Rays acquire pitcher who overcame serious eye injury
ST. PETERSBURG — In trading injured reliever J.P. Feyereisen to the Dodgers Wednesday, the Rays acquired a minor-league pitcher with an interesting and inspirational back story.
Left-handed reliever Jeff Belge has limited vision in his right eye and is considered legally blind as the result of a freak accident as a 9-year-old when a piece of shale pierced his cornea, requiring two surgeries. He sustained another traumatic injury to the eye as a 17-year-old that required additional emergency surgery.
But Belge, 25, overcame the challenges the incidents presented to pitch his way to the Double-A level by the end of last season.
The 6-foot-5 hard-thrower had a 3-3 record and 3.66 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 17 walks in 32 innings over 29 games at High-A Great Lakes during the 2022 regular season. He then joined Tulsa for the Double-A playoffs.
Belge, who pitched at Henninger High in Syracuse, New York, and St. John’s University, was an 18th-round pick by the Dodgers in 2019. He told Syracuse.com he can see only some colors and outlines of objects in his right eye, with 20/300 to 20/400 vision.
“It’s pretty much nothing,” he said.
He wears protective glasses when pitching and told the New York Post during his collegiate days he doesn’t consider his vision issues a big deal.
“I find ways around it,” Belge said. “It doesn’t really bother me. It’s just me having a dream and just following it. It’s a bump along the way I had to get over.”
Over three minor-league seasons, Belge compiled a 7-5 record and 3.92 ERA. He struck out 114 batters while walking 66 in 98-2/3 innings over 78 games.
He isn’t the first pitcher with the Rays who overcame a major eye issue. Juan Sandoval was completely blind in his right eye when he pitched in the Tampa Bay system in 2013-14, reaching Triple-A.
The Rays traded Feyereisen after learning last week he would be out until at least late August. He had surgery last week following a recurrence of shoulder pain that limited him to 22 games last season, during which he did not allow an earned run.
Needing to clear a 40-man roster spot for newly signed starter Zach Eflin, the Rays designated Feyereisen for assignment Tuesday morning and promptly completed the trade.
Ex-Rays update
• The deal former Rays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier agreed to over the weekend with the Blue Jays is a one-year contract for $9 million. He also received a $2.5 million buyout from the Rays after they declined his $13 million option. The Jays have not yet announced the signing.
• Lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who was designated for assignment and non-tendered by the Rays in November, signed with Kansas City, where he will be reunited with former Rays coaches Matt Quatraro (the new Royals manager) and Paul Hoover (bench coach). Yarbrough, who was estimated to make $4.2 million via arbitration with the Rays, signed for a reported $3 million with an additional $1 million available in incentives.
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