Joe Boyle News: Piggybacks Rasmussen on Sunday

Boyle struck out seven and allowed one unearned run on two hits and one walk over five innings of relief in Sunday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Twins.

Called up earlier in the day after delivering a 1.73 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 96:31 K:BB in 73 innings with Triple-A Durham on the season, Boyle wasn't immediately inserted into the Tampa Bay rotation. Instead, manager Kevin Cash essentially deployed Boyle as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who was limited to two innings as an opener. Considering Rasmussen underwent an internal brace procedure -- the third major elbow surgery of his career -- in July 2023 and is already up to 89.1 innings on the season, the Rays could look to manage his workload in the short term by deploying him in tandem with Boyle. Even though Boyle's role is somewhat in flux at the moment, the dominance he's displayed in the minors and in his two appearances (one start) in the big leagues (0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 14 strikeouts in 10 innings) makes him worthy of picking up in most leagues where he's available.