Erasmo Ramírez DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez has a "significant tear" in his right shoulder and is expected to miss an extended period. The 34-year-old signed a minor league deal in February with an invite to camp and, at the very least, would have provided some veteran depth in the minors if he did not make the roster. Instead, the righty will wait to be re-examined in the coming weeks to see how he's progressing and what the next steps will be. Ramirez made 13 appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, pitching to a 4.35 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 10:15 BB:K in 20 2/3 innings pitched, but is off the fantasy radar until he returns from the injury and makes it back to the major league roster.

The Tampa Bay Rays recalled right-hander Erasmo Ramirez from Triple-A Durham on Monday and optioned left-hander Jacob Lopez to Durham in a corresponding move. This will be Ramirez's second stint in the big leagues for the Rays this year, but he hasn't pitched for the Rays since May 21. The 34-year-old veteran Nicaraguan went 3-0 earlier this season with a 4.50 ERA (6.61 FIP), a 1.06 WHIP, one save, six walks and nine strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. Ramirez has been fortunate to pick up three wins and will likely occupy a middle-relief role for however long he's in the big leagues this time around. The 13-year-old veteran doesn't have any fantasy appeal and has a career 18% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate in 844 1/3 innings at the big-league level.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez relieved relief pitcher Jason Adam with two outs in the ninth inning to record his first save of the season in Thursday's victory against the Boston Red Sox. Closer Pete Fairbanks seemed to have the night off and Adam got himself in trouble with two runners on base when Ramirez entered the ballgame. Ramirez has allowed seven runs in the 13 innings he has thrown this year and can be avoided in all formats with Fairbanks and Adam in line to receive most of the Rays save chances moving forward.