Casey Legumina is making a case for the Tampa Bay Rays' postseason bullpen after striking out four in two scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox. With bullpen injuries and Ian Seymour's role uncertain, Kevin Cash has another intriguing relief option to consider for the MLB playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Rays have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out which pitchers they can trust out of the bullpen when October arrives.
And after Friday night, Casey Legumina deserves to be part of that conversation.
Legumina was one of the few bright spots in Tampa Bay's 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, striking out four hitters across two scoreless innings.
He wasn't the only reliever who pitched well.
Ty Johnson, Legumina and Alexander Cook combined for four scoreless innings and six strikeouts after Ian Seymour allowed four runs in five innings.
The bullpen gave Tampa Bay an opportunity to get back into the game, even though the offense couldn't take advantage of it.
But there was something else important about those four innings.
Kevin Cash didn't have to use some of his more frequently called-upon relievers.
That's a pretty significant development for a team that has been dealing with bullpen injuries at exactly the wrong time.
We've already talked about Kevin Kelly's bounce-back performance against the Athletics, when he struck out the side after several difficult outings.
We've also seen Tampa Bay give opportunities to Johnson and Brody Hopkins, two young pitchers with impressive stuff who are trying to prove they can help in October.
Now Legumina is giving the Rays another option to consider.
The Rays don't necessarily need every pitcher in their bullpen to become someone they can trust in the eighth or ninth inning.
But they do need pitchers who can give them quality innings without forcing Cash to use the same relievers every night.
Legumina did exactly that Friday.
Of course, two scoreless innings don't guarantee him a spot on the postseason roster.
There are still decisions to make, especially with Seymour's role becoming increasingly uncertain after another difficult start.
Seymour's home run problems have made it harder to envision him in the postseason rotation, but that doesn't necessarily mean he won't have a role in October.
Could he return to the bullpen as a multi-inning option? Or possibly a high-leverage 'opener'.
That's something Tampa Bay may need to consider as it figures out how to use its pitching depth.
And performances like Legumina's give the Rays more flexibility when making those decisions.
There are only a handful of games remaining in the regular season, so these opportunities are becoming increasingly important.
Legumina hasn't secured a bigger role just yet, but he keeps proving he can handle it. If he can build on Friday's performance, he might make Kevin Cash's postseason bullpen decisions considerably more interesting.
