Prior to the start of Wednesday’s contest against the Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays made a handful of roster moves, placing right-hander J.P. Feyereisen 10-Day Injured List with right shoulder discomfort and recalling right-hander Chris Mazza recalled from Triple-A Durham. In addition, Luis Patiño has been added to the taxi squad, with the expectation that he will start on Thursday in Cleveland.
Feyereisen, who allowed two unearned runs and threw 23 pitches (14 strikes, 61% strike rate) in 0.1 innings of work on Tuesday, said his shoulder had been bothering him on and off for a few weeks. While he is unsure of what might be going on with his shoulder, an MRI scheduled is for this afternoon and that should at least offer a diagnosis. Feyereisen mentioned that it feels like biceps tendinitis, which he had previously in the minor leagues, and is hopeful that is the outcome since it is not too severe. The right-hander maintains a 2.81 ERA and a 4.47 FIP on the season, with a 1.22 WHIP and a 1.46 K/BB across 41.2 combined innings between Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.
Mazza, who likely will be optioned back to Durham after the game to make room for Patiño, is 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA with the Bulls.
As I wrote yesterday (with updated numbers to reflect the current situation), the Rays have allowed four or more runs in four of the five last games — a total of 33 runs — with the starters on the hook for 24. Aside from overtaxing the arms of the relief corps, the Rays needed to address this skid (for lack of a better word), which they started to do by adding Patiño to the taxi squad and eventually the starting rotation. Rays’ skipper Kevin Cash said the right-hander could stay in the rotation after Thursday’s start if he fares well.
Patiño has been in Durham — where he maintains a 3.07 ERA and a 2.78 FIP, with a 1.16 WHIP and a 3.73 K/BB across 29.1 innings — since July 2. With the big league squad, the right-hander maintains a 4.87 ERA and a 3.77 FIP, with a 1.18 WHIP, and a 4.80 K/BB in 20.1 innings and six appearances (four starts). He last pitched on July 16, allowing four runs on six hits (including a home run) and a walk over six innings. He struck out seven and threw 64 of 90 pitches for strikes (71% strike rate).