FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Rays high-leverage reliever Edwin Uceta won’t be ready for Opening Day, but he is making progress in his recovery from a right shoulder injury.
Uceta threw a bullpen session at Charlotte Sports Park on Saturday, manager Kevin Cash said. It was his first time pitching on the mound since he was shut down less than a week into Spring Training.
“Very encouraged by that,” Cash said. “He seemed happy, which was good.”
Uceta will need to throw a few more bullpens before he can advance to the next step of his progression: facing hitters in live batting practice. Cash said he expects that will take place around the time the Rays break camp ahead of their opening series against the Cardinals, which begins March 26 in St. Louis.
That would put Uceta on track to join Triple-A Durham for a Minor League rehab assignment around the end of the month. If that goes well, it seems likely Uceta could join Tampa Bay’s bullpen in early April.
The best-case scenario for Uceta would have been a healthy spring, of course, especially since the injury forced him to remove himself from the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic roster. But getting Uceta back so quickly would be a good outcome for the Rays, who are counting on a number of relievers to fill high-leverage roles in the bullpen this season.
With Uceta on the injured list to begin the season, the Rays will need to fill five spots in their Opening Day bullpen behind the late-inning trio of Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker. Candidates for those spots include right-handers Hunter Bigge, Cole Sulser and Kevin Kelly, non-roster left-hander Cam Booser and multi-inning options Mason Englert, Yoendrys Gómez, Ian Seymour and Joe Boyle.