HOUSTON -- The Rays optioned infielder Michael Brosseau to Triple-A Durham and recalled right-handed pitcher Jose De Leon from Durham before Wednesday’s game against the Astros.

Brosseau has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays this season and has provided much-needed infield depth after injuries to Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle and Yandy Diaz. The 25-year-old rookie is batting .282 with six home runs in 42 games.

With rosters expanding on Sunday and the Rays set to face multiple right-handed pitchers over the next couple of games, combined with the fact that the club has three consecutive bullpen days set up, Tampa Bay decided to send down the right-handed-hitting Brosseau -- who pitched two innings Tuesday to save the Rays' bullpen -- and add De Leon to the active roster.

“Obviously a tough decision with Brosseau given what he did and how he helped us out yesterday. But we have to protect our pitchers,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’re coming through a stretch now that we have [Ryan Yarbrough], who’s built up, but the three days after that, we have ‘bullpen days’ where we’re trying to get creative and we’re going to be using a lot of pitchers throughout, so we want to keep everyone as fresh as possible.”

Brosseau is eligible to return to the big league club on Sept. 7 and is expected to return on or around that date, unless there’s an injury before then. With Brosseau in the Minors, Matt Duffy and Eric Sogard will handle most of the responsibilities at third base, while Sogard and Joey Wendle will handle second-base duties.

“Very confident,” Cash said when asked if he expects Brosseau back soon. “He’s done some good things for us. Some really good things.”

De Leon, who pitched four innings in his last start for Durham on Friday, gives the Rays another option to pitch bulk innings out of the bullpen, along with Austin Pruitt, Jalen Beeks and Trevor Richards.

On Aug. 14, in his first Major League start since May 29, 2017, De Leon allowed one run and struck out three over two innings against the Padres. After being clocked at around 91-92 mph in his outings for Durham, De Leon flashed 94-95 mph with his fastball in his outing in San Diego, surprising even himself.

“I think that was the biggest factor,” De Leon said about his velocity. “I don’t think anybody was expecting that, including myself. I hadn’t thrown that hard in the Minors, so I wasn’t expecting to throw that hard here. Knowing that I can do it is really encouraging. Not that I’m going to go out there and try to throw 100 [mph], because that’s not me, I’m not a power pitcher. But it feels good that my arm is 100 percent healthy, so that’s always a good thing.”

Baz headlines AFL roster
Shane Baz, the No. 6 prospect in the Rays’ system and No. 93 in the Majors according to MLB Pipeline, will headline the group of Tampa Bay prospects who will participate in the Arizona Fall League this offseason.

Baz was acquired from Pittsburgh in the same deal that brought Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to Tampa Bay in exchange for pitcher Chris Archer. In his first full season with the Rays' organization, Baz is 3-2 with a 2.87 ERA with Class A Bowling Green.

Catcher Ronaldo Hernandez (the Rays' No. 7 prospect), outfielder Josh Lowe (No. 12), shortstop Taylor Walls (No. 19) and right-handed pitchers Drew Strotman (No. 25) and Alex Valverde will join Baz on the Salt River team. Every team is required to send seven prospects, so the Rays will need to add one more pitcher before rosters are finalized.