Rays' Archer has setback, not close to return

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Archer, on the 10-day disabled list since June 3 with a left abdominal strain, is not close to coming back and might not return until after the All-Star break.

Archer hasn't pitched since June 2, and a specialist on core muscle injuries had told him a few days after the injury that he might miss only a start or two. Archer also pronounced himself pain-free on Saturday after a bullpen session.

But within a few days of that session, with the team planning a simulated game for Tuesday and maybe even a start on Sunday, he was in pain again.

Archer, however, told reporters Tuesday it's not pain from the initial injury, just more soreness than he expected after the bullpen outing.

"Nothing has changed as far as the injury or the severity, I just need more time to rest," Archer said, adding that the math could point to a post-All-Star break return.

"It's going to take me a couple starts in the minors to get stretched out, and the All-Star break is just a month away."

Archer's manager, Kevin Cash, has also been preaching caution.

"That's why we always kind of wait until the next day to see how they wake up, and I think he woke up and just wasn't totally comfortable with how he felt," Cash said Monday.

"I don't think it's anything too alarming. But we want to make sure once we start that process of ramping him back up and getting him going that all those symptoms have subsided. And obviously they haven't."

Archer, a two-time All-Star, is 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA in 13 starts this season.

--Field Level Media