Rays Select Trevor Kelley, Place Andrew Kittredge On 60-Day IL

The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Kelley, who’d been in camp on a minor league deal. Fellow righty Andrew Kittredge, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggested earlier that Kelley could be selected to the 40-man roster sooner than later.

Kelley, 30, has seen Major League time with the Red Sox, Phillies and Brewers but has yet to find much big league success. He tallied a career-high 23 2/3 innings with Milwaukee last season but also was knocked around to the tune of a 6.08 ERA. The sidearmer posted a below-average 21.5% strikeout rate but a solid 8.4% walk rate. Home runs have been a major issue for Kelley, however, evidenced by a whopping 11 round-trippers surrendered in just 35 1/3 MLB frames (2.8 HR/9).

Those big league struggles notwithstanding, Kelley possesses an exceptional 1.81 ERA in a much larger sample of 164 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s also punched out 25.7% of his opponents there against an 8.7% walk rate. Kelley has a minor league option remaining as well, so he’ll give the Rays some flexibility with their bullpen. He’s not yet up to a year of MLB service, so if the Rays can coax some of that Triple-A performance out at the Major League level, the Rays can control him for as many as six seasons.

As for Kittredge, he was one of the Rays’ top relievers, pitching to a 2.17 ERA in 99 2/3 innings dating back to 2020. However, the 32-year-old Kittredge was limited to just 20 innings this past season, as a June IL placement due to discomfort in his right elbow ultimately proved a precursor to Tommy John surgery. It’s possible he’ll make it back to the big leagues at some point in the season’s second half, but there’s no way Kittredge was going to be ready within the season’s first couple months, so moving him to the 60-day IL amounts to little more than a formality. If the Rays need another 40-man roster spot, they can do the same with right-hander Shane Baz, who’s also on the mend from Tommy John surgery.