Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs to miss at least 2 months with arm issue

TORONTO — The Rays are waiting for additional opinions on what exactly is wrong in Jeffrey Springs’ left arm, but enough is known that the starting pitcher is expected to be sidelined for at least two months.

That timetable, reported by the Tampa Bay Times, also would indicate that the injury is more than just an inflamed and/or irritated ulnar nerve, as Springs and the team were hoping.

The precise issue, and its severity, will determine the course of treatment and ultimate timeline for Springs’ return. A torn ulnar collateral ligament, for example, could require Tommy John surgery and sideline the left-hander into the second half of the 2024 season.

Springs started the season 2-0, 0.56 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched.

Jeffrey Springs didn’t believe he could change. The Rays showed him the way

By this past offseason, he had already gained Springs’ trust. When Springs first arrived in Tampa, his confidence was shaken. He’d posted a 7.08 ERA with Boston in 2020. He believed the numbers showed he’d struggled.

The Rays and Snyder gave him a different message: He’d been unlucky.

He was the seventh-most unlucky pitcher in 2020 if subtracting actual ERA from xFIP, the calculation that only measures outcomes the pitcher controls: strikeouts, walks, and home runs. Many outcomes on balls in play have a defensive component the pitcher doesn’t control: errors, great plays, and alignments. Springs’ xFIP was only 3.70, almost half his ERA. Additionally, Springs’ strike rate (called plus swinging) was 33%, well above average (28%).

Spring arrived believing his breaking ball was poor, and batters had performed well against his skinny-breaking slider. The Rays had other ideas.

“When I came over in 2021, it was, ‘Throw your slider more,’” Springs said. He recalled Snyder saying: “‘It’s better than you think.’

“Snyder helped turn my career around.”