Tampa Bay Rays demote pitcher Taj Bradley to Triple-A
Cash announced the move after the Chicago White Sox beat the Rays 11-9 on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. Bradley allowed four hits and four runs over 1 2/3 innings.
"We've optioned Taj," Cash said. "Tough decision, certainly, but we felt like it's best for him to get down there right now. He's gotta get to work. We talked about the two-pitch mix he's been rolling out there. We think that its best. It's probably a better environment for him to work rather than compete every single pitch.
"But know that Taj Bradley is massive to our success and we need to get him back to the form we know he is capable of."
Bradley allowed just three hits and no runs over six innings in his previous start, an 11-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in Tampa. He also allowed just two hits and one run over six innings in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 10 in Boston. Bradley allowed a combined 14 hits and eight runs over 11 innings in two prior starts, which each led to Rays losses.
"I didn't take too much to heart, knowing that I [have] stuff to work on," Bradley told reporters. "I'm throwing off two pitches right now. I need that third, changeup, to get back to where it was last year. ... I just take it as it is, go down and get back to work, just keep going."
Bradley, 24, went 8-11 with a 4.11 ERA over 25 starts last season. He went 5-8 with a 5.59 ERA over 23 appearances in 2023, his debut campaign.
The Rays (53-50), who lost three of their last four games, sit in fourth place in the American League East, 7.5 games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays (60-42).
They will take on the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series opener at 7:10 p.m. EDT Friday in Cincinnati.
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