Rays Adding Lefty Ian Seymour to Rotation, Will Start Monday at Cleveland

TAMPA, Fla. — The Joe Boyle experiment in the Tampa Bay Rays' starting rotation had a surprising and sudden ending on Friday when he was sent down after a third straight bad start Thursday night. It's left an opening.

The Rays announced that left-hander Ian Seymour will get his first major-league start on Monday night when they start a a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians. Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen are being pushed back a day to make room for Seymour, and they'll start the Tuesday and Wednesday games.

Seymour, a starter his entire minor-league career, has made 12 relief appearances for the Rays, and he's 1-0 with a deceiving 3.86 earned run average. He got tagged for six runs on Tuesday, the night the New York Yankees hit nine home runs, and his ERA went from 1.77 to 3.86 in one night.

He's earned the right to start, though, and Rays manager Kevin Cash is excited for Seymour to get the opportunity.

“I am excited. We’re all excited. I think he has put himself in a spot where he’s earned the right and let’s see how we can stretch him out,'' Cash said. "I think he’s pretty close with the work load he had in San Francisco (on Aug. 15). He got to 60-something pitches, and we’re targeting five ups and see where we are.

"He's shown a lot of resiliency and his ability to bounce back (between relief appearances). I know he’s excited to start, and we’re looking forward to handing him the ball.''

Boyle and Seymour were Triple-A teammates in Durham for much of the year. Boyle pitched in 10 games, with six starts. He was very good early, pitching five no-hit innings in his debut in April and then slotting in behind Drew Rasmussen when the Rays were limiting his innings.

Boyle made five starts between July 29 and Aug. 21, and only one was good, the night he pitched five scoreless inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 3. In the other four starts, he gave up at least four runs every time, and was tagged for 22 runs — 19 earned — in just 12 2/3 innings.

Seymour, the 26-year-old from Madison, Conn., will start on normal rest, and said he feels great physically. He's excited to get back into that starter's routine, and mentality.

"If anything, starting is more familiar for me. My first relief appearances ever were up here,'' Seymour said Sunday in the Rays' clubhouse. "There's more comfort there for sure. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I just want to continue to throw pitches in positive locations.

"It was beneficial to open my career out of the bullpen, so I could see how my pitches played to hitters, and to see how to attack guys. But the process is still the same. I'm still going to throw my pitches and attack aggressively.''

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