The Rays announced Wednesday that righty Tyler Glasnow has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Brandon Lowe, already known to be out for the season due to a back injury, was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The Rays optioned righty Cristofer Ogando to Triple-A Durham to create a spot on the active roster.
Glasnow’s return gives the Rays a high-octane arm to add to the rotation mix both down the stretch and, more pivotally, in the postseason. Glasnow, who tossed seven minor league rehab innings prior to today’s activation, will be capped at two or three in his first start back from last summer’s Tommy John surgery. He could feasibly build up to a larger, less-restricted workload if Tampa Bay can put together a deep playoff run.
A healthy Glasnow unequivocally improves the Rays’ odds of doing just that, as he’d broken out following a trade from the Pirates, finally developing into the front-of-the-rotation talent he was billed as during his top prospect days. The 6’8″ righty started 37 games for Tampa Bay from 2019-21, pitching to a 2.80 ERA with a massive 35.9% strikeout rate and solid 7.8% walk rate over the life of 206 innings. The only pitchers in baseball with a higher strikeout rate during that three-year stretch were Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom, and only Shane Bieber had a higher percentage of combined called and swinging strikes than Glasnow’s 32.9%.
The Rays and Glasnow came to terms on a somewhat surprising two-year, $30.35MM extension earlier this summer — one that’s reflective both of Glasnow’s injury/missed time and his Cy Young-caliber upside. Glasnow will $5.35MM in 2023, which would’ve been his final arbitration year, representing a modest increase over this season’s $5.1MM salary. He’ll then be guaranteed a $25MM salary in 2024 — what would’ve otherwise been his first free-agent season. It’s the most the perennially cost-conscious Rays have ever paid for a single season of a player, so there’s surely a bit of trepidation on their end of things. At the same time, it’s rare for any player with Glasnow’s service time –and particularly one of Glasnow’s caliber — to sign away just one free-agent year, even on the heels of an injury-wrecked season. There’s some compromise from both parties, and Glasnow said after the contract that he’s “exactly where I want to be.”
The returning Glasnow will now join Shane McClanahan, Corey Kluber, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs in a formidable rotation. Each of McClanahan, Rasmussen and Springs will be options alongside Glasnow through at least the 2024 season, and the Rays will have several impressive young hurlers to vie for the fifth starting spot next season (barring a free-agent or trade addition). Luis Patino, Yonny Chirinos, Josh Fleming and prospect Taj Bradley will all be in the mix, though their most touted arm, righty Shane Baz, will likely miss all of the 2023 season following his recent Tommy John surgery.
Nice! Just in time for the playoffs. I look forward to him shutting down the Jays in game 1 of the wild card. series.
Game two, I see sugar Shane starting game 1
True. Either way, good time for the Rays to get their rotation back to health.
For Brandon, a new Lowe…
Go get’em next year
Too bad his name rhymes with wow and not pronounced ‘low’
In Curly’s defense, nobody pronounces the name of the hardware chain that way, Rays utility man Brandon Lowe doesn’t pronounce his name that way, and former Rays pitcher Nathaniel Lowe didn’t pronounce his name that way either, nor did Rays outfielder Josh Lowe. And besides the three other Rays players who pronounced their name “low,” so did retired relievers Derek Lowe, Mark Lowe and Sean Lowe.
Didn’t mean to include Brandon, the outlier, in the list. My bad. So, two other Rays, not three.
Brandon the Wow Lowe has been in the league for several years, and he’s always pronounced it that odd way.
Nate and Josh Lowe are brothers with no relation to Brandon, and this duo pronounce their names like the big box store.
And since this article mentioned B Lowe, I assumed Curly was trying to Crack a joke about him, but obviously didn’t know that he has an unusual way of saying his name.
Nate Lowe isn’t a pitcher lol
Again, my bad. I don’t follow the Rangers either, but I notice now that he’s doing a lot better for them than he did for the Rays. He owns a higher fWAR than Vlad Guerrero, Jr.
“Brandon the Wow Lowe has been in the league for several years, and he’s always pronounced it that odd way.”
I wonder if his grandfather did something infamous.
“No, it’s pronounced ‘Fronkensteen.'”
Nate Lowe is pretty darn good, and I never understood getting rid of him. I am a big fan of his. TB should never have traded him.
As long as it’s not at the trop please!
@Dustyslambchops23
Tampa taxpayers need to pay up for a new stadium. Why should Billionaires be expected to pay for such things when the masses are going to visit it? Doesn’t seem fair to make the Billionaires pay.
/s
I’m not slamming the trop I just want the jays to have home field advantage.
If jays go to the trop there’s no chance
Mr. Sternberg isn’t a billionaire. He’s scraping by on only $800 million. Perhaps Rays fans can start a GoFundMe page.
If there even is a trop left after this week
Stop there will still be a crop.
Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?
if they hop on pop, a flop will drop
Sounds like a lot of crop…
Just in time to win the AL East. They still got a chance right?
Glasnow will be a multi inning bullpen option for the Rays in the playoffs.
My thoughts exactly.
In other news Happy Birthday to Rob Manfred. Thank you for making baseball the best sport
Second most profitable sports league in the world, behind the NFL.
If Rob Manfred is the one who made baseball the best sport, I must say he looks very young for a guy over a century old.