Rays Reliever Edwin Uceta Out 6-8 Weeks With Shoulder Strain

Rays manager Kevin Cash confirmed on Monday that right-handed reliever Edwin Uceta has been diagnosed with a subscapularis strain in his throwing shoulder. The injury will keep Uceta sidelined for another 2-3 weeks, pushing back his return to the first half of May and nearly eliminating the chance he’ll be ready for MLB action by June.

Uceta was already rehabbing from a shoulder impingement when the new strain developed during his minor league rehab assignment. The 27-year-old had made four rehab appearances and was expected to be activated this week before the setback. With this latest injury, Uceta is now likely heading to the 60-day injured list. The Rays could backdate the IL placement to Opening Day despite it being a different injury.

Uceta’s absence is a major blow to a Rays bullpen that has struggled early in the 2024 season. Over the past two years, Uceta has been one of Tampa Bay’s most reliable relievers, posting a 1.51 ERA in 41 2/3 innings in 2022. Last season, he posted a 3.79 ERA while striking out 28.7% of batters faced and tying Garrett Cleavinger for the team lead with 21 holds.

Cleavinger is also sidelined with a calf injury and is expected to return within the next few days. Meanwhile, the Rays placed Mason Englert on the 15-day IL and are without Manuel Rodríguez for most of the season and Steven Wilson for several months. The combination of injuries has forced the Rays to rely heavily on Kevin Kelly, Griffin Jax, Bryan Baker, and Hunter Bigge.

The Rays entered Monday with a 5.38 bullpen ERA, ranking 26th in the majors. Their relief corps ranks 25th in strikeout/walk rate differential and third in home run rate per nine innings. Bigge has the best ERA among the fill-ins at 3.00, but his 4.8 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 are concerning. Jax and Kelly have posted similarly unimpressive underlying numbers, while Baker has performed closer to league average.

With Uceta out for the foreseeable future, the Rays will need more consistent performances from their current relievers or further reinforcements from the minors to stabilize their late-game defense. Tampa Bay will look to get Cleavinger and Englert back in the mix as soon as possible. The team’s next game is Tuesday night against the Blue Jays.