ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher David Hess said Wednesday via social media that he is beginning chemotherapy to treat a cancerous tumor in his chest.

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Hess, 28, who split his 2021 season with the Florida Marlins, the Rays and Tampa Bay’s Triple-A minor league affiliate in Durham, tweeted that he went to an emergency room last week after experiencing shortness of breath and tightness in his chest.

“After some scans, blood work, and time at the hospital we learned that I had a cancerous germ cell tumor sitting in the center [of] my chest pressing majorly against my heart and lungs,” Hess tweeted. “Today we got the final diagnosis and treatment plan that has chemo starting up on Monday to shrink and hopefully eradicate the tumor entirely.”

Hess finished the 2021 season in Durham, where he was 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA.

Hess was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB June amateur draft from Tennessee Technological University. He attended Tullahoma High School in Tennessee.

His overall major league pitching record is 6-22. He went 2-2 with the Marlins in 2021 and had no decisions in Tampa Bay.

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