Uwasawa embracing 'try everything' mindset in roster bid

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Here in his first Spring Training stateside, Naoyuki Uwasawa is in his “try everything” era.

That’s the sort of thing the Rays encourage with many of their pitchers in this still-early phase of camp: to test the limits of their stuff, experiment with pitch types, location and situation, and to generally not be afraid to see what doesn’t work. It can be a valuable approach, if a difficult one for some to buy into when the results, even in exhibitions, don’t go their way.

For Uwasawa, it’s a whole additional element to a spring he already expected to spend adjusting to Major League Baseball, after signing a split contract with the Rays this winter following nine seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. And after enduring a rocky debut last week, Uwasawa wasn’t perfect in his second spring outing. But to the right-hander, the two innings he logged to begin Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park at least felt like a step in the right direction.

“Right now, I’m trying to get used to all the things here,” Uwasawa said, through translator Taishi Terashima. “There are different kinds of hitters here. All the advice from the Rays has been: "Try everything.” Today, I learned using inside pitches is going to be key.”

Exclusively a starter in Japan, Uwasawa saw his first outing come with the added challenge of pitching in relief. On Tuesday, he made his first start, and reported more comfort engaging his normal routine as well as with the pitch timer and PitchCom pitch-calling systems, which are both new to the 30-year-old.

The result was, well … better results. Uwasawa registered a scoreless first inning, striking out Rafael Devers and working around a two-out single. He then bent but didn’t break in the second, issuing three walks and loading the bases before retiring Devers again to hold Boston to a single run.

All told, Uwasawa allowed that one run on two hits and three walks in two innings, striking out one as he threw 27 of his 49 pitches for strikes.

“I'm not happy about the walks,” Uwasawa said. “But I’ve been working on some stuff with [pitching coach] Kyle [Snyder], so I was able to try some things today.”

A three-time All-Star in Japan, Uwasawa signed an intriguing split contract with the Rays in January that will pay the right-hander $2.5 million if he makes the team. It’s a low-cost, potentially high-reward deal for the Rays, who need pitchers to cover innings in their rotation with injured ace Shane McClanahan on the shelf. It all renders as Uwasawa one of the more interesting non-roster invitees in any camp this spring, and his progress well worth monitoring this month and beyond.

Around the horn:
• The results were rougher Tuesday for another new face in the Rays’ pitching plans, as Ryan Pepiot allowed six runs on eight hits and a wild pitch in 2 2/3 innings behind Uwasawa in his second Grapefruit League appearance. Tampa Bay’s primary return in the Tyler Glasnow trade with the Dodgers, Pepiot is all but assured a rotation spot alongside Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Zack Littell, and Taj Bradley, who makes his spring debut Wednesday.

• Tuesday also provided the Rays their first in-game look at new acquisition Phil Maton, who arrived as a bullpen reinforcement on a one-year, $6.5 million contract in mid-February. Maton, who pitched to a 3.42 ERA across 135 appearances over the past two seasons for the Astros, struck out two while breezing through a scoreless sixth inning on Tuesday.

Manager Kevin Cash is already impressed.

“For a guy who’s not lighting up radar guns, the ball jumps out of his hand,” Cash said. “There’s some deception there. It’s so easy, clean, then boom, it’s moving every which way. He’s not trying to cut a pitch, but he naturally cuts it. He’s just got really good feel for both breaking balls. I’m not going to say he’s Collin McHugh, but it’s very similar. Very similar stuff.”

• Two other key members of the bullpen, setup man Jason Adam and left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, also made appearances. Adam hit a batter but stranded the runner in scoring position to log a scoreless seventh in his first game of the spring. Cleavinger also hit a batter before generating a key double play to log a scoreless frame in his second appearance of the spring as he returns from an ACL repair last season.