ST. PETERSBURG -- As expected, the Rays placed right-hander Jake Faria (left oblique strain) on the 10-day disabled list and selected the contract of left-hander Vidal Nuno from Triple-A Durham.
To make room for Nuno on the 40-man roster, the Rays shifted right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the 60-day DL, which means he's eligible to return on Monday, when Tampa Bay begins its upcoming nine-game trip in Oakland. He is expected to rejoin the team and pitch at some point on the road.
Faria is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks.
"He got it pretty good, so he's going to miss some time," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Faria, who started Tuesday night's game against the Red Sox, had just struck out Andrew Benintendi for the second out in the third before cringing following his third pitch to the next hitter Hanley Ramirez. That prompted a mound visit from Cash and head athletic trainer Joe Benge. After talking to Faria, they stood next to the mound as he threw a practice pitch. Faria then left the game.
"Any kind of pulling movement doesn't feel very good," said Faria, who told reporters he had trouble sleeping. "I was up a lot last night."
Faria underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which confirmed that he had severely strained his oblique.
"The biggest thing Joe told me yesterday, it's such a delicate injury that you just have to be patient, which is hard for me," Faria said. "I'm not patient whatsoever. So it's going to be a test of my patience. But as long as I do what they tell me to do, I should come back fine."
Nuno went 3-1 with a 3.57 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for the Bulls.
"I'm excited he's here," Cash said. "A guy with plenty of experience. He's done a lot of roles. He's started. He's provided length in the bullpen. He's been a left-on-left specialist.
"So we're going to use him in different ways. He's thrown the ball well. Our thoughts on him are pretty high right now. He's good against left and right. He should be a nice addition to our bullpen."
Nuno last pitched in the Major Leagues last year, when he finished 0-1 with a 10.43 ERA in 12 games for the Orioles.
"First and foremost, it's an honor and a privilege to be here," Nuno said. "I'm honored and humbled. I've been working every day to get this chance. I have to prove myself every day. It's all about staying healthy and doing what I've been doing down there."
Worth noting
The Rays have not yet announced their starters for the weekend series against the O's at Tropicana Field.
"I don't know what we're going to do quite yet," Cash said. "... We're going to announce something for the Baltimore series, we just don't have it yet. I would imagine we'll be revisiting Sergio [Romo] starting again. Maybe he'll start all three games this time, who knows?"
Ryan Yarbrough, Anthony Banda and Austin Pruitt will be earmarked to cover the bulk of the innings over the weekend, as per the unconventional way in which the Rays now manage their staff.