The Tampa Bay Rays have placed right-hander Andrew Kittredge on the 45-day Injured List with a sprained UCL. They’ve selected righty Aaron Slegers to take his place on the roster.
As I noted earlier, Kittredge left the game after throwing a 93 mph 1-1 sinker to Alex Verdugo, which resulted in a line drive out. Kittredge immediately shook his right arm in clear discomfort following the pitch.
After the game, Kittredge mentioned that he “feels good” although he underwent tests on Wednesday, including an MRI.
It was just that last pitch that I threw. It was something I never felt before, so that was kind of concerning. But as soon as I got out of the game, I started to feel a little better.
— Andrew Kittredge
The discomfort was in the general area of his right elbow, and he also mentioned that he felt some forearm tightness.
There has been no definitive word on whether Kittredge would need Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL, although a sprain, by definition, is a stretching or tearing of ligaments. At the very least, the 30-year-old hurler will miss the balance of the regular season.
Kittredge had pitched well this season, holding opponents to just two runs on eight hits and a pair of walks across eight innings of relief. Since the start of last season, the right-hander has been effective for the Rays across 57-2/3 innings of work, performing to a 3.90 ERA/3.48 FIP. Yet, as Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors) noted, “there were some red flags in 2020. After averaging better than 10 strikeouts per nine frames last year, Kittredge managed just three whiffs in his eight innings. His average heater had dropped from 95 mph to 94 mph, and Kittredge’s seven percent swinging-strike rate was less than half last year’s mark of 15.9%”
The 27-year-old Slegers has 32 innings of big-league experience (between the Twins and Rays) under his belt, and he has worked to a combined 5.63 ERA with a 1.85-to-1 K/BB ratio from 2017-19. In spite of his mediocre numbers, he had some strong Triple-A seasons with Minnesota (as recently as 2018) and has a solid minor league track record.
Really been encouraged by hearing reports of Slegers and what he’s been able to do down there (Port Charlotte alternate training site). (Slegers is) built-up, I believe, to throw four or five innings tomorrow, so he’s (a) full go. We’re really encouraged by the reports that we’re hearing from his performances.
— Kevin Cash
His history as a starting pitcher, in addition to what Rays manager Kevin Cash is quoted as saying above, should allow him to fill a multi-inning relief role if he is needed in that capacity.
Slegers relies primarily on a 90 mph sinker which boasts some natural sinking action, a 91 mph four-seam fastball, and an 84 mph slider which is an extreme flyball pitch, while also mixing in a firm 85 mph changeup.
The news comes days after Yonny Chirinos (right triceps inflammation) and Charlie Morton (right shoulder inflammation) were both placed on the 10-day IL. Both players are expected to return August 14 and 20 (respectively).
Two-way prospect, Brendan McKay, has also been shut down for the time being, and there is no word on how long he will be on the shelf because of this injury.
McKay had been working back from a positive COVID-19 test in Port Charlotte before the team made the decision. He had dealt with shoulder injuries in 2019, which Kevin Cash pointed out.
Brendan has noted that he has had some issues, even dating back to last year. After his San Diego start (on Aug. 13) he said he didn’t feel right. I’m not totally sure that he has completely gotten past that of having no issue out there.
— Kevin Cash