Which September callups will have the biggest impact?
-- Gabe

Due to their depth in the Minors, the Rays are going to be one of the teams that benefit most from rosters expanding on Sept. 1. Nate Lowe, Michael Perez and Guillermo Heredia are the three players that immediately come to mind who will play a big role for the Rays at that point.

All three have had success at the big league level, either this season or in the past, and will contribute during the final month of the season. Lowe will give the Rays another left-handed-hitting power option in the middle of the lineup; Perez provides a left-handed-hitting catcher and a defensive upgrade from Travis d’Arnaud later in the games; and Heredia will return after a recent demotion to patrol the outfield as a late-game defensive option in the outfield. Daniel Robertson will also be added to the roster at some point in September, giving the Rays another plus defender in the infield.

Tampa Bay will also benefit from adding pitchers such as Brendan McKay, Jose De Leon, Anthony Banda, Pete Fairbanks and Aaron Slegers. Brendan McKay and Jose De Leon can provide some length on the mound, while Fairbanks and Slegers add some right-handed-pitching depth to the bullpen.

That’s the plan. Snell has been playing catch while he awaits the swelling on his left elbow to go down, and the left-hander remains optimistic about his chances of returning this season. Once he returns, it’ll be interesting to see just how much length Snell is able to give the Rays, considering he will have been sidelined for over a month by the time he returns to the big league club. Rays manager Kevin Cash said on Sunday that the team isn’t concerned about Snell being stretched out. We’ll see.

No. Banda was initially scheduled to miss the entire 2019 season, but he did a great job of rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and put himself in the conversation to join the Rays’ staff at some point in September. However, with rosters expanding, Tampa Bay is going to have days where it play the best matchups throughout the game, especially while Yonny Chirinos and Snell remain on the injured list. Because of that, I don’t see Banda making any starts this season or giving the team plenty of innings.

As far as his development goes, no, you shouldn’t be worried about McKay’s recent struggles on the mound. Going through some inconsistencies is part of the learning curve for every young player, and this is McKay experiencing his first patch of adversity. The concerning part is that the Rays need McKay (and the rest of their pitchers) to pitch well down the stretch in order to overcome the plethora of injuries to their starting rotation. Tampa Bay is hoping that a trip down to Triple-A Durham will help McKay reset and provide quality innings in September because the team is going to need him.

As for De Leon, this is a similar answer to the Banda question. De Leon can certainly provide length for the Rays, but the club is going to continue to play the best matchups during a tight postseason race. De Leon will be part of the team’s roster in September, and he could definitely contribute when needed.