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Rays Tales: Winning continues despite injuries

 
Jake Odorizzi
Jake Odorizzi
Published June 14, 2015

Even as the list of injured pitchers somehow, against high odds and all logic, continues to grow, the Rays have kept finding ways to win.

They have lost No. 1 starter Alex Cobb (elbow) for the season, No. 3 LHP Drew Smyly (shoulder) for at least most of it, No. 4 RHP Jake Odorizzi (oblique) for what looks to be three weeks and were without No. 5 Alex Colome (pneumonia) for the first month.

They also lost potential fill-in RHP Burch Smith (elbow) for the season, LHP Enny Romero (back) for the first month and RHP Andrew Bellatti (shoulder) for at least the next two weeks.

They are still without LHP Matt Moore, who is completing the final weeks of his recovery/rehab from April 2014 Tommy John surgery.

And they went into play Saturday four games over .500 and just one game out of first place.

"All year, our players have taken a selfless approach. Without that, we could not persevere through these injuries," baseball operations president Matt Silverman said Friday. "As we get healthier — and we will get healthier — we should come out stronger on the other side and be well-suited for the stretch run."

The key now is getting to that other side, as they now face their most treacherous test.

The other absences in the rotation were mitigated by Chris Archer and Odorizzi stepping up, providing enough stability and relative certainty on their two nights so that the Rays were free to use the bullpen early and often on the other three, and managed it accordingly.

But without Odorizzi — who worked at least six innings in each start — they are now down to Archer as the lone starter they can consider close to a sure thing.

And that changes the dynamics significantly.

Not only are they forced to rely on a fourth inexperienced/unproven starter (with RHP Matt Andriese joining RHPs Nathan Karns, Erasmo Ramirez and Colome), but they will have to lean even more on a bullpen that went into Saturday having worked an AL-high 203 innings, and will have to reach even further down into the minor leagues (for someone like Ronald Belisario) or go onto the trade market for more relief help.

At this point, all the Rays can hope to do is hold on until the start of July, when they could have Moore and Odorizzi back in the rotation and Bellatti in the bullpen, plus James Loney at first base.

Making these next few weeks more urgent is that it leads into a challenging 10-game stretch heading into the All-Star break against the three AL division leaders — at the Yankees and Royals and home against the Astros.

"It's been a little hard to believe," manager Kevin Cash said. "But there's some optimism coming here soon with Odo coming back, not a major injury, and Matty Moore getting close. There's some exciting things. We need to just keep playing good baseball. And hopefully those additions, when they come back and they're healthy, will give us kind of that jolt we need."

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The wounded wings

ON THE SHELF

LHP Jeff Beliveau

0-0, 13.50 in 5 G

l Incumbent lefty reliever out for season after surgery to repair torn labrum.

RHP Andrew Bellatti

1-0, 1.80 in 4 G

l Impressive rookie hopes to miss only a couple of weeks with sore shoulder.

RHP Alex Cobb

Did not pitch

l No. 1 starter is out for the season due to Tommy John elbow surgery.

LHP Matt Moore

Has not pitched

l 2-4 more starts to complete rehab from 2014 Tommy John surgery.

RHP Jake Odorizzi

4-5, 2.47 in 12 starts

l Consistent starter is hoping to be back by end of June from an oblique strain.

RHP Burch Smith

Did not pitch

l Offseason depth acquisition out for season due to Tommy John surgery.

LHP Drew Smyly

0-1, 2.70 in 3 starts

l Had tendinitis, now seeking to make August return from torn labrum.

BACK IN ACTION

RHP Alex Colome

3-2, 4.21 in 9 starts

l Missed first month with pneumonia, been relatively solid since return.

LHP Jake McGee

0-0-2, 2.70 in 11 G

l Debuted in mid May after offseason elbow surgery, close to top form.

LHP C.J. Riefenhauser

0-0, 20.25 in 2 G

. Mid April opportunity was derailed by shoulder inflammation.

RHP Kirby Yates

0-0, 4.15 in 4 G

. Made opening day roster, demotion rescinded due to right pec strain.

Short stops

. It has become quite clear the Rays have a set plan to pull certain starters quickly if they have a lead, no matter how effective they've been, and turn the game over to the bullpen. That can be frustrating to the pitchers, and raise questions (and fans' ire) at times, but they clearly see it is a greater-good method. "You're going to answer questions after losses," manager Kevin Cash said. "When it works out, there is never a word said. And that's probably the nature of the business. Fortunately for us we've won and had it work out a lot more than it hasn't."

. The absence of a first baseman in the organization capable of filling in for injured James Loney remains glaring, as the Rays obviously don't consider Triple-A options J.P. Arencibia, Vince Belnome or Allan Dykstra (who was up earlier) worthy — or at least more worthy than patching the hole with Jake Elmore, Logan Forsythe, Nick Franklin and C Rene Rivera. In the spring, depth plans included Juan Francisco (who opted out of his Triple-A deal and went to Japan), John Jaso (who got hurt opening day) and Steven Souza Jr. (whom they saw at first and quickly decided to keep in the outfield). Here is an aggressive, albeit unlikely, option: 2012 top pick Richie Shaffer, who played 1B at Clemson and is hitting .328 with seven homers (including three Friday) and 14 RBIs in his first 17 games since being promoted to Durham, where he plays 3B.

Rays rumblings

Seminole High product C Bobby Wilson was a true pro in handling Thursday's unexpected postgame designation for assignment. Some players were unhappy to see him go. There seems a decent chance he clears waivers and ends up at Triple-A Durham. … One legit theory for the lackluster home performance (16-18, compared to 17-11 away)? The energy from the crowds on the road vs. oft-quiet, mostly empty Trop. … Ex-Rays LHP David Price says "there's no doubt" the AL All-Star starter should be either RHP Chris Archer or Oakland RHP Sonny Gray (l> (like Price, a Vanderbilt product). … The Rays made a point on Friday's Pride Night to be inclusive during the kiss-cam segment. … Bad draw that the Lee Brice concert, one of their biggest, went up against the Lightning game Saturday. … With two open 40-man roster spots, and a third available by putting Desmond Jennings on the 60-day DL, there is flexibility to add. … The Rays follow the Cubs into Cleveland this week; wonder if Joe Maddon will leave anything — or a few bottles of something — in the clubhouse for his ex-mates. … Classy move by injured RHP Alex Cobb to go to Dunedin last week to watch LHP Matt Moore's rehab start.

Draft rumblings

After initial discussions, the Rays have decided to wait a few weeks, until after top picks OF Garrett Whitley and C Chris Betts graduate high school, to continue negotiations. … MLB.com's Jim Callis rated the Rays' class fourth-best overall, saying Whitley "has the highest ceiling" of the prep outfielders and Betts "the most offensive upside" of all catchers. … No. 5 pick OF Joe McCarthy (Virginia) and No. 12 OF David Olmedo-Barrera (Cal State Fullerton) are playing in the College World Series. … No. 18 pick OF Landon Cray of Seattle University is a nephew of original Devil Ray Paul Sorrento. … Padres draft rep OF Steve Finley last played in 2007, so maybe that explains why he said the next team to pick in the draft Monday would be "the Tampa Bay Devil Rays." … No. 6 RHP Benton Moss graduated from North Carolina with an impressive double-major in business administration and economics.

You make the call

LHP Jake McGee

On his favorite baseball player: Chipper Jones. Growing up, the Braves were always on TV, so when I first started playing baseball I wore my pants up and wore No. 10 for the first three-four years.

On his favorite road city: Seattle. The stadium is really nice, and you can take the ferry and see the whole city and the stadiums. The whole feel of the city is awesome.