ST. PETERSBURG — Some Rays pitchers have said they don’t feel as ready to start the season as they’d like given the abbreviated training camp.
But Ryan Yarbrough will take the mound Saturday as ready as he can be, throwing at Tropicana Field during six weeks of informal workouts before Spring 2.0 started.
“Being able to take that extra time, especially being able to communicate back and forth with (pitching coach) Kyle Snyder, having him see me in person and kind of see where I’m at and kind of give me some direction, that was really helpful,” Yarbrough said.
As was knowing that he could build his workload gradually, throwing 87 pitches in Monday’s intrasquad game, which puts him in position to throw 100 Saturday, pretty much a regular workload.
“You understand that you didn’t have to go crazy,” he said. “We still had a good amount of time even with that second spring training to build up. Really trying to fine-tune some things and really take an approach (of) not going too crazy too soon really made the build-up process a lot easier.”
The Rays’ next two starters are not as built-up. Blake Snell, the Sunday starter, threw 47 pitches Tuesday (getting only four outs in two abbreviated innings) and said afterward he was fine physically “a couple of weeks away” from how he normally feels to start a season. Tyler Glasnow, the planned Monday starter, threw 68 over three innings Tuesday, walking four.
Castillo to paternity list
The Rays were missing one of their power bullpen arms, placing right-hander Diego Castillo on the paternity list so he can be with his wife for the birth of their second child.
Manager Kevin Cash said Castillo, who missed nearly a week during summer camp for an undisclosed family-related matter, will be day-to-day. Once placed on the paternity list, a player can miss up three days. If he needs more time, he has to be placed on the restricted list.
“We’ll take it day-to-day with Diego and what his status will be, will basically remain unclear until maybe after the game (Friday) we’ll talk to him,” Cash said. “The next day we’ll talk to him. Our thing is overall health for him and his family, certainly his wife and certainly keeping Diego in some type of pitching-arm strength.”
To fill Castillo’s spot on the 30-man roster, the team recalled infielder Daniel Robertson, who was the club’s last summer camp cut.”
“We’ve said it from the get go, he can help us win games,” Cash said of Robertson. “And he’s done it in the past. He’s going to do it again. He’s so versatile. The way that he can defend and come off the bench and give you a quality at-bat should help us.”
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Explore all your optionsJays find a home in Buffalo
It took until the morning before their first game of the season, but the Blue Jays finally found a site to play their home games this season.
After they were told they couldn’t play in Toronto because of Canada’s concern that traveling to and from the United States could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, and failing to relocate to another major league facility like Pittsburgh’s PNC Park or Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Blue Jays will play their home games at their Triple-A stadium, Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
“I’m excited we’ve finally got a place to go play,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “And then we’re done with that. We can just focus on the Rays (Thursday) and focus on the schedule, and that’s how everybody feels in there. We’re excited. Now we know.”
Miscellany
With Yoshi Tsutusgo starting at third, Yandy Diaz was at first, meaning Ji-Man Choi did not get to face fellow Korean Hyun-Jin Ryu. … The Rays will continue to pay their minor-league players a $400 weekly stipend through Sept. 7, which would have been the end of their season. The team previously had committed to paying them through July 31. … Catcher Rene Pinto, who played last year at Double-A Montgomery, was added to the 60-player pool and will join the group in Port Charlotte. Depth was needed after veteran Chris Herrmann opted out of his minor-league contract, leaving only prospect Ronaldo Hernandez as an option after the three catchers on the major-league roster. … Four players new to the Rays this season batted in the top five spots in the order.