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It may not happen immediately, but Kevin Cash plans to give the closer roll back to Brad Boxberger, writes Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Alex Colome had success to start this season, filling in for Boxberger, but doesn't appear to mind giving the role back.
"I had his spot right now because of the injury, and now he is well and he comes back and takes his spot," Colome said. "If they put (a different) guy in there maybe I'd feel bad about it. If … he comes and takes his spot, I do what I have to do. I don't know why I would feel bad. We're teammates, we're friends."
I think this is a situation where the decisions on the field don't matter all that much, and what Cash needs to do is manage the locker room. There will be plenty of important pitching opportunities for both Boxberger and Colome, and the Rays will need both of them to pitch well. Who pitches when? Don't care.
Ryan Webb went to the disabled list to make room for Boxberger
Rays Links:
- Mark Topkin was pretty punchy in his recap of last night's loss. I was driving home from a Memorial Day vacation last night so I couldn't watch, but from Topkin's tone, I'm going to say that was a win for me.
- In addition to losing the game, there's some reason to worry about Rays' infielder Steve Pearce.
#Rays Cash said Pearce "tweaked something" in his elbow during his last at-bat, took himself out concerned about being able to make throw
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 31, 2016
#Rays Pearce said right elbow has been bothering him for a while, but hadn't felt it on a swing before tonight. Expects to play Tuesday.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 31, 2016
Other Links:
- Baseball is considering raising the strikezone to the top of the knee. Russell Carleton wrote a good piece on what that might mean for the game. The low strike could become much more difficult and dangerous to get, and if so, more pitchers might work up in the zone instead.
- He's subject to the bonus pools, which mean the Rays aren't an option, but Dairon Blanco left Cuba to come join MLB. He sounds a bit like the Cuban version of Billy Hamilton.