Rays Make Roster Moves for Bullpen With Mason Englert Heading to IL

Apr 12, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Mason Englert (59) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Rays Make Roster Moves for Bullpen With Mason Englert Heading to IL

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Apr 20, 2026 3:38 PM ET

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As the Tampa Bay Rays get set for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at home, they recently had to make some roster moves with a player heading to the injured list.

The Rays are off to a strong start to the season and are battling the New York Yankees early on for first place in the American League East. Coming into the year, expectations for Tampa Bay were fairly mixed, with the team making a bunch of moves over the winter that seemed geared toward the future. However, that hasn’t slowed them down early on, and they have performed well.

Even though there have been some injuries to key players early on, it hasn’t slowed the Rays down much. One of the areas that has been hit hard for the team is their bullpen. This is a unit that is currently without Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger. Now, another pitcher from the unit will be joining those two on the injured list, and it is right-hander Mason Englert.

Rays Make Moves to Replace Englert

The Tampa Bay Rays have selected RHP Trevor Martin to the major league roster. He will wear No. 70.

To make room on the active roster, RHP Mason Englert (right forearm tightness) has been placed on the 15-day IL, and to make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Michael Grove (right…
— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) April 20, 2026

The 26-year-old has been a bit of a workhorse early on in the bullpen for Tampa Bay, appearing in nearly half of their games. However, the results haven’t been great. Englert has totaled a 7.11 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched so far.

One of the key areas that has hurt him has been keeping the ball in the park. The right-hander has allowed four home runs so far in nine games, which isn’t a good number.

With Englert heading to the IL with forearm soreness, it is going to be Trevor Martin getting his contract selected. To make room on the 40-man roster, it was Michael Grove getting moved to the 60-day IL.

In Triple-A so far this season, the results have been very good for Martin. He hasn’t allowed a run yet in 9.1 innings pitched across seven appearances. Getting more production out of the bullpen is going to be important, and the strong start to the season for the 25-year-old has made him deserving of getting called up.

Forearm tightness in the throwing arm is never a good sign for a pitcher, and it will be interesting to see how long and the severity of the injury for Englert. Hopefully, his time on the IL will be quick, and he can rejoin the team soon. However, it will be Martin looking to make the most of his opportunity.

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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