Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Matt Duffy singles in the third inning of the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Matt Duffy singles in the third inning of the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Following the 7-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced plans to add five players to the roster. RHPs Steve Geltz and Chase Whitley, LHP Justin Marks, OF Mikie Mahtook, and INF/OF Richie Shaffer will join the ball club, effective immediately.

In order to create a 40-man roster spot, Tampa Bay announced that C Hank Conger was designated for assignment.

Conger was on the Opening Day roster, but was sent to Triple-A Durham at the All-Star Break after a half season of non-productive play.

The interesting roster move might be the one that wasn’t made, as the team didn’t recall either INF Tim Beckham or INF/OF Taylor Motter. In all fairness, further moves should be expected moving forward. Beckham was optioned back to Durham last week after failing to hustle home on a potential scoring play against the Boston Red Sox.

The decision — or lack thereof — is that much more interesting with news that SS Matt Duffy might undergo season ending surgery, stemming from an earlier Achilles strain.

According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), a decision is expected soon:

…The priority being to make sure Duffy is 100 percent ready for spring training. The procedure would involve shaving down Duffy’s heel bone to reduce irritation and inflammation with the Achilles.

“We’ve talked about it,” Duffy said. “It’s something that’s a possibility. It’s just nothing set in stone right now.”

Making matters worse, it appears that Tropicana Field’s hard artificial turf may be exacerbating the problem. Duffy told Topkin the irritation associated with the injury appears to occur more frequently at the Trop:

It’s sore, he said. The soreness seems to come on a little quicker when we’re at home.

Should Duffy go under the knife, the procedure would need to be done sooner rather than later, giving him more recovery time.

That’s probably a conversation that’s going to be had here real soon, Duffy said. The only thing would be the recovery time. We want to be 100 percent sure that we’re ready to go by next season. I guess that’s one of the concerns.

While it’s not a certainty that Duffy will have the procedure before season’s end, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t play many more home games in 2017.

The Rays relied upon Brad Miller at short Monday afternoon, and they could also do the same with both he and Nick Franklin moving forward. Motter and Beckham could also be depended up throughout the remainder of the season, however, when is dependent upon if their contracts are chosen.

 

Leave a comment