Joe

Boyle

Boyle, who was called up Saturday, allowed two runs in 3 1/3 innings to finish off Sunday’s 10-2 loss to the Orioles. He’ll likely go back into the rotation at Durham.

The Rays have a tired bullpen after Friday’s game, so Boyle is up to help out if needed today. He hasn’t been pitching well of late — he has a 10.43 ERA in his last four starts for Durham — so this will probably be a very short stay.

Boyle was dealing with an elbow injury in April and was activated off the injured list on May 18th, but was kept in Triple-A. He may still not be healthy because, since May 17th, he has allowed 23 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings with a 19/10 K/BB ratio. He has also been moved into the bullpen. It’s not looking good for him to have an impact with the Rays in 2026.

Boyle has been rehabbing at Triple-A while recovering from an elbow strain. In three starts, he has allowed five runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings with an 8/7 K/BB ratio. He’ll continue to stretch out and work on his command at Triple-A.

Boyle landed on the injured list on April 11th with an elbow strain, but the imaging revealed no structural damage. He’s begun playing catch from distance and hopes to throw a bullpen by the end of April. That could have him on a rehab assignment by the middle of May, which would be good news for the Rays since it sounds like Ryan Pepiot (hip) is nowhere near a return to the mound.

Boyle’s MRI came back negative. “I think we caught this early enough,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ll shut him down from throwing for a week...and hopefully we caught it early enough where we can start building back up.” The Rays could piece together Boyle’s scheduled start Wednesday with Jesse Scholtens leading a bullpen game. After that, Ryan Pepiot could return from the IL and fill the open spot.

Elbow issues are never a great sign and Boyle is going to wind up missing some time, even if this is a relatively minor concern. The 26-year-old is extremely talented, but has had trouble consistently throwing strikes in the majors over the past couple years. There should be a rough timeline on his outlook at some point in the near future.

Boyle was all over the place, serving up a leadoff homer to Nico Hoerner, in addition to handing out three free passes and throwing just 46 of 84 pitches for strikes. The bigger concern is that he generated only three punchouts. Fantasy managers in deeper formats would be willing to stomach some of the volatility in exchange for big-time strikeout upside, but it hasn’t really been there his last few outings at the highest level. He’s not a recommended streaming option despite an extremely favorable matchup against the White Sox on Wednesday.

All of the runs came in the fourth. With one run in and the bases loaded, Royce Lewis hit a double-play ball to shortstop Carson Williams, but Williams had it deflect off his glove and got no outs. That resulted in one of the runs being unearned, but Boyle still deserved better. He struck out nine and threw 67 of his 104 pitches for strikes. With Ryan Pepiot close to returning, Boyle could soon head back to Triple-A. Still, he’s throwing like someone who would offer mixed-league value.

Boyle struck out four and walked none, throwing 52 of his 75 pitches for strikes. It’s just the second time in 23 starts as a major leaguer that Boyle has gone without a walk. As tough as he is to hit, Boyle would likely be a useful mixed-league SP with a league-average walk rate. That’s probably still too much to ask for at this point, and he might be bumped from the rotation when Pepiot returns from the IL. Still, he’s one to keep an eye on.