Tampa Bay Rays Sergio Romo Added to Roster, Weeks Released

The Tampa Bay Rays have officially added newly acquired reliever Sergio Romo to the active roster, released Rickie Weeks and optioned Andrew Kittredge to Durham.

With the acquisition of Sergio Romo over the weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays made a couple of roster moves prior to their game against the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in order to clear a spot on the 40 and 25-man rosters.

The first transaction was activating Rickie Weeks off the 10-day DL (shoulder impingement) following the completion of his rehab assignment at Durham and then releasing him, creating a spot on the 40-man roster. The next move was optioning reliever Andrew Kittredge back to Durham, which opened a spot on the 25-man roster.

Weeks was signed to a minor league contract this off-season and invited to spring training as a non-roster invitee. Weeks earned a spot on the 25-man Opening Day for his prior effectiveness hitting left-handers and would platoon with Logan Morrison at first base as the season opened.

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Hitting lefties seemed to be a problem from the get-go, but became more apparent after a collision in April with Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees.

Weeks was placed on the 10-day DL on June 9 with a right shoulder impingement and it was then that Manager Kevin Cash said that Weeks had not been the same since the collision.

Through June 9, Weeks was hitting .176/.333/.275 in 63 at-bats against lefties and overall he hit .216/.321/.340 in 37 games.

Acquired on Saturday from the Dodgers for cash considerations, Romo was 1-1 with a 6.12 ERA (25-IP, 17-ER) in 30 appearances. During this time, he averaged 11.16 strikeouts per nine innings, but allowed seven home runs.

Career wise with the San Francisco Giants (2008-2016) and this season with the Dodgers, Romo is 33-27 with a 2.77 ERA in 545 appearances (all in relief) with 84 saves logging 464.2 innings pitched.

Among active pitchers, with a minimum of 500 games Romo ranks first with a 0.98 WHIP, second with 10.25 SO/9 IP and second with a .207 opponents batting average. Additionally, he has limited right-handed batters to a .189 average in his career.

Acquired from the Seattle Mariners for Richie Shaffer and Taylor Motter this past November, Kittredge was called up from Durham on July 16 to replace Jumbo Diaz whom the Rays had DFAd following the Rays game earlier that day.

Kittredge would make his major league debut on July 18 against the Oakland A’s pitching two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout. He would make two additional appearances (July 19, July 23) tossing a combined 2.1 innings, with a 3.36 ERA while giving up one run on five hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

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Prior to his call up, Kittredge was 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and one save in 30 appearances (two starts) at Durham. He had recorded 54 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 52 innings pitched.