Rays refresh bullpen by recalling Wood

CHICAGO -- On Monday, the Rays optioned infielder Christian Arroyo to Triple-A Durham and recalled right-handed pitcher Hunter Wood.

The Rays’ bullpen pitched 15 innings in the three-game set against San Francisco, so by calling up Wood, Tampa Bay added a much-needed fresh arm to the bullpen.

“We’ve talked about our pitching being a little bit light for the last couple of days now,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “It probably made sense to make sure we had some coverage leading into this series [against the White Sox].”

Wood, 25, tossed the final three innings of the Rays' 5-1 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday, striking out three and allowing no runs to earn his first career save.

Wood finished with a 3.73 ERA in 29 appearances with the Rays last season. He gives Tampa Bay another right-handed option out of the bullpen and someone who has experience opening games. Wood made one appearance for Triple-A Durham this season, allowing two runs in two innings.

“Hunter Wood was right there at the end of making our club, so I anticipate a lot of good things for him,” Cash said. “We have a pretty good sense of who he is. He’ll be used to coming in and get big outs for us.”

Arroyo was called up on April 1 after Joey Wendle went on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring injury. The 23-year old appeared in four games over the last week and finished 3-for-9 (.333 average) with two RBIs.

With the move, the Rays have 13 pitches on the active roster for the first time this season, and that will likely remain the case until Wendle is ready to return.

“I like the extra pitcher,” Cash said. “I think it helps the way we like to play matchups and be aggressive with usage and to have that extra guy is a benefit.

“But if the roster turns over and we need to have an extra guy on the base, then we’ll do that. But for today and going forward, we’re going to carry the extra pitcher.”

Honeywell, De Leon update

Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon, who are both recovering from Tommy John surgery, continue to progress in the rehab process. Both pitches appeared in a simulated game on Monday.

“It went well,” Cash said. “I believe they threw roughly 10- or 15-pitch sim games in short spurts and now they’ll start getting back in their rehab process.”

Both pitchers are still over a month away from the possibility of appearing in a big league game.