Rays hope Ryan Thompson’s ‘little bit’ of shoulder tightness not a big deal

Ryan Thompson had been dealing with “a little bit” of shoulder tightness and discomfort for a while and figured he could continue to pitch through it.

But the right-hander’s pitches have not been as sharp, and while he’s not exactly sure why, Thompson acknowledged the heavy workload — a team-high 36 appearances (in the first 79 games) — might be catching up to him.

The Rays didn’t want to take any chances, so they decided Wednesday to put Thompson on the 10-day injured list with what officially is called shoulder inflammation for what they expect to be a short stay.

“He’s been used pretty heavily. He’s been so valuable to us,’' manager Kevin Cash said. “(We) felt like he probably needs to rest this thing, get some treatment. Obviously shut him down for a little bit, then see how we build him back up.’'

Ryan Sherriff was called up from Triple-A on Wednesday, pitched poorly in the 15-6 loss to the Nationals and was sent back down. Prospect Luis Patino is expected to be called up and start Friday against the Blue Jays.

Cash said he thought using Thompson three straight days last week against Boston caused the flare-up. Thompson said it’s something he should be able to handle — “The best way that I’m an asset to the team is to be able to do that’' — and felt it was more the overall workload, on pace for his most innings since college in 2014.

The move is backdated to Monday, so Thompson could return as soon as soon as July 9, though the Rays could get him an extra week’s rest through the July 12-15 All-Star break.

Cash said that decision won’t be made until they see how he responds. Thompson said he has learned from dealing with previous injuries not to look ahead. “It’s not something that I can kind of set a date on and rush because it’s going to drive me crazy,’' he said.

The future is July 11

Two of the Rays’ promising prospects at Triple A, infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan and pitcher Shane Baz, were selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game on July 11 in Denver. Brujan, hitting .254 with an .820 OPS for the Bulls, is a pretty electric player,’' Cash said. “He does a lot of things on the baseball field that can help you win. His athleticism might be as good as anybody that we have in the organization.’' Baz, acquired from the Pirates in the 2018 Chris Archer trade, is 3-4, 2.12 with 69 strikeouts and five walks in 46⅔ innings between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, where he has made three starts. “He continues to impress,’' Cash said. “As much as any pitcher that we have in the organization right now, he’s probably made the most strides to this point.’'

Miscellany

• Reliever Chaz Roe had what the team said was successful surgery Wednesday to address a posterior labrum tear, with the expectation he will be ready to pitch in 2022.

• Cash said head athletic trainer Joe Benge is “very, very happy” with the progress of shortstop Taylor Walls, who has been out with a sore right wrist and is eligible to return Saturday.

• The Nationals’ Trea Turner, briefly a Ray between December 2014 deals from San Diego and to Washington (for Stephen Souza Jr.), became the third opposing player to hit for the cycle, joining Carlos Guillen (2006) and Shohei Ohtani (2019). It was the major-league-record-tying third cycle for Tuner, and it happened on his 28th birthday.

• First-pitch temperature was 95 degrees with a feels-like temperature of 102.

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