Richards could be part of a revolving group of "sixth starters" during the regular season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Topkin adds Jalen Beeks and Brendan McKay as two other members of the staff that could fill similar roles in 2020 as the Rays look to manage the workloads of top three starters Charlie Morton, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow carefully. The Rays reportedly may not use as many "bullpen days" as they have the last two seasons, either, but Richards will still likely be deployed in traditional long relief frequently due to the ability to effectively pitch multiple innings he's demonstrated over 48 career big-league starts, with three of those having come last season with the Rays after his arrival via trade from the Marlins. Richards did have a rough spring, however, posting a 7.04 ERA and 1.96 WHIP across 7.2 innings over five Grapefruit League appearances (one start).