5 positions? No sweat. Palacios is Rays' newest jack of all trades

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Richie Palacios knows a thing or two about versatility.

In 92 games last season, he played five positions. He started 28 games at second base, 25 in right field, 16 in left and one at third base. He even slid over to shortstop in a pinch for the final two innings of a 4-1 win against the Royals on May 26.

Palacios is back at it again this spring. He started Friday’s game against the Pirates at LECOM Park in left field, one of four spots where he’s lined up during his first five games. He’s played two games in left, one at second base and one apiece in right and center.

That’s fine with Palacios.

“I'm excited for it. I mean, I enjoy it,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge of getting better at a different position and, with that, being able to be versatile for the team.”

Palacios said he’s got five gloves in his bag at this point and another one on the way, though only three are currently game-ready: one for the infield and two for outfield duty.

Since Palacios began bouncing around the diamond, he developed a routine for preparing for each game in the field. If he’s starting at one position, he’ll practice there for the day. If the versatile 27-year-old isn't starting, he’ll pick his spot for pregame practice based on where he feels he might be needed, whether that’s second base or the outfield.

Palacios’ flexibility will be critical, given the role he’s expected to play this season. He was slated to get a lot of work in left field the final two months of last season, but a right knee injury limited him to only four games after July 31. After an offseason of strengthening exercises, Palacios said his knee is feeling “100% like I did before I got hurt.”

As a left-handed hitter, Palacios is a natural complement to right-handed-hitting outfielders Christopher Morel (in left) and Jonny DeLuca (in center). But he’s also a capable defensive infielder, someone who could back up Brandon Lowe at second or Junior Caminero at third -- perhaps even Taylor Walls and José Caballero (and eventually Ha-Seong Kim) at shortstop.

“It’s always nice to have that versatility and comfort late in the game or to pick up some starts,” manager Kevin Cash said. “That's why Cabby has been going out there [to the outfield], and he's going to get some starts in center. Richie played center [eight games for St. Louis in 2023] … so he feels pretty comfortable out there.”

Palacios is likely to get more time in the outfield, while Caballero should play around the infield. But in those two, the Rays will essentially have two players -- a lefty hitter and a righty -- who can serve as super-utility options.

Cash said that will be a valuable asset for in-game moves, providing some freedom to pinch-hit without worrying about compromising their late-inning defense.

“You've got to play well when you're being asked to do that, and those guys have both shown that they're good infielders,” Cash said. “Richie's a good outfielder, and Cabby certainly looks like he's going to be totally fine with whatever the outfield presents.”

Around the horn

? Cash said the Rays were “very encouraged” by how Caballero felt on Friday morning after leaving Thursday’s game when he was hit in the left foot by a pitch. The top of Caballero’s foot was bruised after he left the game, but X-rays were negative.

Caballero is tentatively slated to be back in the lineup on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park, and Cash said the energetic speedster was “pretty adamant in wanting to play.”

? Cash said catcher Ben Rortvedt (sore right shoulder) is “progressing well,” and the Rays are hoping to get baseball’s No. 51 prospect Xavier Isaac (left elbow soreness) back in the lineup next week.

? The Rays began rolling out more of their projected Major League starters in order on Friday, with Ryan Pepiot getting the start against the Pirates at LECOM Park. Opening Day starter Shane McClanahan is set to pitch Saturday against the Mets, and he’ll be followed by Shane Baz on Sunday (on the road against the Twins) and Drew Rasmussen on Monday (against the Braves).

Of Tampa Bay’s top six starting options, only Taj Bradley (on Tuesday) and Zack Littell (in the rained-out game) had pitched in Grapefruit League games before Friday.

“It's good to see them,” Cash said. “We've seen a bunch of guys that maybe we weren't that familiar with here … and now we're going to start seeing a little bit more frequency with guys that we are familiar with.”