As spring training progressed and more Rays pitchers went down with injuries, it was clear that the Rays needed to make a move to get help in the rotation. Their answer was to send former first round draft choice Mike Montgomery to Seattle in exchange for long reliever Erasmo Ramirez.
Ideally, the Rays would only need Ramirez for two starts, and then could transition him back into a swingman role. Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly were slotted for early returns from the disabled list, but as we all know, the Rays' luck took a turn for the worse (Tommy John, a labrum tear), and the Rays needed to rely on Ramirez to fill a bigger role.