MIAMI -- After pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings at Fenway Park on May 8, Mason Englert was optioned to Triple-A Durham. The Rays sent the right-hander to the Minors with a goal in mind.
He was going to be built up to start.
Englert started three games for Durham last month, working 4 2/3 innings in the first two before stretching out to six innings on 84 pitches on May 26. The Rays recalled him to fill a need for length in their bullpen last Wednesday, and his five-inning relief appearance against his former Tigers teammates turned out to be a sort of proof of concept.
Now, with Steven Matz temporarily moving out of the rotation and into the bullpen, Englert is sliding out of the ‘pen and claiming a spot on Tampa Bay’s starting staff. The 26-year-old right-hander is slated to pitch in some type of bulk-inning capacity, either starting or coming in after an opener, when the Rays begin a three-game series against the Red Sox on Monday night at Tropicana Field.
It’s an exciting opportunity for Englert, who started during his first two seasons in the Minors before the Tigers selected him in the Rule 5 Draft and kept him primarily in their bullpen in 2023-24.
“My goal has always been to eventually be a starter. It's just what I've always wanted to do. It's my passion,” Englert said Sunday morning at loanDepot park. “Obviously, if I have a career out of the bullpen, I won't complain. But I mean, that's my goal. That's what I'm working for.
“I've always said, even if I'm a 10-year big leaguer out of the 'pen, I'm never gonna think in my head that I'm not a starter. That's the goal. So, I'm just excited to get an opportunity to throw more bulk innings.”
Englert looked the part during his last outing, holding Detroit to just one run on four hits while striking out three. He covered five innings on 82 pitches, so there shouldn’t be any restrictions as he makes this transition.
There won’t be any limitations on Englert’s pitch mix, either, which is one part of the bulk-inning role he particularly enjoys. He has a deep and varied arsenal, with Statcast tracking seven distinct pitch types in his last outing: changeup, curveball, sinker, four-seamer, cutter, slider and a slow curve that checks in around 68-70 mph.
When he’s worked as a reliever, Englert said he usually eliminates either the cutter or the slider and typically just throws one curveball. But turning over a lineup multiple times requires a little more unpredictability, and he has the arsenal to keep hitters guessing.
“It's been fun. They kind of just allowed me to open up the repertoire and kind of go about pitching when I know I'm going to face guys two or three times through (the lineup),” Englert said. “It's just like, hey, can I just be calm emotionally and execute multiple pitches, throw different combinations at them that they're not used to seeing, change speeds on the curveball, really open up and throw the full mix?”