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Although the discomfort had not significantly affected his preparation —Uceta held bullpen sessions in the Dominican Republic under the supervision of coach Jorge Moncada and threw practice pitches recently without issues— the pitcher preferred not to risk aggravating the situation.
“He’s been doing all his work, but when he mentioned he wasn’t feeling 100%, we understood that, given how important he is to our team and our bullpen, the most sensible thing was to keep him here, treat him, and allow him to progress at his own pace instead of speeding up the process,” Cash noted. The decision prevents Uceta from having to advance his preparation to join the Dominican team, which planned to start exhibition games in Santo Domingo in early March before starting the group stage in Miami. Without the pressure of that schedule, the Rays will be able to handle the reliever’s progression more cautiously. With almost six weeks to go before the start of the regular season on March 26 in St. Louis, the organization assured that there is no concern about his availability. “We are totally calm and we fully intend for him to be ready for Opening Day,” Cash affirmed. Uceta, who had recently expressed his enthusiasm for representing his country in the tournament, will now focus all his efforts on arriving in optimal condition for the start of the 2026 season with Tampa Bay.
