Ryan

Pepiot

Pepiot is facing a six-month rehabilitation process from the procedure and is expected to be a full-go for the outset of spring training. The 28-year-old hit the injured list just prior to Opening Day with hip inflammation and ended up requiring surgery following a setback in late April.

Kevin Cash said that Pepiot felt instability in his hip while playing catch on Monday, and it turned out that this was exactly as bad as it sounded. Pepiot finishes the year without throwing a pitch in the major leagues. The 28-year-old will attempt a comeback in 2027. Pepiot was already on the 60-day injured list.

It’s not what you want to hear. Cash didn’t describe it as a setback, but it’s hardly an encouraging update as Pepiot figures to either be shut down from throwing to allow the right hip issue to subside or be sent for imaging to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural issues. The 28-year-old is on the injured list until at least late May and received an injection earlier this month to address inflammation. It’s extremely challenging to forecast when he’ll be ready to return to Tampa Bay’s rotation, but it doesn’t appear to be anytime soon.

When Pepiot was put on the injured list with hip inflammation right before Opening Day, it didn’t seem like he would be out for an extended period of time, so this is quite the turn of events. Rays manager Kevin Cash said Pepiot is “doing better,” but even after medication and rest, he “he just wasn’t quite feeling like himself.” The team sent him for a second opinion, and he got an injection to help reduce the inflammation. Pepiot will now be fully shut down for a few more days to allow the injection to take effect before he begins ramping up again. Cash said his “hope is that with that 60 days, we’ll be in a good spot"; however, it’s understandable if fantasy managers are starting to feel like this may be a bigger issue than many initially expected.

It’s possible that Pepiot is activated as soon as Tampa’s next series against the Cubs if everything checks out. Pepiot has been dealing with right hip inflammation since late March, and assuming there are no setbacks, it seems like he’ll be returning sooner rather than later.

Pepiot landed on the injured list earlier this week with right hip inflammation after posting a microscopic 0.90 ERA across 10 innings this spring. The 28-year-old righty could be ready to jump back into Tampa Bay’s rotation at some point in early April, barring any setbacks.

The move is now official. Pepiot’s unexpected season-opening trip to the injured list creates an opportunity for effectively wild poster candidate Joe Boyle to enter Tampa Bay’s rotation. The 28-year-old righty isn’t expected to require an extended absence, but fantasy managers should anticipate him missing at least a few weeks given the nature of the injury. It’s unlikely the Rays will rush him back and risk any setbacks.

Well, this comes out of nowhere. Pepiot threw five shutout innings in his last start and just posted a 0.90 ERA in spring training. The Rays have suggested they don’t expect Pepiot to be out long, which means Joe Boyle will begin the season in the Rays’ rotation and start game two against the Cardinals. Ian Seymour will likely serve as his piggyback if Boyle is unable to go deep into games due to command issues.

It’s relatively easy to envision Pepiot benefitting tremendously from relocating to pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field after spending last year in a minor league ballpark. The 28-year-old righty has put together an excellent spring, compiling a microscopic 0.90 ERA despite a 7/9 K/BB ratio across 10 innings.

Pepiot’s velocity is still down 1-2 mph and he threw just 28 of his 57 pitches for strikes today, but it didn’t hurt him against the Orioles. While he’s yet to allow an earned run in five innings this spring, he’s not exactly helping his stock, which was up a bit with the Rays returning to Tropicana Field this season.