This Rays pitcher is showcasing his talents

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The last time he took the mound, Yonny Chirinos was perfect. Chirinos followed starter Zach Eflin in the Rays’ 4-1 win over the White Sox last Sunday at Tropicana Field, taking over in the sixth inning for his third appearance of the season. The 29-year-old right-hander faced nine batters and retired them in order as he breezed through the outing on only 37 pitches.

“That’s as good of stuff as we've seen from him since coming back from injury,” manager Kevin Cash said later.

Now, Chirinos will get another chance to show his stuff Saturday night against the White Sox as he slides into the rotation spot left vacant when the Rays sent top prospect Taj Bradley back to Triple-A Durham.

If that spot belongs to him for a bit, at least until Tyler Glasnow returns next month, it will be Chirinos’ first extended opportunity in the Majors since 2019 -- before he had to wait 752 days between appearances while recovering from Tommy John surgery (Aug. 24, 2020) and a fractured throwing elbow (September 2021). He made three starts in 2020 and a couple of cameo appearances last September.

“Thank God, I feel good,” Chirinos said through communications manager Elvis Martinez. “It was an opportunity that I was waiting for, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of it.

“It’s been a difficult process, for all the surgeries and things I've been through, but here we are. God-willing, everything's going to be smooth sailing now moving forward. I’m healthy and looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity.”

It’s certainly seemed that way since Chirinos came up to reinforce the Rays’ injured pitching staff two weeks ago.

He didn’t earn the final rotation spot out of Spring Training, and the Rays noted a desire to manage his workload given how much time he’s missed over the last few years. But he’s been lights-out in three bulk-inning appearances out of the bullpen, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out five over 9 1/3 scoreless innings.

“I’m excited for us, but I’m certainly more excited for him,” said pitching coach Kyle Snyder, who has known Chirinos since he joined the Rays and can relate to what he’s been through recently. Snyder underwent five surgeries during his playing career, including two that sidelined him for an entire season.

“To know what he’s gone through kind of on a personal level, and to see the success he’s having on the other side of that, is for me the thing that I’m most happy about,” Snyder added.

Chirinos’ last performance was particularly impressive. The White Sox put seven balls in play, but anything they hit even remotely hard was beaten into the ground. There wasn’t a ball hit off Chirinos that carried an expected average higher than .260, according to Statcast.

Chirinos used his three-pitch mix nearly evenly in that outing: 14 diving sinkers, 12 breaking sliders and 11 tumbling splitters. His bread-and-butter sinker has a unique blend of vertical drop and horizontal movement, but that unpredictability will be key if he’s asked to turn over opposing lineups more than once.

“Stuff combined with location,” Snyder said, “it’s probably as good as we’ve seen him since he’s been injured.”