The Pablo López- Luis Arráez swap was always going to be a fascinating one to monitor. With this maddening rash of injuries on the mound continuing, they may now be forced to go back to deploying their pitchers in more creative ways down the stretch, much less in the playoffs.ĪL Central: López has been great for the Twins, too Heading into this season, the Rays appeared to have assembled their deepest rotation of starters in years. (Plus, you might be surprised to learn, even he has never topped 14 starts in the regular season, and he's currently at 12.)īut if we assume some order of Glasnow and Eflin get the ball in the first two games of a series, who's starting Game 3? Will it be Civale? Will they turn back to the rookie Bradley and bet on the upside? Might they pivot back to their old ways and roll out an opener or a full-blown bullpen game? As solid as Eflin has been this year - and as good as he looked in a relief role in the 2022 postseason - Glasnow is the only pitcher left on this staff with considerable experience starting big games in October. The loss of McClanahan will likely be felt most if and when Tampa Bay is preparing for a playoff series. The Rays have been getting outs from unexpected places for years, but this is going to be a challenge.

Jacob Lopez is a crafty lefty with a 1.94 ERA in 12 Triple-A starts, but he's more funk than flash and probably won't be expected to start important games any time soon. Veteran Erasmo Ramirez, released by the Nationals in June, was called up from the minors last week and could provide length as a starter or a bulk reliever. Top prospect Taj Bradley was optioned when Civale was acquired but could re-emerge as a rotation option as October approaches. Zack Littell, a journeyman reliever, was solid in two starts on the club's most recent road trip. The Rays' depth is about to be seriously tested beyond Civale, Zach Eflin and Tyler Glasnow, who's looked tremendous of late. He wasn't especially sharp in his debut against Detroit over the weekend, but his starts now carry even more weight down the stretch as his ability to go deep into games will be vital in an effort to keep the rest of the staff fresh. That said, the acquisition of Aaron Civale from the Guardians is surely looking like a prudent one if only from a pure innings-eating perspective. So, where does Tampa Bay turn from here? There's no replacing a pitcher like McClanahan, especially not in the middle of the season.

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