The Tampa Bay Rays are facing another early hurdle before the 2024 season begins, with right-hander Taj Bradley set to miss the start due to a pectoral strain. This was announced by manager Kevin Cash and reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The right-hander’s injury requires a complete halt in throwing activities for at least the next two weeks, after which his condition will be reassessed. Even under the most optimistic recovery timeline, Bradley faces a period of rebuilding his stamina through a minor league rehab stint before potentially rejoining the Rays’ lineup.
#Rays Cash said Taj Bradley definitely won’t be ready to start season. Will be shut down from throwing for at least 2 weeks then need to build back up. Will consider several in camp options to replace him in rotation.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 13, 2024
Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays Rotation
The Tampa Bay Rays are known for producing plenty of pitching and patching holes with more talent as it comes. Taj Bradley was set to be one of these arms after a brief stint in 2023, where he produced a mixed bag of results. The 23-year-old will join plenty of talent on the shelf with pitchers Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs, and Drew Rasmussen on the shelf as they recover from their own surgeries with different timelines. This problem is compounded as the Rays wait for Shane Baz to return from a 2022 Tommy John surgery.
Taj Bradley, for his part, may not have been part of the early-season mix either way, given his performance this past season. His 5.59 ERA over 104 2/3 innings showed that there’s still work to be done for the young pitcher, but the underlying metrics were promising. Baseball Savant has Taj Bradley’s velocity and movement much like a 2023 Justin Verlander, 2023 Gerrit Cole, and a 2023 Logan Gilbert. He is in the 85th percentile for fastball velocity, and his 28% strikeout rate ranked 15th in the big leagues in 2023 for pitchers who logged over 100 innings.
The Rays, however, must now navigate the early season without one of their potential key starters. With limited rotation depth, FanGraphs has Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littel, Ryan Pepiot, and Tyler Alexander listed as their 1-5.
The Rays are generally great at using voodoo magic to turn a negative into a positive by finding diamonds in the rough to replace those lost to injury.
Free Agents to Replace Taj Bradley
With limited pieces in their system, the Rays may actually look outside the organization to replace Tja Bradley. Among the non-roster invitees, former NPB starter Naoyuki Uwasawa and prospect Mason Montgomery offer intriguing, albeit uncertain, potential. Uwasawa brings experience from a successful career in Japan, though his adaptation to MLB remains in question. Montgomery, with limited experience above Double-A, also represents a gamble for the Rays, but one that they’re very familiar.
If they do look to go outside of the organization, there are free agents who could fit the Tampa Bay Rays’ shoestring budget. While they likely won’t splurge for Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, the Rays could still find useful pieces in Zack Greinke, Michael Lorenzon, Mike Clevinger, and Noah Syndergaard.
In fact, with the way the Rays are able to take reclamation projects and get them working well, Noah Syndergaard might make some sense.
Syndergaard used to feature a big fastball, much like Taj Bradley, but he’ll have to learn how to pitch as his velocity just isn’t there anymore. His fastballs sat right around 92 MPH but without the same zip from when he was Thor from the New York Mets, his offspeed just doesn’t play as it used to, causing a drop in strikeouts.
Whatever way the Rays happen to go, Taj Bradley will leave a bit of a hole for them to navigate at the beginning of the season.
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