The Rays have had a fairly uneventful camp so far. They haven\u2019t lost anyone to what appear to be major injuries. Their expected rotation is on schedule, while the majority of their projected starting lineup has been locked in since the beginning of camp.<\/p>\n
The bullpen is the one area of the roster that\u2019s more in flux. They announced a couple weeks ago that middle reliever Steven Wilson<\/a> will begin the season on the injured list with a back issue<\/a>. Meanwhile, righty\u00a0Edwin Uceta<\/a> has yet to pitch this spring after being delayed by shoulder inflammation.<\/p>\n Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times<\/a> unsurprisingly writes that Uceta is not expected to be ready by Opening Day. The 28-year-old doesn\u2019t appear to be facing a long-term absence, however. Uceta has been playing catch without issue. It\u2019s not clear if he\u2019ll make it into an exhibition game before camp closes. He shouldn\u2019t need a ton of time to build up for regular season game readiness after that.<\/p>\n A season-opening injured list stint for Uceta would open another middle relief spot. Tampa Bay has three locks for high-leverage relief roles:\u00a0Garrett Cleavinger<\/a>,\u00a0Griffin Jax<\/a> and\u00a0Bryan Baker<\/a>. No one else is firmly locked into the Opening Day mix. Righties\u00a0Cole Sulser<\/a> and\u00a0Yoendrys G\u00f3mez<\/a> are out of minor league options. They need to break camp or be exposed to waivers.<\/p>\n G\u00f3mez was an offseason trade pickup alongside Wilson in a deal that sent outfielder\u00a0Everson Pereira<\/a> to the White Sox. The Rays wouldn\u2019t have made that trade if they didn\u2019t expect G\u00f3mez to have a strong chance of breaking camp. His case for a roster spot is bolstered by his ability to work multiple innings.<\/p>\n Topkin writes that the Rays plan to carry multiple long relievers to begin the season. That\u2019ll give them some cover for starters Shane McClanahan<\/a> and\u00a0Steven Matz<\/a>. McClanahan hasn\u2019t thrown an MLB pitch since 2023 because of various injuries. Matz is building back to rotation work after pitching out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and Red Sox last year. He only threw 76 2\/3 innings. They\u2019ll be in the rotation, but the Rays will exercise caution with their workloads early on.<\/p>\n G\u00f3mez made nine starts in 21 appearances a season ago, tossing 62 2\/3 innings overall. He threw five innings of two-run ball over his first four appearances this spring. G\u00f3mez stepped away from the team to pitch for Venezuela during pool play of the World Baseball Classic. He tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Nicaragua on Monday.<\/p>\n Although Venezuela qualified for the quarterfinals, G\u00f3mez returned to Rays camp this week as he tries to nail down a roster spot.\u00a0Ian Seymour<\/a> and\u00a0Joe Boyle<\/a> are also capable of shouldering multiple innings out of the bullpen or working as rotation depth at Triple-A Durham.<\/p>\n