The Rays are optioning right-hander to Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times ( ). Reliever will be recalled to take his roster spot for now, though a spot will soon be required for , having been from the Guardians earlier today. The Rays have now announced the moves. The club also selected righty yesterday, optioning righty in a corresponding move. Tampa has dealt with a number of injuries to its rotation this year, with and both out for the remainder of the season due to their injuries. is also on the 60-day injured list and has an uncertain timeline. That has seen them roll with a rotation of , , and Bradley of late. Eflin recently required an MRI on his left knee, which was an ominous development given his history of knee i sues, but hes been to start Tuesday. Around that foursome, the Rays have been occasionally deploying some bullpen games, but they added Civale into the mix with a trade today. That could have still left room for Bradley to stick around, but it seems that Tampa would prefer to send him to Durham to get some work in there. He came into this season as one of the top prospects in the league but hasnt quite made a smooth transition to the big leagues. He has allowed 5.67 earned runs per nine innings through 16 starts so far, though there seems to be a lot of bad luck in there. Hes striking out 30% of opponents while walking 7.9%, both of those numbers being better than league average, but his . Jay Jackson Jersey 342 batting average on balls in play and 64.8% strand rate and both on the unlucky side. ERA estimators such as his 4.15 FIP and 3.53 SIERA paint a nicer picture of Bradleys debut season thus far, but he will be bumped off the active roster nonethele s. This wont impact him from a service time perspective, as he had already been optioned a few times earlier in the season and wasnt going to get a full year of service time here in 2023 even before this move. With tomorrows trade deadline looming, theres still a chance for the Rays to add another starter, with hurlers like , and just some of those thought to be available. But for now, it seems the rotation spot will go to , as relays the righty will start on Friday. Littell had been working as a reliever earlier in the year but recently made some starts as an opener, with his workload gradually increasing. Seven of his last eight outings have been longer than a single inning and he to sed five frames in yesterdays contest, allowing two earned runs on eight hits, striking out four while walking none. He was a starter in the minors earlier in his career but has been a primary reliever since 2019. Its unclear if the Rays plan on him moving to a starters role permanently, but it wouldnt be the first time they went down this road. Both Springs and Rasmu sen were working out of the bullpen before the Rays started stretching them out, succe sfully moving them both to rotation jobs before their current injuries. On the season as a whole, Littell has a 4.85 ERA in 29 2/3 innings, though with a .376 BABIP, 22.7% strikeout rate, 3.8% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate. Ramrez, 33, signed a one-year deal with the Nationals in the offseason. But he posted a 6.33 ERA though 23 appearances and got released, landing with the Rays on a minor league deal. He worked a multi-inning role for the Bulls, to sing 23 innings over nine appearances with a 5.87 ERA. His .383 BABIP and 68% strand rate point to some bad luck while his peripherals were strong, with a 28.7% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate. Anthony Desclafani Jersey