Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs of Belmont, North Carolina will be out long term with an elbow injury. According to Anthony Franco of mlbtraderumors.com, Springs is expected to miss a minimum of two months.
What is the Precise Injury?
Springs suffered the injury in the top of the fourth inning on Thursday in the Rays’s home game against the Boston Red Sox. Springs was pitching to Justin Turner at the time, when all of a sudden, he lost sensation in his pitching hand. Further tests on Friday showed that Springs has significant nerve inflammation in his arm/elbow area and that is why he lacked the feeling in his hand. The injury seemed to be sudden and come out of nowhere.
Great start to 2023
Springs had got off to a terrific start prior to the injury. In three games, he had a record of two wins and zero losses and an earned run average of 0.56. In 16 innings, Springs gave up four hits, one earned run, one home run, four walks, 24 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.50.
Record-tying Win by Rays
In the game that Springs started on Thursday against Boston, the Rays won 9-3. This was Tampa Bay’s 13th straight game, which tied the Major League Baseball record for most straight wins to start the season. The other two teams to accomplish the feat were the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers.
Struggles against Blue Jays
After the 13-0 start, the Rays have struggled mightily in their last two games against the Toronto Blue Jays. On Friday, the Jays won 6-3 and on Saturday, the Jays won 5-2. On Friday, Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette had five hits, and on Saturday, Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi of Morioka, Japan was sensational as he had a quality start by only giving up one earned run in six innings to go along with nine strikeouts.
Who will replace Springs in the rotation?
With the Rays also having starting pitchers Tyler Glasnow of Newhall, California (oblique strain) and Zach Eflin (lower back tightness) on the injury list, the Rays all of a sudden are in desperate need of a starting pitcher. Do not be surprised if they decide to go with more openers in the very near future, and use their relievers a lot more. However, relievers Shawn Armstrong of New Bern, North Carolina (hip discomfort) and Ryan Thompson of Turner, Oregon (right lat strain) are on the injury list too.
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