The Tampa Bay Rays have lost a lot of ground in both the AL East Division race, as well as the American League Wild Card standings, and a lot has to do with their former ace, Blake Snell, not being himself. They are looking to fix that, but that means they will go without the left-hander for a while. Snell will undergo surgery on his pitching elbow to remove loose bodies and was placed on the injured list on Thursday. It was only of the 10-day variety, although, the team is not expecting to have him back until September.
The 26-year-old will have the procedure done on Monday, with the official timetable for recovery set at six weeks. The time frame could extend, but with the Rays in the playoff race, they will aim to have him back in that time, if not sooner. He will still be eligible to pitch in the Postseason, as the Rays are chasing the Oakland Athletics for the final Wild Card spot, and have fallen 10 games back behind the New York Yankees in the division.
If the Rays were to fall out of the Postseason race while Snell is out, they could extend his return to the spring of 2020. After signing a five-year, $50 million contract in Spring Training, he has gone 6-7 with a 4.28 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 20 starts, this after taking home the A.L. Cy Young Award a season ago. He was pitching a little better recently, going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA since June 30th. The team is hoping this surgery can help him find the 2018 version of himself that led the American League in ERA, but in the meantime, they will have to rely on Charlie Morton to lead the starting rotation the rest of the way.
The 26-year-old will have the procedure done on Monday, with the official timetable for recovery set at six weeks. The time frame could extend, but with the Rays in the playoff race, they will aim to have him back in that time, if not sooner. He will still be eligible to pitch in the Postseason, as the Rays are chasing the Oakland Athletics for the final Wild Card spot, and have fallen 10 games back behind the New York Yankees in the division.
If the Rays were to fall out of the Postseason race while Snell is out, they could extend his return to the spring of 2020. After signing a five-year, $50 million contract in Spring Training, he has gone 6-7 with a 4.28 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 20 starts, this after taking home the A.L. Cy Young Award a season ago. He was pitching a little better recently, going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA since June 30th. The team is hoping this surgery can help him find the 2018 version of himself that led the American League in ERA, but in the meantime, they will have to rely on Charlie Morton to lead the starting rotation the rest of the way.
