ST. PETERSBURG -- Add another pitching injury to the list for the Rays.
Four days after announcing that starter Ryan Pepiot will soon undergo season-ending surgery on his right hip, the Rays placed left-hander Steven Matz on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation.
Matz showed no signs of discomfort in his last two outings: a seven-inning win in Cleveland on April 27 and another quality start in a victory against the Giants on Sunday at Tropicana Field. His assignment was made retroactive to Monday, and the Rays selected the contract of right-hander Chase Solesky from Triple-A Durham to take Matz’s place on the active roster.
The Rays have already had to get creative with their rotation due to injuries. Pepiot’s injury created a spot in the Opening Day rotation for right-hander Joe Boyle, who is also sidelined due to elbow inflammation but is about to begin a Minor League rehab assignment.
Boyle’s injury prompted the Rays to put right-hander Jesse Scholtens in their rotation as a starter/bulk-inning reliever. Now, reliever Griffin Jax is in the process of moving out of the bullpen and getting built up as a starter to take the day that had belonged to Scholtens.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the Rays planned to replace Matz, who would have been lined up to pitch Friday night against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. One option would be splitting up Jax and Scholtens rather than having Scholtens pitch multiple innings after Jax.
Matz was off to a strong start for the Rays in his full-time return to the starting rotation. The 34-year-old is 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 37 1/3 innings over seven starts, and Tampa Bay is 6-1 in games he’s pitched.
Signed to a non-roster Minor League deal during the offseason, Solesky has never pitched in the Majors. He was 2-1 with a 6.57 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 24 2/3 innings over six starts for Durham. The 28-year-old’s most recent outing was last Thursday, when he held Jacksonville to two runs on six hits while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.