ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays added right-hander Chih-Wei Hu to the roster, per MLB's 26th Man Rule, for Saturday's doubleheader against the A's at Tropicana Field.
The 26th Man Rule affords teams the opportunity to add an extra player to their 25-man roster on days when a doubleheader is being played.
"Chih-Wei, I think he threw Tuesday, his last outing, [so] he can get up to 45 or 50 pitches," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "And from all reports, the bullpen thing has been going pretty well for him in Triple-A. The [velocity] has been up a little bit.
"[Hu has] been a strike-throwing machine down there. We're excited to have him. He provides some length. We have a pretty thick bullpen right now, as far as guys to cover innings."
Hu is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA in 11 appearances (three starts) for the Bulls. Since the beginning of May, he has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. He is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three games with the Rays this season. His last outing came on May 30 at Texas, when he allowed no hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
In order to reinstate right-hander Matt Andriese from the 10-day disabled list to start Game 2, the Rays will need to make a roster move between games on Saturday.