Rays send pitcher Matt Moore to Triple A after struggles
The Tampa Bay Rays will demote lefthander Matt Moore to Triple A Durham, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Moore, 26, struggled heavily in six starts since returning from Tommy John surgery on July 2. He went 1-3 with an 8.76 ERA and 2.06 WHIP, failing to once make it past five innings.
Once a highly-touted prospect, Moore tore a ligament in his throwing elbow in April 2014 and spent more than a year recovering. In 2013, his last full season, he went 17–4 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 150 innings. He rehabbed in the minors earlier this year but failed to regain his form upon arrival in Tampa.
“It is performance-related, but more than anything we have the flexibility to go to a four-man rotation,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. “And we're not going to ask Matt Moore to go to the bullpen. Coming back from injury as he is, we need to make sure he gets consistent innings.”
Moore will go to Triple A to work out his issues on the mound.
“It's not fun right now,” Moore said. “But I still believe in myself. I still feel when I was out there competing that I wasn't being timid, that what I had, that was what I had to offer that day. It is tough having only three innings, handing that many innings over to the bullpen and coming out of the game.”
The Rays are 51–54 and sit four games out of a Wild Card spot.
- Jeremy Woo
