A familiar face arrived in Port Charlotte on Friday. Jake Odorizzi, who went 40-37 with a 3.82 ERA with the Rays from 2013 to 2017, was signed to a minor league deal three days after Taj Bradley was scratched from his scheduled start against the Orioles due to pectoral tightness.
Bradley will be shut down for two weeks after which he will be reevaluated. He would then need time to get built back up, which would likely mean he will not be available until at least late April.
Odorizzi was bit by the injury bug last year. He missed the 2023 season due to a shoulder injury sustained in spring training with Texas. The 34-year-old righthander never pitched for the Rangers after signing as a free agent in November 2022. Odorizzi has a career mark of 74-69 with a 3.99 ERA.
Read: Tampa Bay Rays’ Zach Eflin, “It’s Gonna Be A Fun Year”
Given the Rays will be without Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgery) this season and will be missing Jeffrey Springs (TJ surgery) and Drew Rasmussen (non-TJ elbow procedure) until at least July, any injury is unwelcome.
Here is a look at the rotation and those who could fill the void, at least initially, in the absence of Bradley.
Zach Eflin – The rotation’s anchor is coming off a career year in his first season with the Rays. His 16 wins tied for the American League lead and he finished sixth in Cy Young voting. The soon-to-be 30-year-old (April 8) made 31 starts and logged 178 innings.
Aaron Civale – A trade deadline acquisition from Cleveland, the righthander was 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 13 starts – and two stints on the injured list — with the Guardians. He was not nearly as effective in a Tampa Bay uniform going 2-3/5.36/1.36.
Zack Littell – The righty was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in mid-May and worked out of the bullpen before injuries necessitated a move to the rotation. He gave the rotation a major boost posting a 3.41 ERA in 14 starts. Overall, he was 3-6, 3.93.
Ryan Pepiot – Part of the return from the trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers, the 26-year-old righthander was limited to 14 appearances (nine starts) between L.A. and Triple-A Oklahoma City last season thanks to an oblique strain. He has started 10 games in the majors over parts of two seasons.
Tyler Alexander/Chris Devenski/Jacob Waguespack
The Rays have been stretching out Alexander and Devenski, which was the plan all along. The former was claimed off waivers from Detroit in November and started 43 of 120 career appearances in a Tigers’ uniform. The latter, who made nine appearances out of the bullpen with the Rays late last season after being released by the Angels, has been primarily a reliever in his eight MLB seasons.
Waguespack was added to the 40-man roster Friday, though that does not mean he will be in St. Pete for the March 28 season opener against Toronto, his former team. The Rays like what they have seen from the 30-year-old righty, who last appeared in the big leagues with the Blue Jays in 2020 and last started a game in 2019, his rookie season.
Naoyuki Uwasawa
Uwasawa was signed by the Rays after 11 seasons in Japan and was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He threw four solid innings (1 ER) Friday against the Orioles after a rough (20.65 ERA) first three appearances in his first MLB spring training.
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