ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — The major-league leading Tampa Bay Rays reinstated center fielder Jose Siri from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and optioned promising right-hander Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham ahead of the evening game against the Houston Astros.
Siri has been out with a strained right hamstring, which happened April 7 when he was running down a fly ball. Before getting hurt, he was hitting .318 with two homers and eight RBIs in six games.
Bradley, 22, won his third consecutive start on Monday. Since making his major league debut on April, 12, he has a 3.52 ERA with 23 strikeouts and two walks over 15 1/3 innings. Bradley has been pitching every sixth day, so the move could help him shift into the normal five-day rotation cycle.
Tampa Bay also selected reliever Heath Hembree and optioned infielder-outfielder Vidal Bruján to Durham. Right-hander Hector Perez cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Durham.
The Rays started Tuesday with a 20-3 record. Only the World Series champion 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1911 Detroit Tigers, at 21-2, had better starts through 23 games.