The Rays got another encouraging step toward a healthier rotation on Sunday, as right-hander Griffin Jax stretched out to three innings in a Minor League rehab start for Triple-A Durham.
Jax, who is on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort, threw 42 pitches and 25 of them were strikes against Triple-A Gwinnett at Gwinnett Field. That was a bump from last Tuesday’s simulated game at Tropicana Field, when he logged 25 pitches over two innings.
His road back has moved quickly since he was scratched from his scheduled start in Seattle on Aug. 8.
He landed on the IL the next day and later received an injection to “calm the back of the elbow down” after being evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister on Aug. 10 in Dallas.
After that, Jax got back on the mound and even faced teammates Jake Fraley and Gavin Lux at the Trop.
Sunday’s outing started with some traffic. Jax gave up three runs in the first, needing 23 pitches after a leadoff walk, a single, a two-run double and another RBI single.
From there, though, he settled in. He struck out two batters in a nine-pitch second inning, then worked around a walk in a 10-pitch third.
Statcast showed he used all six of his pitches at least once during the outing.
What happens next is still up in the air. If the Rays follow the same path they used with Shane McClanahan, Jax could go straight from his rehab assignment back into the big-league staff.
And that’s where things get crowded. Assuming Tampa Bay stays with a five-man rotation, Jax is set to join Drew Rasmussen, McClanahan, Nick Martinez, Freddy Peralta and Ian Seymour in the starting mix, which leaves the Rays with more starters than rotation spots. One possible solution would be “piggybacking” two of those starters, such as Jax and Seymour.
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