When the Rays announced they were using four starters in Spring Training, and then went to an opener in May, the most frequent concern I heard from fans or opposing media was that the pitching staff would be burned out and the “bullpen” would be overworked. So with the season now complete, let’s look as to whether any of those concerns were legitimate.

The Rays did set a record for bullpen usage, but what’s a bit of a misnomer is counting bullpen innings and using that as a guide. With openers starting, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos and Ryan Yarbrough pitched every fifth day for the most part. They worked as a starter, they just didn’t just “begin” the game.

A total of 19 pitchers were on the active roster at the end of the season, so I decided to take a closer look at whether any pitchers were “overworked.” The chart below lists what the pitcher did last year, what their career highs were entering the season, and what their numbers were like this year.

Of the true relievers, Jose Alvarado, Jaime Schultz and Ryne Stanek set career highs in appearances, but not so in innings. Remember that Schultz and Stanek are former starters in the minors. Diego Castillo had a high in appearances and innings. However, those numbers were increased by five and four from last year, respectively. Pitching as an opener (which he did almost exclusively in September), Castillo also only had to get up once a game, where as a reliever he might get loose multiple times. Sergio Romo worked career high numbers in 2018, but he’s also a free agent. Chaz Roe had his most appearances, but it was not near his career high in innings.

Among the starters that were relieving, Jalen Beeks and Ryan Yarbrough also had highs in appearances, but had less innings in 2018 than in 2017. Tyler Glasnow, a true starter with the Rays, relieved with Pittsburgh, so he saw an appearance increase, but his total innings were down a bit. Blake Snell, the team’s ace, increased his starting total by seven innings, or about four percent. In addition, Yonny Chirinos and Jake Faria saw their innings decrease, Faria due to injury.

Hunter Wood, who also was an opener, increased his appearance total, but his innings were down significantly from 2017. Reliever Andrew Kittredge made fewer appearances and worked less innings than last year. No other pitchers set highs in innings or appearances.

So was any pitcher truly overworked? Not one pitcher saw a 20 percent increase from their career highs in innings pitched, where above that total would be a red flag for 2019. It remains to be seen how the Rays will use their staff in 2019, but to say the pen was overworked by the opener is far and away a misnomer.