Blake Snell was demoted after a rough outing against Boston on Saturday. (Photo Credit: USA Today Sports)

After another rough outing, one in which Blake Snell allowed the lead to slip away twice over five plus innings of work, the Tampa Bay Rays optioned the 24 year-old left-hander to Triple-A Durham. The Rays have recalled flame throwing reliever Ryne Stanek to take Snell’s spot on the roster.

Snell’s start yesterday followed a similar pattern — toss a good inning or two, then follow that by dooming himself with walks and deep counts that drive up the pitch count, and force him out of the game early. It was the seventh time in eight starts that Snell hadn’t completed at least six frames.

Over seven starts this season, the 24 year-old has yet to earn a win. The hope is that he will benefit from the lower intensity of Triple-A.

We’ve got to get him to the kind of environment where he can pitch without the pressure of trying to win a major-league game and focus on what got him good and what got him here in the first place, Rays manager Kevin Cash said,  explaining the thought process in sending Snell down. We would not be doing this if it was not 100 percent in his best interest.

However, as Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) noted, whether Snell agrees is unclear, as he wasn’t given the news until the media was done in the clubhouse:

I had asked him after the game if he might be better served being dropped from the rotation or sent down. He answered with a firm, “No,” and said he was “100 percent” confident that he could be successful in the majors.

In 42 innings this season, Snell has posted an unsightly 4.71 ERA (5.02 FIP), with a disappointing 7.29 K/9 and an ugly 5.36 BB/9 (1.36 K/BB). Snell has lost some fastball velocity and generated fewer swinging strikes, as his rate has fallen from 10.9 percent in 2016 to 8.8 percent this year.

Overall, Snell — who is viewed as a front of the rotation pitcher, not a fifth starter — has become the weakest link in the starting rotation that, otherwise, has been strong this season with Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, Matt Andriese and Jake Odorizzi netting strong results.

With his return to the minors, Stanek will join the ‘pen for what appears to be a long term promotion. The flame throwing hurler, who can hit triple digits with his fastball, was considered for a September promotion in 2016.

Veteran swingman Erasmo Ramirez will likely take Snell’s rotation spot, even though the Rays likely won’t need a fifth starter until they return home and face the Yankees on May 19th, following a travel day. It also is thought that LHP Ryan Yarborough could be in line for a promotion, as Tampa Bay currently has just one southpaw on the active roster (Jose Alvarado), however, room would have to be made on the 40-man roster.

Noteworthiness

— Matt Duffy update: Duffy went 0-2 at the plate in his rehab start with Charlotte yesterday, although he didn’t take his third at-bat because he felt he “might’ve been doing more harm than good” by doing so.

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