My Two Cents: Kittredge's Season-Ending Elbow Injury Major Blow For Rays

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Injuries are a part of baseball, and no one knows that better than the Tampa Bay Rays. They deal with it and move on, but let's make no mistake about this. Losing closer Andrew Kittredge to season-ending Tommy John surgery is a huge deal.

Kittredge has been their most important reliever the past couple of seasons, and he's gotten a lot of big outs. A recent back injury was a mild concern, but just as he came back from that, he blew out his elbow this week and now will require surgery, knocking him out until deep into the 2023 season at the earliest.

But we never know, of course, with that surgery, especially for someone who turned 32 years old in March. You just don't know how well he comes back from this, if he comes back at all.

It's a devastating blow to a team that relies heavily on a lot of arms in the bullpen that can get outs in any situation. Kittredge, without question, was one of those guys.

“It goes without saying, it’s very unfortunate,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said prior to Friday night's game. “It does present an opportunity for some other guys to come in and pitch and get some big outs, because I think you can make the case that over the last two years that Kitt has gotten the biggest outs in our bullpen.

“We just hope that his rehab goes incredibly smooth.”

There's no doubt about that. Kittredge was a 2021 All-Star and he's the longest tenured pitcher the Rays roster. This is his sixth season with the Rays, and he's 16-7 with 14 saves. 

It's also a little disturbing how all of this played out. Kittredge had five early saves for the Rays, and even though he got tagged for a few big homers, he was still pitching well overall. But when he started dealing with a little back tightness in late May, the Rays decided to shut him down for a few days to let the back calm down.

He last pitched on May 15, ironically giving up a homer in a 3-2 loss to Detroit that was his only loss of the year. He took a few days off and when the Rays were in Baltimore, he felt some discomfort in his back prior to a bullpen session.

The goal then was to simply let it get some rest, and that worked just fine. He stayed away from baseball activities for four or five days, and then started to get back at it.

We talked on May 28 and he said he felt great. He thought the rest helped, and he was having no issues with his back. He threw a few bullpen sessions in St. Pete, and then felt comfortable in a one-inning rehab assignment in Durham.

He made his first appearance post-injured list on Sunday, throwing a perfect ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox. He pitched again two days later against the Cardinals, coming in to pitch the eighth inning with the Rays leading 1-0. But he gave up a run to tie the game. (The Rays eventually won the Tuesday night game in extra innings on Taylor Walls' three-run homer off the foul pole.)

He felt something in his elbow after that outing, though, and the Rays were hoping it was just an issue with some loose bodies floating around. But after further testing, the ligament tear emerged and surgery was required.  

The Rays' bullpen has been mostly good this year, but now their depth is really being tested. Kittredge is now gone for good, and J.P. Feyereisen — who has pitched 24 1/3 innings this year without allowing a single earned run — is still on the injured list with a shoulder issue. Relievers Nick Anderson and Pete Fairbanks haven't pitched all year and J.T. Chargois faced two batters on Opening Day but hasn't been available since. 

A lot will fall on Jason Adam now. He's been great all year, too, allowing just two runs in 25 innings — and none since May 3. With Kittredge and Feyereisen out, those most critical moments might fall into his lap now.

And there surely will be expanded roles for lefties Coin Poche (2-0, 1.47 ERA, three saves) and Jalen Beeks (1-1. 1.48 ERA), two guys with great stuff who are coming back from serious injuries themselves. They'll need to step up now for sure, mostly because there will be no other choice. Brooks Raley (1-0, 3.52) will see some big situations, too.

And veteran guys like Ryan Thompson and Matt Wisler will have to be better, too. Both have scuffled a bit at times this season, but they do know how to get outs. They're going to be counted on a lot, too. There are guys down in Durham — Ryan Yarbrough and Josh Fleming — who have gotten big-league outs, too. We'll probably see both of them back on the roster before too long, too.

The Rays have relied so much on its bullpen during this recent run of success in the past three years, and that's not going to change now. There are capable arms down there, so now they need to step up. 

This is a playoff team, one that's 10 games over .500 right now and on pace to win 95 games. The pieces are in place, and there are more on the way. Mixing and matching is what the Rays do best as a franchise, and they'll have to be in full-go mode with that now. 

Losing a veteran guy like Kittredge is really tough, though. No moment was ever too big for him, and he's handled a lot of high-pressure situations well. He's also a great presence in the Rays' locker room, so definitely don't underestimate how important that is, too. 

Next man up? Yep, that's how they do things. But it doesn't mean it hurts any less.