Tyler Alexander, Jacob Waguespack complete Rays’ pitching staff

CLEARWATER — Tyler Alexander was claimed off waivers from Detroit in November after missing the second half of last season with a shoulder issue.

Jacob Waguespack was signed to a minor-league deal in January, having not pitched in the majors since 2020 and spending the last two seasons in Japan.

And both proved worthy of winning spots on the opening day pitching staff of the always resourceful Rays.

“Yeah, that’s pretty Ray-ish,” manager Kevin Cash said in announcing the news after Monday’s 6-3 win over the Phillies. “It’s interesting. But I do think they both deserve to with the way they performed this spring.”

With the 13-man pitching staff now apparently set, the Rays still have to decide on their backup catcher and a lefty-hitting reserve, likely a corner infielder.

They have internal candidates for both spots in Alex Jackson and prospect Austin Shenton, but with a number of veteran players becoming available around the league they seem likely to wait another day or two, with rosters due noon Thursday in advance of the 4:10 p.m. opener.

Alexander, a soft-tossing lefty, gets the final spot in the rotation, though because of how the other starters set up he will work in Game 4 on Sunday against Toronto (possibly behind an opener), with Ryan Pepiot in Game 5 vs. Texas.

Waguespack, a hard-throwing right-hander, will have a multi-inning role in the bullpen.

“They’ve done everything,” Cash said. “They’ve been short. They’ve been starters and they’ve been kind of long guys in a bullpen. We’ll pitch them kind of as needed.”

In choosing both of them, the Rays made what Cash said was “a tough decision” to send down right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly, the 26-year-old who spent all of 2023 in the majors, posting a 5-2, 3.09 record while appearing in 57 games, second most on the team.

One factor, Cash said, was the schedule. With 13 games in the first 14 days, and 26 in 28, he said they preferred an extra reliever with length.

“We play a lot of baseball with two days off … and we want to have some extra coverage down there with some guys that can go multi innings and stuff,” Cash said.

“Kevin Kelly, in every scenario of us being a good team this year, has to play a pretty big role. And (we’re) confident that he will.”

Alexander got the rotation spot that came open when Taj Bradley was sidelined in mid March with a pectoral muscle strain, which is expected to keep him out into May. The other starters are Zach Elfin, Aaron Civale and Zack Littell.

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Alexander, 29, worked in different roles during parts of five seasons with the Tigers, and said he was open to whatever the Rays wanted him to do. His game is based on throwing the ball where he wants to, using a repertoire of at least five pitches, though none often more than 90 mph.

“His command and execution is really, really good,” Cash said. “We saw it really good this spring. (Being a) lefty helps. … He earned his way with the way he threw the ball for us.”

Though Alexander’s 2023 season ended in July with a lat/shoulder strain, he recovered by the fall and has had no issues this spring.

In 120 games (43 starts) over five seasons with Detroit, he was 11-23 with a 4.38 ERA, allowing 365 hits and 74 walks in 341 1/3 innings while striking out 273.

Waguespack, 30, said he was “super excited” by the news, having spent two months at the Charlotte-based Tread Athletics training facility after returning from Japan and making several adjustments since he joined the Rays camp. The most notable improvement was an increase of 2-plus mph in fastball velocity, hitting 96 on Monday.

“Worked hard this offseason, worked hard this spring, and it’s all paying off,” he said. “I’m humbled and blessed and super grateful for the opportunity and excited to see where it goes.”

In parts of the 2019-20 seasons with the Jays, he was 5-5, 5.08 over 27 games (13 starts).

Cash said the roles could shift.

“The message that we’ve given all of them is that throughout the course of this season, I can see many scenarios that all of them are contributing in a starting role,” he said. “And you can add (Chris Devenski) in that, just given we know we’re going to need innings by guys, so that all of them will will play a part.”

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