Rays' Moore set to throw off mound for 1st time since undergoing Tommy John surgery

Left-hander Matt Moore expects to be contributing to the Tampa Bay Rays in June, roughly 14 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Whether he's able to fulfill his wish will be determined by how well his rehab goes in the coming months. 

Moore, 25, is set to take an important step on his road to recovery later this month. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports Moore will throw off a mound during the last week of January for the first time since undergoing the operation that cost him all but two starts of his 2014 season. 

Despite a chaotic offseason that has seen Tampa Bay lose its manager and general manager, while moving core pieces Ben Zobrist and Wil Myers, the Rays still possess an abundance of pitching talent - a group Moore absolutely remains a key piece of. 

Moore has a career 3.53 ERA in 63 games, all but two of which have been starts, and has struck out batters at an above-average rate since making his debut in 2011. He'd join a rotation headlined by right-handers Alex Cobb, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and southpaw Drew Smyly upon his return. 

All five pitchers are under team control until at least the 2017 season. Moore, an eighth-round draft pick of the Rays' in 2008, is signed through 2016 with team options from 2017-19.