Pruitt's versatility, which the Rays will count on heavily this season, was underscored by his strong performance against the Red Sox in a Saturday Grapefruit League start, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.
He fired a trio of scoreless innings in which he only gave up two hits and recorded a pair of strikeouts, lowering his spring ERA to a solid 2.08 in the process. Pruitt demonstrated his ability to start, work in long relief, or get some timely outs in shorter stints last season, and with manager Kevin Cash's plans to utilize his relievers in some potentially unusual capacities in 2018, that versatility figures to only up Pruitt's value. Moreover, his penchant for getting ahead of hitters -- he threw first-pitch strikes to 66 percent of batters last season -- combined with a diversified repertoire that includes a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup give him an opportunity to effectively carry out any number of roles he may be tasked with.