The Rays have misplaced two regulars to the 10-day injured listing, as Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier have each been sidelined. As reported earlier, Franco left right now’s sport attributable to an harm in his proper hand and wrist space, and supervisor Kevin Cash instructed reporters (together with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the preliminary analysis is that the harm is expounded to Franco’s hamate bone. Franco will go to medical doctors on Monday to find out the extent of the issue, and if surgical procedure is required, he may miss roughly 6-8 weeks.
Franco needed to be eliminated after his very first at-bat, a first-inning strikeout towards Hunter Greene. On the second-last pitch of the plate look, Franco appeared shaken up after fouling off a Greene fastball, and he was changed within the subject for the underside of the inning.
Kiermaier performed most of Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds, as the middle fielder was changed for a pinch-runner after singling within the ninth inning. Through the sport, nonetheless, Kiermaier skilled extra discomfort in his left hip — that very same situation compelled Kiermaier to the IL in late June, although he missed solely the minimal 10 days earlier than being activated.
Given the recurring nature of the hip drawback, it appears probably that Kiermaier will miss greater than 10 days, although the upcoming All-Star break may cowl 4 days of that IL stint. Until the Rays need to monitor Kiermaier to make sure that the hip soreness is fully behind him, Kiermaier could possibly be activated as early as July 22, when the Rays kick off their second half with a collection in Kansas Metropolis.
Even when Franco can keep away from surgical procedure, he’ll nonetheless want a minimum of a number of weeks of restoration time. The second-year star has hit .260/.308/.396 over 247 plate appearances this season — nonetheless above-average (1o4 wRC+) manufacturing, however naturally a letdown given the excessive expectations created by Franco’s top-prospect standing and glorious 2021 rookie season. Franco acquired off to an ideal begin earlier than quad accidents hampered his play in Could, and that quad drawback ultimately despatched him to the IL for 4 weeks.
Topkin writes that outfielder Luke Raley and infielder Jonathan Aranda are more likely to be known as as much as change Franco and Kiermaier on the lively roster. Aranda made his MLB debut in cup-of-coffee style earlier this season, taking part in in two video games. He’ll probably step into Taylor Walls’ utility infield function, as Partitions will in all probability resume on a regular basis shortstop obligation (as he did throughout Franco’s final IL stint).
Raley can also be a left-handed hitting outfielder, so in that sense, he’s a simple substitute for Kiermaier in Tampa Bay’s outfield combine. Nevertheless, there’s clearly no strategy to simply change Kiermaier’s all-world protection, although backup Brett Phillips is a stable defender in his personal proper (even when proper subject is Phillips’ finest outfield place from a glovework standpoint). Phillips and Josh Lowe are the likeliest candidates to deal with middle subject whereas Kiermaier is out, and Vidal Brujan additionally figures to chip in up the center. Manuel Margot is out till a minimum of late August due to a patellar tendon strain, and whereas the Rays are optimistic Margot will play once more in 2022, something he can contribute going ahead is likely to be seen as a bonus.
Whereas neither Franco or Kiermaier have excelled on the plate this season, their twin absences will probably solely intensify the Rays’ already clear want for extra hitting assist on the deadline. Particularly if Franco is sidelined till September, Tampa will want extra constant manufacturing from the lineup if the staff goes to each qualify for the postseason after which be professional contenders in October. As regular, the Rays aren’t more likely to break the financial institution on a brand new acquisition, however position-player depth (whether or not an on a regular basis title or a multi-positional part-timer) definitely looks as if a precedence.
