LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Rays are still waiting to finalize a handful of spots on their Opening Day roster. They need to name a backup catcher, whether it’s Alex Jackson or someone acquired from outside the organization. They need to fill the last spot in their rotation and one spot in the bullpen. And they need to come up with a left-handed-hitting reserve to replace Jonathan Aranda, whether that’s prospect Austin Shenton or another late acquisition.

But their Opening Day rotation is coming into clearer focus.

Right-handers Aaron Civale and Zack Littell will follow Opening Day starter Zach Eflin, manager Kevin Cash confirmed Sunday morning before Littell pitched 3 1/3 innings in the Rays’ 3-2 loss to the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Eflin will pitch Thursday’s opener, as previously announced, then Civale will take the mound Friday and Littell on Saturday against the Blue Jays.

What comes next is a little less clear. Right-hander Ryan Pepiot hasn’t officially cracked Tampa Bay’s rotation, but he will be in line to pitch the fourth or fifth game of the season after starting Tuesday’s spring finale at Tropicana Field.

That leaves the other spot open for either lefty Tyler Alexander, who pitched six innings in a Minor League game on Sunday, or right-hander Jacob Waguespack, who will face the Phillies on Monday. Alexander and Waguespack have been built up to start this spring, although either could pitch after an opener or work out of the bullpen depending on how the remaining roster decisions shake out.

Littell ready to roll
Littell figured he would give up a run at some point this spring, and it finally happened in the second inning on Sunday. The righty’s 11-inning scoreless streak ended after he permitted hits to Kerry Carpenter and Javier Báez and a ground-rule double to Gio Urshela.

Those were the only runs he allowed in his last Spring Training outing, although he was a little less efficient than usual, as he needed 79 pitches to record 10 outs against the Tigers.

“Obviously, you don't want to give up runs, but it's good definitely to have a little bit of labor into it and go through a little bit of a high-stress inning where you get your pitch count up,” Littell said. “Execution wasn't perfect, but that stuff's going to happen, and would rather it happen now. Body felt really good, thought my stuff was still really good, so happy with it.

“I'm excited now. Finally. It feels like Spring Training kind of drags a little bit, right? And then you get toward the end here where everything starts moving, and camp starts thinning out, and you start to get a little bit excited about it. So I'm ready to go.”

Around the horn
• Starter Naoyuki Uwasawa, reliever Burch Smith and catcher Rob Brantly triggered the assignment clauses in their Minor League contracts on Saturday, a day after being informed they would not make the Rays’ Opening Day roster. That allows them to pursue opportunities elsewhere if another club offers a big league role the Rays can’t, but no decisions had been made as of Sunday afternoon.

• The Rays moved their workouts to Tropicana Field on Sunday, giving them a few days to get used to the new turf before Opening Day. The staff will likely create a lot of defensive work and try to get reps for the regulars during Tuesday’s exhibition at The Trop, especially those who haven’t played much there, giving them a chance to see how the new surface plays.

• Relievers Chris Devenski (12 pitches, nine strikes) and Phil Maton (15 pitches, 11 strikes) each threw a scoreless inning against the Tigers. Devenski was stretched out to pitch in a starting/bulk-inning role this spring, something the Rays may reconsider later in the year, but he will begin the season in Tampa Bay’s bullpen.

• Jose Siri drove in both Rays runs with a 105.8 mph single in the second inning. Amed Rosario went 2-for-3 and smashed three hard-hit balls. And 18-year-old shortstop Adrian Santana, the Rays’ No. 7 prospect and the 31st overall pick in last year’s Draft, legged out a double in the ninth inning of his first big league Spring Training game.

Up next
The Rays will play one more game on the road Monday afternoon, as they head to BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater to face the Phillies at 12:05 p.m. Waguespack will get the start, and he’ll be followed by most of the Rays’ top relievers: Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam, Colin Poche, Shawn Armstrong and Garrett Cleavinger.

Tampa Bay will wrap up its spring slate Tuesday afternoon, facing Detroit in a 12:35 p.m. exhibition at Tropicana Field.