Jacob

Waguespack

Waguespack was limited to just four appearances (one start) this past season due to a shoulder injury after spending the prior two years overseas in Japan. The 30-year-old figures to operate in a versatile swingman role for Tampa Bay, which is highly unlikely to translate into a tangible impact for fantasy managers.

Both pitchers had to be added to the 40-man roster by today, so this is mainly a procedural move. McClanahan was reportedly healthy enough to pitch in MLB games at the end of the 2024 season, but the Rays had nothing to plan for, so he’ll return to the mound in 2025. He will be more than 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery by opening day and should be in the rotation and headed for around 140-150 innings for Tampa Bay. As one of the better pitchers in baseball, he could be back on the radar as a fantasy ace as early as next season.

Waguespack is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list July 7. The 30-year-old right-hander went down with a shoulder strain, and he has a chance to help the Tampa Bay pitching staff — but probably not fantasy managers — in the second-half of the year.

The procedural move opens up a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster for newly-acquired lefty Richard Lovelady. Waguespack hit the injured list earlier this month with a right shoulder strain.

This is a weird one. Waguespack is called up just to be placed on the injured list, with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explaining it that they can move him to the 60-day injured list if there’s a setback which would create a space on the 40-man roster. Okie dokie.

Waguespack gets caught up in a roster crunch as Tampa Bay adds swingman Tyler Alexander back to their pitching mix ahead of Saturday’s game against the Giants. The 30-year-old righty allowed one run (zero earned) over four innings on Friday in a spot start against San Francisco. He should be back in a couple weeks, if not sooner.

If the Rays had used an opener tonight, Waguespack might have wound up with the win. Alas, that went to Garrett Cleavinger instead after the lefty took over in the fifth. Waguespack, who has allowed six earned runs in 10 innings for the year, will likely continue to be used as a swingman.

The 30-year-old has appeared in 30 major-league games, and hasn’t made a start in almost five years. Waguespack has been operating as a reliever in the early portion of the season for the Rays and in his three appearances, he’s allowed six earned runs in six innings pitched. He has a career 4.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP with a 50/25 K/BB ratio across 65 1/3 innings as a starter.

That means that Jacob Waguespack will operate as a multi-inning reliever for the Rays. While it’s always a good idea to bet on any starter for the Rays because of how well they develop pitching, it’s unclear how many innings Alexander will throw and how long he’ll hold onto the role if/when Jake Odorizzi is ready in a few weeks. Stark also notes that Alexander could “be the bulk reliever” so it’s unclear how the Rays will deploy him in the early going. That means he’s best left for deeper fantasy formats.

Waguespack isn’t guaranteed a spot on Tampa Bay’s season-opening roster, but he’s a strong bet at this juncture after being officially added to the club’s 40-man roster. The 30-year-old righty hasn’t appeared in the majors since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and has spent the last two years pitching for the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.