Struggling Rays Recall Pitcher Joe Boyle From Durham, Send Down Joe Rock
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Some eyebrows were raised when promising Tampa Bay pitching prospect Joe Boyle didn't make his sceduled start for Triple-A Durham on Saturday night, and we found out why on Sunday morning.
Boyle is back in the big leagues.
The struggling Rays, who are 2-6 in their last eight games and suddenly have some questions on their pitching staff, recalled Boyle on Sunday morning and sent left-hander Joe Rock, who made his major-league debut last week in Baltimore, back to Durham.
It's unknown exactly what Boyle's role will be with the Rays, who play 10 straight days heading into the All-Star break. Could he start, which he's done all year? He's 6-4 with a sparkling 1.85 ERA in Durham, and he made one spot start for the Rays in April, pitching five no-hit innings against the Atlanta Braves.
Or could he be used out of the bullpen for now to get through the All-Star break? The Rays' bullpen — just about everyone — has been knocked around during this losing streak. A fresh look might be good.
Boyle is a 25-year-old right-hander from O'Fallon, Mo. He was the key returned piece in the Jeffrey Springs trade with the Athletics last winter. He's been terrific so far, and it's only been a matter of time that he came up — and stays up.
The Rays are 48-41 on the season, and they are the only team in baseball with five starters who have pitched 17 games or more. Outside of that one Boyle start, Ryan Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen and Shane Baz have made every start on time.
Bradley has probably been the most inconsistent of the five, but he did well Saturday, pitching 5 2/3 innings and leaving with a 5-1 lead with two on and two out in the sixth inning. But Kevin Kelly, who gave up a game-winning home run to Harrison Bader on Friday, came in and got beat around again. He gave up a run-scoring single to Royce Lewis and then a three-run homer to Kody Clemens to tie. the game.
This story will be updated after Kevin Cash's pregame interview period with the media. It's likely that Boyle is already in Minneapolis as well.
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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