Proper-hander Taj Bradley was scheduled to begin Tuesday’s Grapefruit League contest for the Rays however was a late scratch. The righty is coping with pectoral tightness and can get an MRI, per Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Occasions (X
hyperlinks).
At this level, it’s unclear if the membership considers the problem extreme or if scratching Bradley was extra precautionary, however the MRI suggests some degree of concern. In the interim, it’s going to seemingly be a supply of fear for the membership and its followers, particularly with the precarious nature of the membership’s rotation depth.
Final yr, Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan underwent UCL surgical procedure of some sort. McClanahan will seemingly miss the 2024 season whereas Rasmussen and Springs are seemingly midseason returns. Along with these accidents, the membership additionally flipped Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers in a cost-cutting transfer.
Coming into 2024, the Tampa rotation initiatives as Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littell, Ryan Pepiot and Bradley, with loads of query marks in that group. Eflin made 31 begins final yr however has battled persistent knee points in his profession and 2023 was simply his second time getting over 130 innings in a season. Civale has handled varied illnesses, together with shoulder, forearm and wrist accidents, having by no means hit 125 frames in any huge league season of his profession. Littell has primarily been a reliever and was solely moved to a rotation gig by the Rays final yr. Pepiot, acquired within the Glasnow deal, has been a notable prospect however has lower than 80 big-league innings. His 127 2/3 innings in 2022, between the majors and minors, are his private finest.
Bradley got here into 2023 as one of many membership’s higher prospects however didn’t hit the bottom working within the huge leagues. He posted a 5.59 earned run common in 104 2/3 frames final yr regardless of sturdy strikeout and stroll charges of 28% and eight.5%, respectively. A 67.7% strand charge might have hampered him, however the 23 dwelling runs allowed throughout the season might have additionally performed a job. ERA estimators remained pretty bullish that he deserved higher than his backside line outcomes, as he had a 4.79 FIP and three.82 SIERA final yr.
No matter how one interprets final yr’s outcomes, Bradley got here into camp as a key a part of the rotation combine. With the absences of McClanahan, Rasmussen, and Springs and the final uncertainty across the wholesome choices, Bradley was going to be included within the plans for Tampa.
The membership should dig additional into its beginning depth if he must miss any time. Shane Baz is on the roster however will face workload limitations this yr after he missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure. Japanese hurler Naoyuki Uwasawa is in camp on a minor league deal, however there have been issues about his viability within the majors and he has allowed 13 earned runs in 5 2/3 spring innings so far. Jacob Lopez can also be on the 40-man however has simply 12 1/3 innings of main league work so far.
Total, there’s a good quantity of precarity in that group. Any additional subtractions will solely exacerbate the state of affairs, so the membership will certainly hope that the MRI doesn’t discover something regarding Bradley’s well being.
