Seth Lugo became eligible today off the IL after 5 weeks for a “sprained ulnar collateral ligament” of his right elbow. The front office is screaming at me to let him have a couple of weeks of rehab in the minors before I put him back into rotation. Seth says he’s 100% and wants to earn his paycheck; he’s a veteran player, so I’ll let him play.
I’m asking myself, will this be the first crucial decision I make that determines the rest of the season? I guess we’ll know in a couple of weeks. I don’t believe Seth was going to get much rehab with Kyle Turner, the one to provide it, so why not just let Seth rehab with the guys he’s played with these last few weeks? Seth will get the start tomorrow afternoon in our last game against Tampa.
Game Summary – May 25th – Pepiot Now 2-6 Following 5-1 Win
The Tampa Bay Rays got a stellar effort from pitcher Ryan Pepiot, helping Tampa Bay score a win over the visiting Kansas City Royals, 5-1. Pete Fairbanks locked down his 14th save. Tampa Bay is now 24-29, Kansas City 22-31. Pepiot was in the zone all game. He frustrated Kansas City hitters while giving the Rays 8.1 innings of quality work. Pepiot threw 112 pitches, allowing 3 hits and getting 7 punchouts.
"It doesn't matter if you're 10 games over .500 or 10 games under, it feels good to win," Pepiot told the Tampa Bay Daily.
I hate to lose. Hernandez is not pitching well at 5.97 ERA and 5.17 FIP after 28.2 IP across 6 games and 1 quality start. That’s just not going to cut it here at the big club. The issue is he’s going to have to be put on waivers and DFA, and he may be picked up by someone, which is fine, that takes another $1.0MIL off my payroll. Or we deal him in another trade somewhere. Either way, I think we need to make a move with Omaha and see who’s ready for try on the active roster.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ryan Pepiot
Ballpark: Tropicana Field
Start Time: 4:10 PM ET
Time: 2:51
Attendance: 30430