Rays Power Arm To Make Season Debut This Week

He's one of the most dominating arms in the game, and he's been missed dearly by the Tampa Bay Rays the past season and a half. But it appears that Tyler Glasnow's return is now imminent.

#Rays Cash said Glasnow will throw a light bullpen today with a plan to be activated and start Wednesday at #Guardians, limited to about 45 pitches (2-3 innings)

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 25, 2022

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Glasnow will be activated and start for the first time since June 14, 2021 on Wednesday, against the Cleveland Guardians. He'll be limited to about 45 pitches. 

His rehab performance with the Durham Bulls in Triple-A has been, shall we say, sizzling. 

Tyler Glasnow struck out the side in order on 15 pitches in his 1st frame tonight

lol just look at these pitches pic.twitter.com/zq5EsOZCeZ

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) September 23, 2022

He struck out six and walked one over 2⅔ hitless innings in his fourth start for Durham on Friday night. 

The 29-year-old is expected to throw a light bullpen session today (Sunday), and if all goes well, he'll be bringing that nasty stuff back to the Rays staff just in time for the playoffs. How much he'll be able to provide on a per-outing basis remains to be seen. 

Before he went down to Tommy John surgery in 2021, he had  a 2.66 ERA in 14 starts, along with a 0.93 WHIP and a 123:27 K/BB ratio. Wins/losses are a passé stat for pitchers in baseball, but it's still worth noting that Glasnow is 16-4 with the Rays since 2019 with a 3.10 ERA and 12.2 K/9.

Photos: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports, Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports