Rays push back Tyler Glasnow’s next start to Tuesday

The Rays are pushing back top starter Tyler Glasnow’s next outing from Sunday to Tuesday to give him extra rest.

Manager Kevin Cash said there is nothing wrong with Glasnow’s arm or his right thumb that bleeds during some games and there is no other injury concern.

“None,” Cash said Saturday in Arlington, Texas. “It should not raise any questions.”

In doing so, the Rays will treat Sunday’s series finale against the Rangers as a “bullpen day,” using a number of relievers in short stints, with Michael Wacha serving as a multi-inning opener.

Cash said the decision was based on taking advantage of the schedule, with the Rays having Monday and Thursday off. This will give Glasnow and the other starters extra rest and potentially reduce their overall workload, which has been an industry-wide concern shifting back to the full 162-game schedule from last year’s abbreviated season.

“Glas is pretty adamant about wanting to stay on (schedule of pitching every) five days, and we try to do a lot to respect his wishes and those thoughts,” Cash said. “But given the uniqueness of the season, the workload, we’ve got to pick spots for not just him, for a lot of these guys to give some extra days. And we’ll continue to look for those.

“With our schedule ... that’s how we felt it was best to go about it. From his conversation with (pitching coach Kyle Snyder), he was he was pretty on board with it and understanding of it.”

Glasnow has made 12 starts and thrown 77 innings, which has him on a pace for more than 200 innings. He threw 86 last year between the regular season and postseason, and has exceeded 150 only once as a pro, when he threw 155 1/3 in 2017 between Triple-A and the Pirates.

“He’s had a heavy workload,” Cash said.

Glasnow last pitched June 1, so he will get two extra days’ rest, six total, when he faces the Nationals on Tuesday. Lefty Shane McClanahan will have the same extra rest when he faces the Nats on Wednesday.

Cash said the bullpen should be in good shape to cover Sunday’s innings since Ryan Yarbrough threw a complete game Thursday, Josh Fleming worked seven innings Friday and Rich Hill five on Saturday, with Ryan Thompson, Jeffrey Springs, Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo covering the final four. Thompson was the only one to throw more than one inning or 17 pitches.

“Kyle and I were talking … neither one of us can recall where the bullpen has been this fresh in a long time,” he said.

• • •

Sign up for the Rays Report weekly newsletter to get fresh perspectives on the Tampa Bay Rays and the rest of the majors from sports columnist John Romano.

Never miss out on the latest with the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida college sports and more. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter and Facebook.