came out for the eighth and allowed a leadoff homer to Adam Rosales after having thrown 107 pitches through seven. Karns was lifted in favor of LOOGY Xavier Cedeno after allowing a Delino DeShields base hit.

Cedeno allowed a pair of singles (one a bunt hit) to load the bases before fanning Prince Fielder (swinging) for the first out. Kevin Jepsen entered the game, and Adrian Beltre hit a long sacrifice fly to right-center on the second pitch of the at-bat. Elvis Andrus advanced to second on the play. Jepsen re-loaded the bases on a walk, although he came back to strikeout Carlos Peguero swinging to end the threat and the inning.

All told, Tampa Bay collected 12 strikeouts, including one by Steve Geltz in the ninth.

The Team put up three more runs in the eighth on a Tim Beckham sac-fly, a Jake Elmore single, and another Texas error. In the end the Rays went 4-8 wRISP and totaled nine hits, with two each from Guyer, Longoria and Loney. Tampa Bay now has 21 RBI off the bench. Entering the game, no other American League team had more than six.

Unfortunately for the Rays, the good times didn’t last long. The team ended the night by announcing a series of roster moves extenuating from another injury, among other things. More on that below.

The New What Next

Matt Andriese has been recalled from the Durham Bulls, and he will start Saturday in place of RHP Jake Odorizzi who is exhibiting flu-like symptoms. The Rays do not yet know if Odorizzi will be able to pitch Sunday. Andriese will toe the rubber opposite of Ross Detwiler. Detwiler allowed one run in seven innings in his last start against the Astros. However, it was the first time in five starts the Rangers won with him on the mound. He has a 2.19 ERA in his last two starts after posting a 10.95 ERA in his first three. You can read about the pitching match-up in our series preview.

Rays 5/8/15 Starting Lineup

Guyer CF
Souza Jr. RF
Longoria DH
Forsythe 3B
Butler LF
Loney 1B
Cabrera SS
Beckham 2B
Rivera C
Andriese LHP

Noteworthiness

— Drew Smyly has been placed on the 15-day DL with left shoulder soreness, retroactive to May 6. He would be available to return on May 21, although whether he returns then depends on the severity of the injury. Manager Kevin Cash called the injury “left-shoulder stiffness,” and said Smyly will be evaluated shortly; the team will go from there. According to Cash, the lefty complained of having a bit of a hard time getting loose between innings in his May 5 start against Boston:

Smyly, who made three very encouraging starts following his most recent stint the DL, missed a significant amount of Spring Training after sustaining left shoulder tendinitis. Concerns over the potential for an injury arose following his most recent start against Boston, when the lefties velocity showed a sharp drop (see the velocity graph below). This  flareup also stoked fears for the potential of a recurring problem, leading many to speculate that Smyly may have been reactivated too soon.

Drew Smyly's velocity graph. (Credit: Brooks Baseball)
Drew Smyly’s velocity graph. (Credit: Brooks Baseball)

As of now, Smyly is unsure of the severity of his injury, although one thing is certain — this isn’t something he can pitch through: “I can’t pitch right now,” Smyly said.

He is expected to have an MRI on Monday, maintaining his objective now is to stay upbeat. Speaking to the question of his concern about the injury being more serious than initially diagnosed, Smyly told reporters,

I hope not. You just have to be positive. I’m sure we’ll all find out soon.

On a related note, the team officially placed Rays RHP Alex Cobb on the 60-day DL and selected the contract of RHP Andrew Bellatti from the Durham Bulls.

Bellatti posted a 2-0 record with Durham this season, with a 2.11 ERA in 21-1/3 innings of work. He offers the team some depth out of the pen. Our friends at DRaysBay wrote a nice piece on Bellatti’s journey to the big leagues.

I’ll continue to update this piece with any related news as it breaks.