Aranda (fractured ring finger) will miss 4-6 weeks

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- For most teams, a good Spring Training is a healthy Spring Training. From that perspective, the last two weeks haven’t been kind to the Rays.

First, they lost outfielder Jonny DeLuca (fractured right hand) for about six weeks after he was hit by a pitch in the Dominican Republic. Then starter Taj Bradley (right pectoral strain) went down for likely the first month of the regular season. And outfielder Josh Lowe, having missed most of camp due to left hip inflammation, was ruled out for Opening Day due to a mild right oblique strain.

Now, one of their top spring performers won’t be ready for the start of the season. Infielder Jonathan Aranda sustained a fractured right ring finger while fielding a ground ball during Tuesday’s workout. He had surgery Thursday to insert a pin in the finger, and he will begin the season on the injured list. Aranda is likely to miss four to six weeks.

“It sucks for him. You feel for the guy,” manager Kevin Cash said before the Rays’ game vs. the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark on Thursday afternoon. “He's done everything he can to come in here and put a good showing out, have some success, get some good results, which we really wanted him to feel.”

Aranda’s injury is tough for the Rays for several reasons.

For one, he seemed to be on the verge of a big season. The 25-year-old had nothing left to prove in Triple-A, having hit .328/.420/.564 with 43 homers and 166 RBIs in 199 games for Durham over the past two years. The Rays sought to clear paths to playing time for him this spring, even dealing left-handed-hitting Luke Raley to the Mariners in order to get shortstop José Caballero over the winter.

Before the injury, Aranda had delivered exactly the kind of Spring Training the Rays wanted to see from him. Tweaking his approach to help him handle the high fastballs that gave him trouble last season, Aranda was 13-for-35 with a homer, four doubles and as many walks as strikeouts (three) in 13 games this spring.

The performance seemingly guaranteed him a spot on the Opening Day roster, but now he’ll have to watch and wait his turn.

“We believe in him. But sometimes, as a player to continue to believe in yourself, you need the results. And he did that,” Cash said. “He was our best hitter throughout all of camp. So we'll get him back. It just is unfortunate that it happened.

“We're going to play, and we'll be all right. It's hurtful for Jonny. Right when I heard that, I [felt] for the guy, because he needed to have a good spring and he did. So we'll just have to wait a little bit longer.”

The injury will have obvious implications on Tampa Bay’s roster to start the season.

For one, Harold Ramírez and Curtis Mead now figure to get more playing time, even against right-handed pitchers. Combined with Lowe’s injury, this makes the Rays lineup even more right-handed than usual.

The Rays don’t intend to promote top prospect Junior Caminero to take Aranda’s spot, so they’ll have to fill it some other way. The front office will keep a close eye on the waiver wire and trade block as Spring Training winds down, looking for available left-handed hitters who could take some of the at-bats that had been allocated for Aranda.

With shortstop/outfielder Greg Jones traded to the Rockies on Thursday and Caminero not a likely option, the only other healthy position players on the Rays’ 40-man roster are infielder Osleivis Basabe and first/third baseman Austin Shenton.

Shenton, who was optioned to Minor League camp on March 11, seems to be the most natural fit as a left-handed-hitting corner infielder, like Aranda. The 26-year-old, Tampa Bay’s No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, made a strong impression last year by hitting .304/.423/.584 with 29 homers and 99 RBIs in 134 games between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.

“We've got decisions. We'll probably, once we all get back to Port Charlotte tomorrow, put our heads together,” Cash said. “But I think it's fair to say everything's in play.”

Here is what the Rays’ Opening Day position player group could look like:
Catchers: René Pinto, Alex Jackson (non-roster invitee)
First base: Yandy Díaz
Second base: Brandon Lowe
Shortstop: José Caballero
Third base: Isaac Paredes
Outfield: Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri, Richie Palacios, Harold Ramírez
Utility/bench: Amed Rosario, Curtis Mead, Shenton/Basabe/acquisition
Injured list: Aranda, DeLuca, J. Lowe, Taylor Walls