Aug 15, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Curt Casali (59) hits a RBI single during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Tomorrow is September 1 meaning that MLB rosters can expand to as many as 40 players.
In anticipation, the Rays are reportedly going to be calling up catcher Curt Casali and relievers Brandon Gomes and Steve Geltz initially, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
They are also expected to activate outfielder David DeJesus from the disabled list.
A corresponding move will have to be made however to get Geltz onto the 40-man roster.
Geltz hasn’t appeared in the majors since a brief stint with L.A. Angels in 2012. In 29 games at Triple-A Durham Geltz is 3-3 in 29 appearances with an ERA of 2.38 in 41.2 innings pitched.
Casali has spent the last six weeks or so with the Rays after being promoted to the majors on July 17. He was optioned to Advanced-A Charlotte on August 26 so the Rays could activate Ryan Hanigan, however, the move to Charlotte was so that Casali could come straight back to the majors on Monday without waiting out the grace period.
In 23 games, the 25-year-old is hitting .169 with two RBIs.
Gomes has been up and down a number of times this season for the Rays. In 21 relief appearances he’s 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
DeJesus hasn’t played for the Rays since June 18 when he fractured his left hand. At the time of the injury he had a .269/.367/.440 line with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 62 games. However, the emergence of Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Guyer in the outfield severely extinguished the blow of losing DeJesus.
The Rays will likely bring up more players but Durham are about to start their playoff run so other additions are on hold for now.