A blown lead to the White Sox — that’ll do it.
The Rays optioned Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday night after a poor showing against Chicago in which the Rays’ bats gave Bradley a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first before he then gave it all back in the second inning before being pulled after recording just five outs in 11-9 loss to the AL-worst White Sox.
“Tough decision, certainly, but felt like it’s best for him to get down there right now. He’s got to get to work,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the demotion, per the Tampa Bay Times.
“We’ve talked about kind of the two-pitch mix (fastball-cutter) that he’s been rolling out there a little bit and think that it’s best — it’s probably a better environment for him to work rather than compete every single pitch.”
Cash added: “But know that Taj Bradley is massive to our success, and we need to get him back to the form that we know what he’s capable of.”
Bradley, once a top pitching prospect, made his MLB debut in the 2023 season when he pitched in 23 games and made 21 starts.
He posted a 5.59 ERA in his rookie season, followed by an improved 4.11 ERA in 2024. Bradley’s progress seemingly hit a halt this season, though, as his ERA has jumped back up to 4.61.
Bradley surrendered four hits and walked three batters Wednesday, while also yielding one homer.
Inconsistency has plagued the 24-year-old.
“Nothing to take too much to heart, but knowing that you need stuff to work on,” Bradley said. “Throwing off two pitches right now, I know I need that third, (the) changeup, to get back to where it was last year … I’ll just take it as it is and go down there, get back to work, just keep going.”
Prior to Wednesday’s rough outing, Bradley had been pitching relatively well.
He allowed just four earned runs in 17⅔ innings spanning his last three starts (2.04 ERA), including 12 innings of one-run ball over his last two outings.
In June, Bradley posted a 5.72 ERA over six starts.
He yielded 24 runs (18 earned) in four of the starts, while surrendering one run (zero earned) in the other two spanning 13 2/3 frames.
The flashes are there, but for a 53-50 team, the Rays decided his inconsistencies can’t be figured out in ever-so-crucial games anymore as they compete for a playoff position.