Whitley (elbow) was activated from the DL and optioned to Double-A Montgomery on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 28-year-old righty got progressively better in each of his six rehab appearances and finished 1-0 with a stellar 0.86 ERA and 24 whiffs in 21 innings. The decision to make Montgomery Whitley's next stop as opposed to the big league club was based on the Rays wanting to keep building up his stamina and workload, which he wasn't going to be able to accomplish at the major league level. "We just didn't have the innings right now," (Rays manager Kevin) Cash said. "Could not have been more impressed how he threw the ball in his rehab. You just don't see many guys come back from surgery and go out and have the type of results he had. We've got to get his innings built up going into next year. He's part of the big picture and part of our plans moving forward, without a doubt."