Tampa Bay Rays: Did the Rays Make the Right Trades?

Tampa Bay Rays: Did the Rays Make the Right Trades? by David Egbert

Losing three players off the 25-man roster, the Tampa Bay Rays look no further than the Durham Bulls for reinforcements as Motter and Garton rejoin the Rays

It was a busy day on Monday as the Tampa Bay Rays traded three players off their 25-man roster, resulting in a 23-man roster for their game against the Kansas City Royals.

Prior to the game the Tampa Bay Rays announced that Matt Andriese would return to the rotation and that Desmond Jennings had been activated off the DL.

Following the game, the Rays announced that outfielder/infielder Taylor Motter and right-hander reliever Ryan Garton had been recalled.

Called up from Durham when the Tampa Bay Rays needed a fifth starter on May 8, Matt Andriese was 5-1 in eight starts before being moved to the bullpen to make room for Blake Snell.

Overall on the season Andriese’s line stands at 6-2, with a 2.75 ERA spanning 18 games in 72-innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said on Monday that Andriese is back in the rotation full-time and that he’ll start against the Royals on Tuesday, but Rays President Matt Silverman said otherwise.

Silverman told the media that Andriese won’t be the only pitcher to get starts in the final months of the season – referring to the return of Alex Cobb who is back on track for a return at the end of this month and as well giving Erasmo Ramirez some opportunities.

Additionally, Silverman said there might be some young arms at Triple-A Durham who could earn a call up when the rosters expand on September 1.

“There are a lot of things we need to work through and plan out what the rotation is going to look like and deploy these pitchers,” Silverman said. “They’re all going to pitch and pitch extensive innings for us.

One roster spot had been filled in time for the game as Desmond Jennings was activated off the 15-day DL. Jennings would fill void left by the trade of Brandon Guyer.

Jennings was placed on the DL retroactive to July 1 with a strained hamstring injury that initially was sustained on June 30.

At the time of his injury, Jennings was used in a part-time role in left and center, but was back into a starting role because of the injury to Kevin Kiermaier.

Through 63 games, Jennings has managed to hit for just a .202/.286/.352 slash line and he has also added seven home runs and 19 RBI.

Both Motter and Garton return for another stint with the Tampa Bay Rays – how long they remain with the big club remains to be seen.

Motter takes the roster spot of Steve Pearce, while Garton slots into the Matt Moore’s roster spot.

For now, they’re here for the long haul unless Matt Silverman has something else up his sleeve.

Motter has appeared in 34-games, totaling 80 at-bats for a .188 average. That includes three double, 11 runs scored and 11 walks for the versatile infield/outfielder while with the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this season.

At Durham, Motter has appeared in 57 games where he’s currently batting .217, with nine home runs, 29 RBI and a .283 on-base percentage.

However, Motter he was named International League Player of the Week on Monday after hitting .412 with two home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs scored from July 25-31.

Garton returns for his third stint with the Tampa Bay Rays this season after posting a 1-0 record with a 5.17 ERA and a save in 15-games (15-2/3 innings), along with 13 strikeouts and 8 walks.

At Durham his lines were impressive, going 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and two saves, with 34 strikeouts and just eight walks in 27-innings of work covering 18 appearances.