ST. PETERSBURG — Jaime Schultz was all smiles and hugs after he walked into the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse for the first time. He wasn’t sure when — if ever — this day would come.
The 26-year-old was called up to the big league team for the team’s series finale — an 8-3 win — against the Baltimore Orioles. He got the good news in the middle of Durham’s road trip to Memphis.
“(Bulls manager Jerad) Sandberg just told me, ‘You got to call your wife and your family and tell them to get on a plane to Tampa, you’re going up,’” Schultz said. “I lost it. The culmination of the past two years and the injuries and being on the brink, I’ve been waiting and waiting. As soon as it goes out of my mind, I stop focusing on it and then it comes out of the blue. It was surprising to me.”
Pitcher Jimmy Schultz on being called up for first time by @RaysBaseball before Sunday’s game vs. @Orioles #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/GwKp1Lsvyt
— j. Scott Butherus (@JScottButherus) May 27, 2018
Schultz was one of the final roster decisions the Rays had to make breaking camp in 2017. After being sent to Triple-A Durham, Schultz tore his groin muscle 10 pitches into his first start. Because of those injuries, Schultz was limited to just 19 2/3 innings in 2017.
“He’s done everything he can to get back,” Cash said. “Is he back yet? Probably not, but in fairness to him, I think this is good for him to get up here. He’s going to help us. He might get into the ballgame today and it’s also us showing how much we value him and understand that it’s been tough. He brings a lot of energy and the guys love having him around and like I said, hopefully he’ll come in and perform well.”
Although he has maintained his ridiculous strikeout per inning ratio, control has been an issue for Jimmy this season. In 15 1/3 innings Schultz has given up 16 walks and allowed 17 runs but did strike out 29.
“My wife keeps telling me that it’s better to be out there and struggling a little bit than to not be out there at all,” he said. “My stuff’s been good I just haven’t seen the results yet.”
To make room for Schultz on the active roster, the Rays optioned lefty Anthony Banda to Durham. Cash said that the decision to move Banda was based on a the Rays’ need for available arms until nathan Eovaldi is activated from the DL on Tuesday. Banda was coming off his best performance as a pro, striking out a career-high seven in 6 1/3 innings on Saturday.
“That’s kind of the tough part about the job, sending down a guy that performed just like he did,” Cash said. “But I think Anthony realizes how much he means for us going forward. There’s still some development in there. His fastball was electric last night but he can continue to work on the offspeed pitches, continue to compliment the fastball and we’re pretty confident we’ll see him again.”
