The Rays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Erasmo Ramirez. In corresponding moves, left-hander Jacob Lopez was optioned to Triple-A, and infielder Taylor Walls was shifted from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
Today’s move kicks off what is officially Ramirez’s third stint with the Rays. The righty first pitched for Tampa during the 2015-17 seasons, before moving on to pitch for five other teams in a journeyman’s trek around the majors until landing again in Tampa Bay last summer. After the Nationals released Ramirez in June, he spent only a few days on the open market before inking a minor league contract with the Rays, and he ended up posting a 6.48 ERA over 33 1/3 innings and 15 appearances at the MLB level. He elected free agency at season’s end, but Ramirez then returned to the Rays on another minors deal in December.
Ramirez has a 4.37 ERA over 828 1/3 career innings, working as a starter, reliever, swingman, and bulk pitcher (behind an opener) over his 12 Major League seasons. There have been plenty of ups and downs over this long career, and Ramirez’s 3.76 ERA over 254 frames with Tampa in 2015-16 essentially represents his peak. The right-hander then struggled to a 4.85 ERA over 221 innings from 2017-21 until finding some stability working out of Washington’s bullpen, and posting an impressive 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings in 2022. Advanced metrics weren’t as impressed with Ramirez’s revival, however, and the regression wave hit when he posted a 6.41 ERA in 60 1/3 combined innings last season with the Nats and Rays.
Given how the Rays frequently cycle through pitchers at the back end of their bullpen, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Ramirez designated for assignment relatively soon, despite the extra machinations to add him to the 40-man roster. Ramirez has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, though if that situation comes, he could also choose to remain in a familiar situation in Tampa Bay rather than test the market once again. In the meantime, Ramirez (who turns 34 on May 2) will likely at least get some innings under his belt to officially mark his 13th MLB campaign, and give the Rays a known quantity for covering innings in the relief corps.
Walls had hip surgery back in October, and since his 60-day IL stint is backdated to the start of his initial 10-day placement, the shortstop won’t be making his 2024 debut until late May at the very earliest. Rays manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com and other media last week that Walls hadn’t had any setbacks in his recovery, but was “just not going as quick as maybe we had originally anticipated,” creating some doubt as to when exactly Walls will be back in action. The shortstop will still need to take part in an extended Spring Training ramp-up and then a minor league rehab assignment, so even a late May return might be optimistic given the lack of updates on Walls to date.
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