The Tampa Bay Rays made their final roster moves and set the 28-man active roster ahead of the start of the 2022 regular season, which starts Friday afternoon.
The team officially selected the contract of pitcher Chris Mazza to the 40-man roster, and to make room, reliever Pete Fairbanks, who suffered a lat injury during the spring, was placed on the 60-day injured list.
“[We] really appreciate his work,” manager Kevin Cash said of Mazza. “He is going to be very valuable for us just because he can cover innings, he bounces back as good as any reliever that we’ve had last year and he’s very deserving of being with us for the way he pitched last year and the way he came into Spring Training.”
The Opening Day roster features:
Pitchers (15): Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, JT Chargois, J.P. Feyereisen, Josh Fleming, Andrew Kittredge, Corey Kluber, Chris Mazza, Shane McClanahan, Luis Patino, Brooks Raley, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs, Matt Wisler, Ryan Yarbrough
Catchers (2); Francisco Mejia, Mike Zunino
Infielders (5): Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Taylor Walls
Outfielders (6): Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Josh Lowe, Manuel Margot, Brett Phillips, Harold Ramirez
Rays Grab Garza From Red Sox For Depth
Along with the addition of Mazza, Tampa Bay claimed reliever Ralph Garza off waivers from the Boston Red Sox, and assigned him to Triple-A Durham.
The 28-year-old made 27 appearances, all in relief, last year between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins, amassing a record of 1-4 and a 3.56 earned run average. He made two Grapefruit League appearances this spring with the Twins, woth no record and a 0.00 ERA before being claimed off waivers by the Red Sox March 24.
Trop Sold Out For Friday
The Rays have sold out Tropicana Field again for Opening Day (photo: Steve Carney/St. Pete Nine)
The Rays also announced that Friday’s opener against the Baltimore Orioles is officially sold out, the 16th consecutive Opening Day that has been sold out, excluding the 2020 season, which was played without fans.
The team says tickets remain available for the six remaining games in the homestand, two against Baltimore (April 9 and 10) and four against the Oakland Athletics (April 11-14).
