Collin McHugh, Chaz Roe happy to be Rays

The Rays were pleased to finalize deals Monday with Collin McHugh and Chaz Roe, and the veteran pitchers said they were happy to sign them.

McHugh, 33, had a solid six-year stretch with the Astros, posting a 58-35, 3.63 record while working primarily as a starter. He signed with the Red Sox for the 2020 season but opted out of the abbreviated season as he continued to rehab from a 2019 flexor strain. He said he is fully healthy and excited to be with the Rays.

Cash said the Rays like McHugh, who signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal, because of the versatility he can provide.

“I think what we really like about Collin is that he’s pitched in so many different roles,” Cash said on a Zoom media call from Port Charlotte. “He’s proven over his career that he can be really versatile and really effective — whether it’s starting, whether it’s (to) provide late-inning (relief), one-inning stints or (a) multi-inning role. From talking to him, it sounds like he’s kind of up for whatever.”

McHugh said the Rays were at the top of his list based on their overall success, reputation for getting the most out of pitchers and proximity to his Atlanta home. He also said he heard great things from former Astros teammate Charlie Morton, who spent the last two years with the Rays.

Roe, 34, had been with the Rays since July 2017 and said it was “a no-brainer” to re-sign once they showed interest, getting a one-year, $1.15 million deal.

Roe pitched in only 10 games last season due to right-elbow soreness that landed him on the injured list in late August. But he said “rest and rehab” helped, and after throwing a bullpen session for scouts earlier in the month he is confident he is healthy and ready to go.

“He’s been a mainstay in our bullpen,” Cash said. “Last year the injury kind of came up and just felt it was best at the time that he needed to be shut down. He threw a bullpen the other day for some people, and the reviews were really, really positive.

“Chaz brings so much on the field coming in and getting that (group of tough) righties out with the fastball-slider combination. Even when he’s not pitching, just what he’s been through in his career, a lot of pitchers can kind of relate to that, scuffling and all of a sudden getting really good and help being part of what we feel is a very strong bullpen.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays shifted pitchers Yonny Chirinos (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Oliver Drake (flexor procedure) to the 60-day injured list.