NEW YORK -- After he allowed one run over five innings in his impressive big league debut Saturday against the Yankees, the Rays optioned Blake Snell, their No. 1 prospect, back to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.
Relief pitcher Jhan Marinez replaces Snell on the roster. Marinez, a Dominican native, is a journeyman pitcher who signed his first professional contract with the Marlins in 2006. He has made two brief stints in the Majors, making four appearances in 2010 with the Marlins and two with the White Sox in 2012.
Over those six MLB outings, he has allowed three runs (two earned) in 5 1/3 innings with five hits allowed and four strikeouts. Marinez said he has been waiting quite a while for this opportunity and is happy it finally came.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Marinez's slider is one of the big reasons for the callup, describing it as a "wipe-out" pitch. Things were going well for Marinez in Triple-A this season, as he allowed two runs and struck out nine in six appearances covering eight innings.
That being said, it wasn't just this season's work that led Marinez to be called up by the Rays.
"He pitched really well for us last year in Durham," Cash said. "He probably made a pretty good case for himself to have an opportunity to get up last year. It didn't happen. But I'm glad we were able to sign him back and this opportunity came up."