*Photo from 98.5 the Sportshub*
Right after the Tampa Bay Rays signed Rich Hill, they turned to another older face in baseball. the Rays have signed RHP Collin McHugh to a one year, $1.8 million deal, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays are hoping McHugh can recover from a arm injury that nagged him throughout 2020. The Rays have confirmed the deal.
McHugh opted out of the 2020 season after signing with the Boston Red Sox, due to his arm injury, so he last pitched with the Houston Astros in 2019. In 2019, McHugh posted a 4-5 record with a 4.70 ERA, striking out 82 hitters in 74 2/3 innings pitched across 35 appearances, 8 of which were starts. In his 8 major league seasons, McHugh has a 58-43 record with a 3.95 ERA, throwing 800 2/3 innings in 210 appearances, 119 of which were starts.
McHugh talked about the vision of the Rays rotation this season, saying that "They’ve specifically tailored this staff around what is going to be needed this year. So I’m excited about coming in and being a part of what probably will be an experiment across the league about how to figure out how to cover all these innings in 162 games in a season coming off of just 60 games."
McHugh has experience both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen, which is the kind of versatility the Rays are known to like in a player. That kind of versatility can also prove vital in this season particularly, as it is unknown how the return to a full 162 game schedule will affect pitcher health, after only playing 60 games last season.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said that "What we really like about Collin is that he’s pitched in so many different roles. He's proven over his career that he can be really versatile and really effective whether it’s starting, whether it’s providing late-inning one-inning stints or a multi-inning role. From talking to him, it sounds like he’s up for whatever."
McHugh was signed by the Red Sox in early March of 2020 on a one year deal filled with incentives, in the hopes McHugh could provide valuable pitching depth. Due to lingering issues with his throwing arm, which started from a strained right flexor tendon, which might have held him out of the season anyway, McHugh decided to opt out of playing. He has since been given a clean bill of health.
Recently, the Rays have brought in a host of pitching depth, adding McHugh, Hill, Chris Archer, Jeffrey Springs, Chris Mazza, and Oliver Drake, along with an earlier signing of Michael Wacha, to compensate for the losses of Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, and Aaron Loup from the pitching staff this winter.
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