BALTIMORE - The Devil Rays made a couple of expected changes to their pitching rotation Tuesday afternoon, announcing Jeremi Gonzalez is out, Damian Moss is in and Doug Waechter is on the way.
Then they made an unexpected one after Tuesday's game, manager Lou Piniella saying that left-hander Mark Hendrickson also had lost his job.
"He didn't pitch very well at all," Piniella said. "Truthfully, he's out of the rotation, too. We'll figure out who pitches."
Exactly how they do that will be interesting, with relievers Chad Gaudin and John Halama two possibilities.
The Rays already had added a 12th pitcher Tuesday, recalling reliever Travis Harper from Triple-A Durham and designating outfielder-but-not-infielder Jason Romano for assignment.
Gonzalez has struggled immensely in losing his first three starts, allowing 32 baserunners in 151/3 innings and five home runs. He will work out of the bullpen, the Rays hoping he can find the form that made him their most consistent starter last season and earned him a raise to $1.7-million.
"We'll put him in middle relief, and that will give him some time to work with the pitching coach on a few things," Piniella said.
Moss was signed for $850,000 to be a starter but ended up in the bullpen after a poor spring. He had a solid two-inning relief outing Sunday, and the Rays need to know if he can be counted on to start.
"He's been throwing the ball better," Piniella said. "We'll give him an opportunity, that's all."
Moss, a starter for the Braves, Giants and Orioles, welcomed it. "I want to go out there and prove I belong in the starting rotation," he said. "I want to go out and show Lou and everybody else what I'm capable of. Hopefully everything will pan out."
The Rays will start Moss on Thursday against his former Orioles teammates because he matches up better with them than the White Sox. Victor Zambrano will be moved back a day to pitch Friday in Chicago.
Waechter will be recalled from Triple-A Durham despite a rough outing Monday when he allowed seven runs, including three home runs, in 32/3 innings. The St. Petersburg native, 23, won a spot in the rotation during spring training but was sent to the minors in an opening day roster shuffle, then developed a blister problem.
Another pitcher will be sent down to make room for Waechter on Saturday.
GOOD MORNING: Harper didn't mind the 7 a.m. wakeup call from assistant general manager Scott Proefrock. Having been sent to Durham at the end of spring training, he had two decent outings for the Bulls and will be used in a familiar middle relief role.
"He got some work in down there, and he said his breaking ball is a little sharper," Piniella said. "He's throwing strikes and keeping the ball down. In the spring, those were things he didn't do."
Harper, who pitched in 61 games for the Rays last season, was disappointed to be sent down but focused on improving his pitching rather than bemoaning his fate.
"The most positive thing was to get work in, and that's what I needed," Harper said. "It's good to be back. There's no question about that."
He didn't get off to a good start, however, closing out the fifth inning but allowing three runs (and six baserunners) in the sixth.
SEE YA: Romano, a Tampa native, ended up not having much of a homecoming.
The Rays acquired him from Los Angeles on April 3 thinking he could be a backup anywhere on the field, but he made himself considerably less valuable by telling Piniella he was not comfortable playing the infield.
The Rays have 10 days to trade or release him or pass him through waivers to send him to Durham.
ELIA UPDATE: Hitting coach Lee Elia will have more tests today to determine the source of abdominal discomfort that has bothered him for nearly a week. "He'll have one more test, and if everything's okay, he'll be joining us in Chicago," Piniella said. "They've run every conceivable test and they still have one more to go. They've haven't found anything. Absolutely nothing. They finally told him it might be stress-related, and he didn't take that too kindly."
MISCELLANY: Jason Standridge, recovering from shoulder surgery, pitched five innings Monday in his first rehabilitation start at Double-A Montgomery, allowing two runs on eight hits. ... Jonny Gomes is second in the Triple-A International League with five home runs. ... Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro became the 17th player in history with 5,000 total bases and broke a tie for 18th place in the all-time RBIs list with his 1,696th.
