The Rays haven't listed a probable starter for Sunday's game against the Twins, suggesting that Chirinos isn't a lock to receive the nod when his turn in the rotation would come up, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Manager Kevin Cash has never officially named Chirinos the Rays' No. 4 starter, though that seemed to be a foregone conclusion after the right-hander dazzled with 9.1 shutout innings in starts April 5 and 11 that were classified as bullpen games. The 24-year-old likely would have sewn up a rotation spot with another strong outing Wednesday against the Rangers, but that didn't come to fruition, as he was blasted for six runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. One poor outing doesn't completely overshadow what has been an impressive body of work thus far for Chirinos, but the Rays could nonetheless give the youngster a temporary break from starting. Even if he's bypassed for the Sunday nod, there's a good chance that Chirinos would still pitch multiple innings in relief that day with another bullpen game on tap for Tampa Bay.