Cobb brought up, McGee sent down

Alex Cobb has been brought up to the big club to start tomorrow’s game against the Angels. Because of the rain-out and consequentially the double-header, the Rays do have one of their regular starters ready to go tomorrow. Jake McGee has been sent down. This is an early opportunity to see one of the Rays’ most promising prospects. After his start, Cobb will rejoin the Durham Bulls, although there is no indication which pitcher will replace his spot.

Here’s a thought: Why not just activate Longoria and not send down a position player on Tuesday? The Rays currently have 13 position players and 12 pitchers on their roster. Because all of the Rays starters have been pitching into the seventh, the bullpen has not been worked very hard all season. The Rays bench is a little thin right now with Sean Rodriguez out for a little while with a hand injury. The lack of depth was particularly evident on Friday night when Matt Joyce was thrown out of the game for arguing balls and strikes. The Rays were forced to put Johnny Damon in the field and thus they lost their DH. Dan Johnson pinch hit for the pitcher and then moved to third base in a double switch. Maddon would probably have used Rodriguez in that spot had he been healthy. When Longoria comes back, Felipe Lopez can take over that role.