Percival back on the shelf

May 28, 2008 · Paul Raymond · Jump to comments

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During today’s game Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Troy Percival fell on the mound while throwing a pitch. He officially left the game because of tightness in his hamstring, thou the official type of injury hasn’t been announced yet. The pitcher will undergo an MRI and then be re-evaluated by team doctors on Thursday. This could be worrisome for Rays fans, as Percival was already experiencing tightness in the hamstring last week, so he possibly could of made the injury worse in the fall. The ironic part of all this? Ken Rosenthal had just put out an article today saying bullpen health is key for the Rays, especially with Percival.

In his article, Rosenthal starts that scouts were already wondering how long Percival would hold up as he’s on pace to pitch in 65 games, his most since 1998, TEN YEARS AGO!!! Percival has already appeared in 21 games , pitching 20+ innings tallying 14 saves. He’s even striking out a batter per inning. He’s still got quality stuff, obviously, but the question will just be endurance.

The Rays are going to have to hope the bullpen holds for at least a couple days. A stint on the disabled list isn’t out of the question, not just for rest for Percival, but to keep an extra arm in the bullpen while he recovers. Today, Dan Wheeler got the save opportunity and earned his first of the season, former closer Al Reyes could also expect to get some looks. “We’re just keeping our fingers crossed,” reliever Dan Wheeler said. “He seemed in good spirits and he doesn’t think it’s too bad. Hopefully we’ll be able to hold the fort down while he’s gone and make sure we continue this winning baseball.”

The Heater blog at TampaBay.com speculates that Grant Balfour could be called up to give the bullpen an extra arm. The 31-year old has been lights out at Triple-A Durham this year with 8 saves and 0.38 era. His major league career has been a different story, as he has a 5.44 career in 92 innings.

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