Instead, Alex Torres got the call, and is in Tampa for the time being. He has already made a relief appearance, getting Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out in a five pitch at bat. This appearance was a bit surprising, as Torres was thought to be called up to replace Price in the rotation, not to pitch in relief. Perhaps this was the day he normally would have been getting his side work in, and the Rays figured to have him pitch instead, but it does seem a bit curious.

If Torres is heading to the bullpen, where he may actually be a better fit, then what is the next step for the rotation? And why bring up Torres for the bullpen if another reliever is not being sent down to create room? There could be a couple of reasons for that.

First, the bullpen has issues. A strength of the Rays since the team began contending in 2008, the Rays relievers rank last in the American League in ERA at 4.78. Last night was a microcosm of the year, as Kyle Farnsworth entered a 12-7 game with a runner on first, faced three batters and gave up two runs, leaving without recording an out. Joel Peralta and Jamey Wright, for the most part, have been the only two relievers that have engendered any feeling of comfort when entering the game thus far. Josh Lueke has been good since getting recalled, but the Rays still need to improve the performance of their bullpen.

Second, both Archer and Odorizzi have had their struggles in Durham. Archer is 4-2, but has an ERA of 4.38, and has walked 19 batters in 39 innings. His WHiP stands at 1.56, as he has struggled to get people out. Odorizzi is pitching better, with a 4-0 record and a 3.83 ERA, but has struggled at times recently. It could be that the Rays are waiting for Archer or Odorizzi to have a good start, so as to head to Tampa feeling good about their performance.

It could also be as simple as the Rays not wanting to call up either just to send them back down when Price comes back. Perhaps they feel that when either, or both, pitchers come back to Tampa, it will be to stay and to hopefully be fixtures in the rotation. With these thoughts in mind, it appears as though Torres may be nothing more than a stopgap measure for the time being, possibly taking a couple of starts until Price is ready, then being sent back to Durham.

Even though Alex Torres was brought up when Price went on the disabled list, he is not likely to remain in the rotation. He simply fills a need that the Rays have at the moment, as they wait for Archer or Odorizzi to prove that they are ready for the majors.

Yet, his offense is not what keeps him in the lineup. He is known around baseball as one of the better defensive catchers in the game, and has become known for his ability to frame pitches. In fact, it was that pitch framing ability that led the Rays to sign him to a two year contract when Molina was a free agent, giving him his second chance to be a starting catcher, and first since 2008.

Now, other teams have started to realize the value to a catcher who can frame pitches with the ability that Molina does. In an article by Ben Lindbergh, he feels that those who are truly skilled at getting their pitchers additional strikes may become more sought after than ever. Recently, other teams have caught on to the notion that a catcher who has a knack for turning pitches that would have otherwise been balls into strikes is a valuable commodity. This approach is not just limited to smaller market teams such as the Rays; part of the reason why the Yankees gave Francisco Cervelli the starting job at catcher was his ability to frame pitches.

In a time of pitch counts and a general fear of pitchers injuring themselves through overuse, the ability to steal a couple of strikes over the course of the game may go a long way. That pitch could become a strikeout, or lead to an out on a pitch that the batter may not have swung at if the count had been different. Each extra out can add up, and help to decrease the workload on the bullpen, making them fresher later in the season.

That is where a catcher such as Molina truly stands out. By stealing outs, he helps an already excellent Rays pitching staff be that much better. Over the course of the past five years, he has been worth just over two extra wins a year just from framing pitches, which can be a major difference in a division as competitive as the American League East.

While it would be nice to see some offensive production from Jose Molina, his ability to win games by getting calls helps to mitigate his subpar hitting. For the Rays, that ability to frame pitches may be enough.

In the Rays quest to find starters, they would often rush pitchers through their minor leagues, typically to disastrous results. Dewon Brazelton, Joe Kennedy, Ryan Rupe, Jason Standridge and others were brought up to the majors despite not being ready, and flamed out spectacularly. When the team was sold in 2005, and the present front office was brought in, the idea of rushing prospects went out along with the prior regime. Instead, the Rays began to promote the idea of patience in the minors, of making certain that their prospects are successful before bringing them up, and doing their best to attempt to ensure that success at the major league level.

Perhaps the value of that strategy is most evident in the performance of Matt Moore. A raw pitcher out of high school, the Rays started him in at the bottom, and made sure he was ready before bringing him up to the majors. In fact, Moore himself credits that approach to being a big part of his success.

“What the Rays do with high school pitchers is great,” Moore said. “They never put me into a situation where I wasn’t just going to take off. I got drafted when I was 17. I knew how to throw the ball in the middle of the plate, I knew how to make my curveball snap off, but I didn’t know how to locate anything, and I didn’t have a changeup.

“With me, it was, ‘Start from the bottom with this guy. We’re going to send him in to see [pitching coach] Marty DeMerritt to teach him something about how to work and be in this game and be professional.’ The progression for me was right on. I don’t think there was a time when I needed to be somewhere and I wasn’t.”

Despite his recent struggles, Moore is still off to a fantastic start this season. Presently 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42 innings, Moore has been one of the main reasons that they Rays were able to stay around the .500 mark during their rough start to begin the season. In fact, Moore may be one of the front runners for the Cy Young Award at this point, possibly giving the Rays back-to-back winners of the award.

The patient approach is something that the Rays have been able to utilize with great success thus far, and not just with Moore. They had used that same approach with David Price and Jeremy Hellickson before Moore, with excellent results. The Rays have utilized that approach with Chris Archer, and are doing the same with Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi. With prospects such as Taylor Guerrieri and Tyler Goeddel, that approach is not likely to change.

Matt Moore is just the latest player to make a major impact upon the roster that the Rays have developed. With the plan they have in place, and their sense of the right time to promote players through the system, he will likely be joined by others who traveled the same path.