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Rays shuffle bullpen, acquire Hoby Milner, send down Chih-Wei Hu

 
Published July 15, 2018|Updated July 15, 2018

The Rays went outside the the organization to add a fresh arm to the bullpen, acquiring LHP Hoby Milner from the Phillies on Saturday night for cash considerations.

The Rays sent down RHP Chih-Wei Hu to make room on the 25-man roster and designated for assignment RHP Ryan Weber to make room on the 40-man roster for Milner, who will join them for Sunday's game, the last one before the All-Star break.

Milner, 27, was DFA'd on Tuesday, having made 10 appearances with the Phillies, posting a 7.71 ERA (though that went up from 2.25 after his last outing), spending most of the season at Triple-A. He pitched in 37 games last season for the Phillies, posting a 2.01 ERA.

He was in the news the opening week of the season as the reliever rookie Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler called into a game even though he had not warmed up.

With Adam Kolarek throwing 24 pitches Saturday, Jose Alvarado still on family medical leave and Jonny Venters and Vidal Nuno on the DL, the Rays didn't have any other options for a lefty reliever. They decided to not call up intriguing prospect Colin Poche from Durham.

Hu had a solid outing for the Rays on Thursday, throwing 61 pitches over five innings so likely would not have been available Sunday anyway. Weber,. a St. Petersburg native, made two appearances for the Rays, spending most of his time at Triple-A Durham.