Fleming left Tuesday's game against the Pirates after taking a comebacker off his leg, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports. He allowed one run over 3.2 innings with three walks and one strikeout before exiting.

EDGE Analysis

Fleming threw a couple of warmup pitches after taking a Ke'Bryan Hayes liner off his leg, but he was unable to continue. Colin Poche came into the game to take Fleming's place on the mound.

Fleming is slated to work the bulk of the innings in relief behind opening pitcher Javy Guerra in Tuesday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fleming had followed Calvin Faucher in both of his last two turns as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen, but he'll enter the contest behind a new opener after Faucher was optioned to Triple-A Durham over the weekend. In his most recent outing April 26 against the Astros, Fleming covered a season-high six innings and struck out two while allowing no runs and permitting just five baserunners.

Fleming didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Astros, allowing four hits and a walk over six scoreless innings of relief. He struck out two.

EDGE Analysis

The left-hander entered the game in the third inning, taking over from opener Calvin Faucher, and while Fleming did an outstanding job stifling the Houston offense, Tampa Bay's bats were just as silent. He tossed 69 pitches (43 strikes) in his best performance of the season, and Fleming should continue to plug a hole in the Rays' rotation -- either as a bulk reliever behind an opener, or as a traditional starter -- until Tyler Glasnow (oblique) is ready to return. Fleming's still looking for his first win of 2023, but it should come quickly if he continues to pitch well. He has a 3.26 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB through 19.1 innings.

Fleming is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind starter Calvin Faucher in Wednesday's game against the Astros, Marc Topkin and Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times report.

EDGE Analysis

Faucher built up to 46 pitches in his second start of the season last weekend against the White Sox and is returning to the hill on four days' rest, so he and Fleming could be used in more of a piggyback arrangement rather than an "opener"/"primary pitcher" pairing. In that same game against the White Sox, Fleming came on in relief of Faucher to strike out three batters over three scoreless innings, but he didn't factor into the decision. Another 3-to-4-inning workload could be on tap for Fleming on Wednesday.

Fleming is expected to receive more of an opportunity with the Rays following the demotion of Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

It's not clear whether it will mean traditional starts and/or bulk relief appearances for the left-hander. Fleming has done both this season, making four appearances which have all been at least three innings. It's not a role which is likely to lead to fantasy value.

Fleming worked three shutout innings of relief and collected a hold in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Reds. He struck out three while giving up one hit and issuing no walks in the outing.

EDGE Analysis

Since making his season debut as a starter April 4 in Washington, Fleming has made each of his subsequent three appearances out of the bullpen. Unlike Wednesday, however, Fleming's prior two relief outings had come as a primary pitcher behind an opener. After starter Drew Rasmussen exited after five innings while the Rays held a 7-0 lead, Fleming stepped in to retire nine of the 10 batters he faced before Pete Fairbanks took over in the bottom of the ninth. The Rays' decision to use Fleming as a more traditional reliever Wednesday suggests that Calvin Faucher -- who is expected to work around four innings as a starter Friday versus the White Sox -- will end up being the primary No. 5 option in the rotation until Tyler Glasnow (oblique) returns from the shelf.

Fleming is expected to work as a bulk reliever behind Calvin Faucher in Friday's game against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Rays have confirmed that Faucher will make a second straight start after he worked 2.2 innings as an opener in front of Fleming in last Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays. Topkin notes that the Rays plan to have Faucher cover around four innings Friday, and while Fleming should still be in good position to factor into any decision assuming that he's the first man out of the bullpen, the southpaw may end up serving as more of a piggyback option behind Faucher rather than a primary pitcher. The arrangement will likely lower Fleming's overall innings ceiling and could result in him transitioning into more of a full-time relief role if Faucher continues to build up his innings and pitches in his subsequent outings.

Fleming allowed two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out one over 3.1 innings Saturday against Toronto.

EDGE Analysis

Fleming followed opener Calvin Faucher and Trevor Kelley as the bulk hurler for the Rays, and he wasn't at his best. Fleming walked in a run with a free pass to George Springer in the sixth inning and gave up another run on an Alejandro Kirk single in the seventh. The 26-year-old was strong against Boston with four innings of one-hit, shutout baseball Monday, but wasn't close to as effective against the Toronto lineup. Fleming will likely work in a similar role at some point next week.

Fleming will follow opener Calvin Faucher in Saturday's game in Toronto, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fleming has followed an opener in one of his two appearances this year, and it's something he has plenty of experience with over the past few seasons. The 26-year-old southpaw has better underlying metrics (54.2 GB%, 18.8 K-BB%) than surface stats (6.43 ERA, 1.71 WHIP) in this small sample. If Faucher can have a scoreless appearance, this arrangement would give Fleming a better chance of going deep enough to qualify for the win.

Fleming allowed one hit across four shutout frames during Monday's win over Boston. He struck five and did not factor in the decision.

EDGE Analysis

The 26-year-old southpaw took the mound in the third inning after Jalen Beeks tossed a pair of scoreless frames. Fleming threw 31 of 47 pitches for strikes, including eight whiffs. It was a strong rebound after he was crushed for five runs against the Nationals in his season debut.