Rays' Chris Archer Placed on IL After Exiting vs. Yankees with Forearm Injury

The Tampa Bay Rays are optimistic that starting pitcher Chris Archer won't miss an extended period of time after leaving Saturday's start against the New York Yankees in the third inning. 

Archer told reporters after his team's 4-0 win that the injury is "nothing serious."

Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays placed Archer on the injured list and called up Brett Honeywell from the alternate site. 

Topkin noted that Honeywell will be used as the opener for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees. 

Archer missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery in June for thoracic outlet syndrome. 

The Rays signed Archer to a one-year deal in free agency worth $6.5 million. He previously played for the organization for six-plus seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2018. 

Tampa Bay's pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries to start the season. Chaz Roe, Oliver Drake, Nick Anderson, Jalen Beeks, Yonny Chirinos and Colin Poche are all on the 60-day injured list. Pete Fairbanks was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with a strained rotator cuff. 

Archer was pitching well with four strikeouts and no runs allowed on three hits in 2.1 innings against the Yankees before being removed from the game. Tampa's bullpen allowed just two hits over the final 6.2 innings. 

The Rays are in the midst of 13 games in 13 days, so they will have to get the most out of what remains of the starting rotation. Their next scheduled day off is April 22. 

Tampa is off to a 4-4 start and has won back-to-back games after losing four straight from April 3-7.