Sulser completes long journey to big leagues

ST. PETERSBURG -- Before Monday’s game against the Orioles, the Rays selected the contract of and activated right-hander Cole Sulser, who was placed on the taxi squad on Sunday. In order to make room for Sulser on the 40-man roster, they designated right-hander Aaron Slegers for assignment.

This is the first big league call for the 29-year-old pitcher. He was a 25th-round pick by the Indians in the 2013 MLB Draft after playing his college ball at Dartmouth.

After playing seven seasons in the Minors and undergoing two Tommy John surgeries throughout his career, Sulser admitted he didn’t know if this moment would ever happen for him, but his family encouraged him to continue his playing career.

Now, after posting a 3.27 ERA at Triple-A Durham in his first season with the Rays, Sulser will be putting on a Major League uniform for the first time in his career. After being a starter earlier in his career, Sulser will serve as a reliever for Tampa Bay down the stretch.

“At the moment, it still feels a little surreal,” Sulser said. “I think it’ll feel more real when I’m actually out on the field, in uniform, and get a chance to get into the game and just treat it like another baseball game. I’m looking forward to that moment where I go out and have my first inning.”

Aside from activating Sulser, the Rays also recalled left-hander Anthony Banda, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June. Banda was scheduled to start for Durham on Monday, but he will instead be available to provide multiple innings out of the bullpen for Tampa Bay, whenever needed.

When Banda steps on the mound, it will complete the 15-month process of returning from surgery.

“It’s a different feeling, especially coming back from injury,” Banda said. “It’s a little bit more exciting, and I’m just ready to go and do whatever the team needs and stuff like that. Overall, I’m really excited and happy to be back, and that I made it back. It’s a big step for me, a big accomplishment, but I still have to come back and do my job.”

Banda said there were plenty of good and bad moments as he recovered from the injury. But through it all, his 8-month-old son provided the added motivation he needed.

“A lot of good days, a lot of bad days,” Banda said. “I would think of my son, actually. He’s more of a reason of why I would push myself even further and take one more day, just because I don’t want him to think that I just gave up.”

With Banda and Sulser, the Rays have 17 pitchers on the active roster and 32 total players. Tampa Bay is expected to add Guillermo Heredia to the roster on Tuesday and there’s a good chance the club will have 38 or 39 active players by the end of the regular season.

Tuesday’s pitching plans

Tuesday’s doubleheader will help the Rays reset their bullpen with Wednesday’s off-day, but it also puts pressure on the pitching staff. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said Trevor Richards could start Game 1 of the doubleheader, then the club will go with a bullpen day for Game 2. That, however, all depends on how the Rays' pitching staff is utilized on Monday.

“One view, we get an off-day, which is welcomed,” Cash said. “The other is that every time you play a doubleheader, you know you’re going to go through a lot of pitching, but the off-day coming after should help us a little bit. I’m sure a lot of things will be determined once we get through the off-day as far as upcoming pitching. We can’t decide too much. Even Thursday’s starter or bulk guy, we won’t know that until we get through the second game of the doubleheader.”

Cash said the initial thought was to pitch Ryan Yarbrough on Tuesday instead of Monday’s game against Baltimore, but due to the fact that they utilized multiple relievers on Sunday, they decided to stick with the left-hander on Monday. With 17 pitchers on the roster, the Rays will utilize all their available options to get through the two games on Tuesday.

“We would’ve probably [used a] bullpen day [on Monday] and have Yarbs start a game [Tuesday] for us,” Cash said. “But we have to prioritize the guys that sit down there [in the bullpen] and we asked a lot of them to get some rest, and hopefully Yarbs can help us in that department this afternoon."