FORT MYERS, Fla. -- With his work on the mound and his mentorship in the clubhouse, Steven Matz has already made a positive first impression with the Rays in Spring Training.
That continued on Thursday afternoon, when the veteran left-hander pitched two scoreless innings in the Rays’ 7-5 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. Matz gave up a hit and a walk and picked up a strikeout, while throwing 30 pitches in his first outing for Tampa Bay.
“There’s different pitches I'm toying with, different locations, things they brought [to] me, so it was fun kind of figuring that stuff out out there,” Matz said. “This is the time of year to do it, so it was fun.”
Moving back into the rotation after spending most of last season as a reliever with the Cardinals and Red Sox, Matz said he is “in a great spot” as far as his health goes. That showed up immediately in his fastball velocity, which averaged 94.3 mph on Thursday -- not far off his season average of 94.5 mph in 2025. That’s notable, considering pitchers typically gain velocity as the spring progresses and Matz was working in shorter bursts last season.
“Not that he needs to have mid-90s velocities to go out and be good,” manager Kevin Cash said. “But it's always nice to see that you’ve got it.”
Matz is set to take on a more significant workload this season than he did in 2025, when he made two starts and 51 relief appearances while covering 76 2/3 innings. But he spent last Spring Training preparing to start, too. The Cardinals had him work up to six innings and told him to stay ready for a pair of starts in April before shifting him to more of a standard relief role.
It should be a more straightforward path for Matz in 2026. The Rays will manage his workload with his health and effectiveness in mind, but the plan is to have the 34-year-old begin the season in their rotation.
“It's been good. They've been super communicative on what their plan is, what they want from me and how the build-up process is going to be,” Matz said. “I really appreciate that. It's been a good process so far.”
After the Rays signed Matz to a two-year, $15 million deal in December, Cash said everyone he spoke to about the lefty “raved about the person.” Tampa Bay brought in similarly well-respected veterans via free agency in Nick Martinez, Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley, hoping to provide leadership in the clubhouse as well as production on the field.
The rave reviews have proven to be accurate so far, Cash said.
“I'm not a super outspoken guy as far as standing in front of the clubhouse. But I like this game, I'm a fan of this game, and I like watching guys play, so I think it just happens organically,” Matz said. “I'm just curious. You want to get to know guys. This is my third organization in, what is it, six months or whatever? So there’s a lot of new faces. I want to get to know all the guys, and that’s really what I’m here to do.”
Camp notes
• Left-hander Shane McClanahan and reliever Hunter Bigge faced hitters in live batting practice on Thursday morning at Charlotte Sports Park. McClanahan added a second “inning” to his workload. His next outing should come in a split-squad Grapefruit League game against the Phillies on Tuesday.
• Outfielder Jacob Melton was scratched from Thursday’s lineup due to a sore left thumb, which he cut trying to make a play at the wall on Wednesday, but he is expected to be fine. Prospect Homer Bush Jr. took Melton’s place in center field against the Red Sox.
• Carson Williams, who's ranked as the No. 63 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, ripped a 100.3 mph leadoff single off Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. That matchup apparently works out well for Williams, as he ripped a double off Crochet last spring and homered to right field against him in September. Williams struck out against flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman, but he drove in a run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly to right field.
• The Rays gave up seven runs in the fourth inning on Thursday. Pitching prospect T.J. Nichols walked two batters and hit another, and there were a couple costly misplays in the field: a passed ball by catcher Dominic Keegan and an error by second baseman Ben Williamson on a potential double-play grounder that would have ended the inning without a run scoring.
• Non-roster catcher Daniel Vellojin will join the Rays’ participants in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, as he was added to the roster for Team Colombia.