Spring Headlines: Rays closer Brad Boxberger to miss eight weeks

The Tampa Bay Rays have proven to be a resilient team in recent years. Now that resolve will be tested again early this season as manager Kevin Cash has announced that closer Brad Boxberger will miss eight weeks after having surgery to repair a core muscle.

The injury further depletes a bullpen that lost former closer Jake McGee and Nathan Karns in offseason trades. Tampa Bay traded from its surplus in pitching to add more offense, and actually landed an intriguing bat in Corey Dickerson as a result, but baseball always has a way of reminding teams that they can never have enough depth. Especially when it comes to pitching.

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Now Cash will likely utilize a committee approach in the late innings with a group that includes Alex Colome, who frequently served as Tampa Bay’s eighth-inning man last season, as well as Danny Farquhar and Steve Geltz and southpaw Xavier Cedeno. Aside from Colome, Farquhar brings the most experience, but this could serve as an opportunity for someone else to breakout.

Looking at Boxberger, the 27-year-old right-hander led the AL with 41 saves in 2015 and even earned his first All-Star selection. He also had his share of bumps along the way, losing 10 games and posting a 3.71 ERA. His may be most familiar to you now as the pitcher whose salary the Rays actually cut when they couldn’t agree to a new deal earlier this month.

OTHER SPRING HEADLINES

Saying goodbye: Veteran pitcher Brad Penny has elected to retire after failing to make the Blue Jays roster. [@gregorMLB]

Forging on: A’s right-hander Jarrod Parker will undergo surgery to repair a fracture in the medial epicondyle area of his right elbow. [@susanslusser]

Not an option: Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has made it clear his team will never include a player option in a contract. [@bnicholsonsmith]

Season preview: Will the Yankees bullpen be good enough to carry them to October? [The Stew]

No thanks: Free agent Ruben Tejada has turned down a minor-league deal with the Yankees. It’s believed he has a major-league deal from at least one other team. [@FeinsandNYDN]

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813