The Tampa Bay Rays will likely place outfielders Manuel Margot and Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day Injured List ahead of Tuesday night’s contest. Both players made early exits from the tough loss against the Yankees, and Margot — in particular — seems to be facing an extended absence.
Margot was hurt crashing hard into the right-field wall while attempting to field Aaron Hicks’ ninth-inning triple. The outfielder went down awkwardly and was in obvious pain. As a consequence, he had to be carted off the field. Cash said after the game he’s been diagnosed with a knee sprain and noted “it doesn’t look good.”
The injury was preceded by a bad strike/ball call by the home plate umpire, who called pitch number three (seen in the chart above) a ball instead of a strike — extending an at-bat that would have ended on the very next pitch, and giving Hicks an extra pitch to ‘play’ with.
Kiermaier departed after a second-inning at-bat that looked rather uncomfortable. The team later announced he was dealing with left hip inflammation which will necessitate an IL stint of at least a week and a half. It marked the second time in five days that Kiermaier had to make an early exit.
Without a doubt, the loss of a couple of regular outfielders will force the Rays to dip into their depth. Randy Arozarena will head back to left field on a more or less everyday basis, while Josh Lowe (recalled before Monday’s game) figures to assume regular reps in either center or right-field … although it remains to be seen how much of an offensive impact he’ll make. Lowe slashed an ice-cold .188 BA/.257 OBP/.344 SLG/601 OPS/.259 wOBA line in 71 big-league plate appearances to start the season. Yet, his subsequent demotion to Triple-A appears to have ‘fixed him’ to an extent, as he hit .299 BA/.382 OBP/.540 SLG/.922 OPS/.401 wOBA in Durham with six homers and 22 runs. A caveat, though: while he posted big numbers with the Bulls, he also struck out at an alarming 31.2% rate.
Both Brett Phillips and Harold Ramírez should assume larger roles with Margot and Kiermaier out, yet neither are everyday players. While Phillips is an excellent defender, he is hitting a light .172 BA/.238 OBP/.291 SLG/.529 OPS with a staggering 41.6% strikeout rate. And while Ramírez is performing well at the plate, slashing .297 BA/.337 OBP/.386 SLG/.743 OPS, he has rated as a well below-average defender throughout his career.
Unless the Rays acquire an outfielder — and it should be expected for the front office to scour the market — they presumably will turn to a platoon arrangement between Phillips and Ramírez in right field with Lowe playing center if they anticipate Kiermaier’s absence to be on the shorter side.
It bears mentioning that Luke Raley is expected to be recalled from Durham where he has hit well, slashing .299 BA/.374 OBP/.575 SLG/.949 OPS with a .407 wOBA and a 148 wRC+. They are also expected to promote infielder Jonathan Aranda, which would allow them to use Vidal Brujan in the outfield. Aranda is hitting .310 BA/.386 OBP/.512 SLG/.898 OPS at Triple-A, with a .392 wOBA, and a 138 wRC+, with 11 home runs across 280 plate appearances.
Suffice it to say, it has been a rough stretch for Tampa Bay, who’s been without Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, and primary backstop Mike Zunino for weeks. The additional losses will leave the club without five regular position players, and it’s little surprise Tampa Bay has sputtered of late — dropping six of their past seven games and falling to 36-31.
Noteworthiness
— Good times for a change … after starting a Minor League rehab assignment and going 1-for-4 with a triple as the DH for the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Rays, Wander Franco started for the FCL Rays on June 20 and went 2-3 with a double while playing six innings at shortstop.
The shortstop will have Tuesday off before playing for Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. From there, he will be reevaluated and is expected to rejoin the Rays as soon as this weekend.
— Mike Zunino is thought to be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, which explains the tingling sensation he’s continued to feel running down his left arm. On June 20th, Zunino received a Botox injection in an effort to avoid surgery. The team should get a sense of the shot’s effectiveness within a week.
— Nick Anderson had been throwing multiple bullpen sessions per week as he works his way back from elbow surgery. However, after experiencing more elbow discomfort, Ander is set to meet with Dr. Keith Meister on June 21. It is not clear what that means for Anderson’s future, and the team is understandably concerned about the right-hander considering this setback has come without reaching the point of pitching in a competitive situation.