The big league aspirations of Port Coquitlam pitcher Curtis Taylor will have to wait a little longer.
The former Coquitlam Red and University of British Columbia grad was amongst the first cuts by Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays earlier this week from their spring training camp in Port Charlotte, Florida.
Taylor, 23, was part of a contingent of players sent to the team’s minor league camp. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times they would be able to get regular work there while allowing those still in the big-league camp more opportunities to play.
Taylor, who was invited to the Rays training camp as a non-roster player, pitched a total of three innings in three pre-season games. He struck out one and gave up three runs.
Taylor was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft. He was acquired by the Rays in November, 2017, for established big-leaguer Brad Boxberger.
Taylor spent most of last season with the Rays’ AA affiliate in Alabama, the Montgomery Biscuits. He pitched 60 innings in 30 games, earned three wins, four losses and four saves.
