ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays reinstated left-hander Steven Matz from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday morning and slotted him back into their rotation to start their series finale against the Orioles at Tropicana Field.
That was part of a flurry of roster moves for the club, which also placed infielder Ben Williamson on the 10-day IL due to a low back strain, selected just-acquired infielder Oliver Dunn from Triple-A Durham and optioned right-hander Chase Solesky to Durham.
The Rays’ 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Matz had been on the IL since May 5 due to left elbow inflammation, which led to him feeling soreness in the sixth inning of his May 3 start. An MRI revealed no structural issues, though, so Matz took a few days off from throwing before getting back on the mound with no issues last week.
“I'm feeling great. It was a nice progression,” Matz said Tuesday. “We took a few days off, and we slowly built back up. Worked on the mound about five, six days ago, so we're lining up perfectly.”
The Rays will likely be careful with Matz’s workload in his first outing back, considering the time he missed. They could use right-hander Jesse Scholtens, who has been serving as a starter/bulk-inning reliever, behind him.
“We’re going to be communicating when I'm back out there on how I feel. That's kind of the sentiment all along,” Matz said. “[Manager Kevin Cash] and [pitching coach Kyle] Snyder, they’ve been great about that. They want to hear from me, and I want to hear from them, so it's just been a good process. And that’s how it will continue to be.”
Williamson has been sidelined in recent days by a back issue, and he was notably absent from the lineup against a left-handed starter on Monday. Cash said he was doing “better” but still sore on Tuesday, and they wound up backdating his IL stint to Sunday.
The Rays acquired Dunn from the White Sox late Tuesday night in a trade for lefty reliever Joe Rock.