Update on Carlos Carrasco:

TF: “We got all the readings back. They look at it locally and then they send it to California. Everything come back negative, so he’s got a contusion. He’ll continue to be treated for the contusion and what they’ll do is they’ll take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and continue to treat it for swelling and strength and range of motion. And Wednesday he will be re-evaluated and see. They’ll talk about when he can start to throw, but that won’t be until Wednesday. He still got hit really hard and there’s some trauma. So, we dodged a huge bullet. The hope would be, once he gets the swelling out of there, that he’ll come quick because it’s a bruise. It could have been a lot worse.”

On upcoming rotations plans:

TF: “We’re going to keep guys on their day. We’re going to put [Adam] Plutko in the bullpen until the second game in St. Louis [on June 26], so that will keep [Corey] Kluber on Wednesday, [Shane] Bieber Friday. Keep guys right in order and then the second day in St. Louis we’ll need a start and that will be Plutko. Now, if something were to change or something, we can always insert him, but that’s the plan. And he’s available tonight. I feel a little more comfortable tomorrow, but he would be OK to pitch tonight.”

On whether a pitcher who has dealt with multiple comebackers like Carrasco could be affected by it:

TF: “Yeah, sure. Guys get a little jumpy. Sure. And it’s easy to tell him, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it,’ but I’m not the one standing out there. Yeah, I certainly have. But Carlos, like I said, this is the fourth time? And I’ve never seen any ill effects before and I don’t anticipate any going forward. I think he’s just glad that it’s a bruise and see how quick he can get better.”

On whether Carrasco’s style of pitching makes him susceptible to comebackers:

TF: “Somebody else asked me that and there’s nothing. I mean, I do think there are pitchers that put themselves in a position where they are not able to field their position, but Carlos is fine. He lands flat and he’s in a really good position, most of the time.”

Update on Bradley Zimmer (Minor League DL, right shoulder discomfort):

TF: “You know what? I think I had told you guys he strained his shoulder doing that short-toss drill, one-handed drill. And I don’t think he thought it was anything. And then he got out throwing [within the past couple days] and it just didn’t feel good. So, we’re going to go ahead and get him looked at, get an MRI and a scan and see if there’s anything going on in there.”

On signing lefty Marc Rzepczynski to a Minor League contract:

TF: “Any time we sign somebody, you hope, if they get here, they help. It’s a guy we know. Everybody always liked him. I think he enjoyed his time here. I think he took his physical today. He’s going to start pitching tomorrow, get some reps under him again, because he’s probably missed about 10 days. But, we’re down to one lefty right now, so it’s a guy that certainly could come here and help, for sure. He didn’t sign to stay in Triple-A. I think he signed because he liked it here and I think he also knows [the front-office] guys, they’re so honest about the way they go about things, that he wouldn’t get stuck there.”

On trying to spell Rzepczynski’s name:

TF: “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it in my phone: Z-E-P.”

[Laughter]

TF: “Remember that video of him throwing Cashy [Kevin Cash] down in Kansas City? That’s still one of my favorites. Did you guys see the [recent] video of Cashy? You didn’t see that? I thought everybody saw it. [The Rays] were making like their fifth pitching change and he was in New York and he [stretched] and he yawned. And the New York people were like, ‘Man, he must be tired from all the pitching changes.’ So I called him today and said, ‘Have you heard?’ And he goes, ‘Yeahhh, I’ve definitely heard about it.’”

On the message to Greg Allen (optioned to Triple-A):

TF: “The biggest thing was to try to enjoy doing the little things to help a team win. The hitting part is obvious. He’s got things to work on and he knows that. But, when you do it in Triple-A or Double-A and then you play in the Major Leagues, the guys learn quickly how one play can change a game. I kind of brought up to him the play in Chicago last week where stolen base, Roberto [Perez] threw it away. If he’s there quicker, that guy can’t move up to third. You know know, it could change the game. It doesn’t mean we’re going to win, but a guy on third with less than two outs, as opposed to a guy on second is a big difference. I said, ‘Those are things that when you’re in the Minor Leagues, that’s development. When you’re here, it directly impacts us winning and losing.’ So, I said, ‘The more you can embrace trying to be good at those things…’ And Millsie was in there, too, and he used a good word. He said, ‘You can build up momentum even without getting hits.’ And I thought it was a really good way of saying it. So, I hate to give Millsie credit, but I kind of plagiarized it a little bit.

On Tyler Naquin’s development:

TF: “We’ve had our ups and downs, as you do with just about everybody. My goodness. Not too many guys come and just hit the ground, kind of like Frankie [Lindor], and let them play. We’ve found that by allowing him to be himself a little bit more, that he probably reacts a little bit better. So we’ve probably all learned. When you say, ‘Has Naquin learned?’ Yeah, I think he’s learned. But, we have, too. There’s certain things we want to make sure we accomplish. But then, once we do that, kind of give him the freedom to be a little more, we kind of use the word ‘athletic.’ In right field, it looks like he’s taken to it quicker. In center field, his routes can sometimes not quite be where maybe you’d like. But, as long as he makes the plays, we don’t want him just looking over his shoulder every two seconds: ‘Am I standing in the right place?’ Because that doesn’t help him become a better player. And we know that. But, that’s by going through trials and tribulations and conversations and getting to know somebody. And the only reason he’s not playing tonight is I should have not played him yesterday. When he came back it was with the understanding that he wouldn’t play four or five in a row. And with everything that was going on the day before, it got behind me. So he’s sitting tonight.”



On Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall:

TF: “I think they’ve done a good job. Naquin seems like… you remember that second time we sent him down and he was only down a day, day and a half? It just seemed that when he came back he was a little more comfortable in his own skin. And he’s done a good job. And he’s fun to have around, because he’s got a ton of personality. He plays with energy. You know he’s never going to back down. I love that part of him. He’s always ready to try to win. He’s got that mentality, which is really good. Sometimes guys that you’ve grown pretty close to, you can go through a period where because you’re sending them down so much, they get tired of it. So, they’re not exactly running into my office. I don’t blame them. I get it. You don’t ever want those things to get in the way. But I also understand it.”

— JB