Rays to start relievers in all three games of weekend series with Orioles - MLB

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays will start a reliever in each of the three games of the club’s weekend series at home against the Orioles. Sergio Romo will start Friday, Ryne Stanek will start Saturday, and Romo will start again Sunday. The Orioles’ starters are TBA at the moment.

This continues the trend that drew attention last weekend, resulting in Angels third baseman calling the strategy “bad for baseball.” I wrote about the potential labor impacts of this strategy as well. The Rays did it against the Angels because they had a right-hander-heavy top of the lineup and didn’t want lefty Ryan Yarbrough to have to face that top of the lineup three times.

The O’s have a righty-heavy top of the lineup as well, as various combinations of Trey Mancini, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, and Jonathan Schoop have batted 1-2-3-4 for most of the season. Romo has limited right-handers to a .702 OPS this season.

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SEATTLE – The Mariners acquired infielder/outfielder Nick Solak from the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for cash.

Solak was designated for assignment by the Reds on Thursday. Seattle had an open spot on its 40-man roster and assigned Solak to Triple-A Tacoma.

Before this season, the 28-year-old Solak spent his entire big league career with Texas. He appeared in 253 games over parts of the past four seasons with the Rangers. Solak’s most productive season came in 2021 when he appeared in 127 games and hit .242 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. Solak spent almost all of that season at second base but also played left field, center field and third base in his time with the Rangers.

Solak was a second-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2016 amateur draft. His acquisition is likely a depth move for Seattle to stash a player with experience in the majors at Triple-A in case injuries arise.