Rays Make Flurry of Roster Moves With Raley, Thompson, Springs All Out
TORONTO — All the dominos fell on Thursday afternoon as the Tampa Bay Rays made eight roster moves to allow them the get through a five-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays that starts on Thursday night and includes a doubleheader on Saturday.
Two issues came up on Wednesday that necessitated all the roster shuffling. Relievers Brooks Raley and Ryan Thompson are not vaccinated, so they are not allowed to travel into Canada. They were placed on the restricted list on Thursday.
The other news was that starter Jeffrey Springs — who was scheduled to pitch Thursday night's opening game — has stayed back in St. Petersburg as well and was played on the family medical emergency list. Springs is married and has a five-month-old baby.
To replace Raley (1-0, 2.22 ERA, 4 saves) and Thompson (1-2, 5.33 ERA, 3 saves), right-handed relievers Javy Guerra and Phoenix Sanders have been called up from Triple-A Durham and added to the active roster.
Both made brief appearances with the Rays in April. Guerra, who was acquired from San Diego on April 10, made six appearances and allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings from April 18-30. Sanders allowed just two earned runs in 10 innings, but went on the IL with back spasms after making an awkward throw on May 2 at Oakland. He's been in Durham since coming off the injured list.
To cover Springs' start, the Rays called up lefty Ryan Yarbrough from Durham as well. He missed the first month of the season with a groin injury and then made seven starts with the Rays. going 0-3 with a 5.65 ERA. He may see action on Thursday. The Rays are using Matt Wisler as the starter on Thursday night.
His final outing with the Rays was June 5 against the Chicago White Sox, when he gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings. The Rays are 1.-6 in his seven starts.
Just in case, the Rays also added right-handers Dusten Knight and David McKay to the taxi squad. They've made the trip to Toronto and will available if any further roster moves need to be made. Knight has pitched three games with the Rays. McKay was recently reacquired from the New York Yankees.
Here is the Rays' starting lineup for Thursday night:
- RAYS: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Isaac Paredes 1B, Vidal Brujan RF, Taylor Walls 2B, Francisco Mejia C, Josh Lowe CF. Matt Wisler P.
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.