With the All-Star Break coming up, the Rays have placed starter Wade Davis on the 15-day disabled list with a "forearm strain" and have called up relief pitcher Brandon Gomes from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Wade Davis' turn in the rotation won't come up for over a week, so the Rays will likely only need to fill his rotation spot for a minimum of one start.
↵To put it lightly, Davis has struggled so far this year. His strikeout rate has plummeted and his pitches have seemingly gotten worse since last season. I'd give you the full run-down, but R.J. Anderson already wrote it all out more concisely than I could, so here you go:
↵↵↵Davis has opted for lower velocities this season in an attempt to sure up his control and command, while still pumping his fastball into the 93-94 range when necessary, but his secondary stuff is lacking-particularly against righties, as he has one of the highest ISO allowed in the league against them. A forearm injury might explain some of the issues, but it isn't likely to fix a slurvey slider or teach him a cutter.
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Here's hoping that Davis can use the time off to fix whatever is troubling him. He has the potential to be a valuable pitcher for the Rays going forward -- heck, the Rays signed him to a contract extension just before this season started -- but not if he continues to pitch this way. If I were the Rays, I'd give him all the time he needs to work on his pitches during some rehab starts, and let Alex Cobb fill in for him in the meantime.
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