Rays designate righty Evan Phillips for assignment, select lefty Adam Conley

The Rays have designated Evan Phillips for assignment and selected the contract of Adam Conley, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.

Phillips was released by the Orioles August 2 and then signed a minor league deal with the Rays the very next day. After getting into two games with the Durham Bulls, the righty then had his contract selected by the Rays on Thursday. He pitched three innings in Friday’s game against the Twins, allowing one run on three hits and striking out two.

As for Conley, the 31-year-old lefty spent five seasons with the Marlins from 2015 to 2019. He worked primarily as a starter for the first three seasons before transitioning to a bullpen role for the latter two. In total, he tallied 414 1/3 innings during that stretch with an ERA of 4.82. In 2020, Conley was  designated for assignment by the Marlins and outrighted without appearing in a game.

The Rays added Conley on a minor league deal back in May. In 31 Triple-A innings this year, he has an ERA of 4.35, including a spike in strikeouts but also walks. His 14.1% walk rate is higher than any previous season at any level, whereas his 26.6% strikeout rate tops all previous stops since his stint in A-ball way back in 2012.