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Well-traveled Oliver Drake joins Rays as Casey Sadler is sent down, Tyler Glasnow shifted to 60-day IL

Drake made history last season by pitching for five teams; the Rays will be the seventh for the Naval Academy product
 
Oliver Drake joined the Rays this season. [Times photo 2019]
Oliver Drake joined the Rays this season. [Times photo 2019]
Published May 26, 2019|Updated May 26, 2019

UPDATE, 11:44: Drake said he was excited to get the call and is ready to help. He is likely to be used for no more than 1-2 innings, with Cash noting his impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 40-7. One issue with promoting Drake is that he is out of options so he can’t be sent back down without having to be run through waivers. The Rays do have several other optionable relievers, including Hunter Wood, Emilio Pagan and Ryne Stanek. ... To make room for Drake on the 40-man roster, the Rays moved starter Tyler Glasnow from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list, pushing his return to after the All-Star break, which probably was a reasonable target given the need to build him back up to work 5-6 innings. ... Cash said moving Glasnow to the 60-day list was “not at all” a sign that there was a more sever injury than the flexor muscle strain that the team said was the reason he has been sidelined since early May. "Tyler is doing great and there has been no setback,'' Cash said. "We have to be very responsible here with him and this gives him the time needed to get built back up to where we can insert him back into the rotation.''

DEVELOPING: Right-handed reliever Oliver Drake made history last season when he pitched for five teams, going from the Brewers to the Indians to the Angels to the Blue Jays to the Twins.

The Rays “won” the competition for him this off-season, first claiming him on waivers, then DFA-ing him and losing him on wiavers to Toronto, then trading to get him back.

And now he will have a chance to pitch for them, after being called up Sunday morning from Triple-A. Casey Sadler, who worked two innings on Saturday, was optioned back to Durham. The Rays have to make an additional move to create space for Drake on the 40-man roster.

Drake was 1-2, 4.94 in 19 games, including two opener assignments that didn’t go well. As a reliever, he is 1-1, 3.54 with 34 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.

Drake is a product of the Naval Academy and made his big-league debut with the Orioles in 2015. Here is a story Eduardo Encina wrote on him during spring training.